HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 121 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE MYERS.
5632H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
JOINT RESOLUTION Submitting to the qualified voters of Missouri an amendment repealing Sections 3 and 8 of Article III of the Constitution of Missouri, and adopting three new sections in lieu thereof relating to the general assembly.
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring therein:
That at the next general election to be held in the state of Missouri, on Tuesday next 2 following the first Monday in November, 2026, or at a special election to be called by the 3 governor for that purpose, there is hereby submitted to the qualified voters of this state, for 4 adoption or rejection, the following amendment to Article III of the Constitution of the state 5 of Missouri: Section A. Sections 3 and 8, Article III, Constitution of Missouri, are repealed and 2 three new sections adopted in lieu thereof, to be known as Sections 3, 8, and 54, to read as 3 follows: Section 3. (a) The house of representatives shall consist of one hundred sixty-three 2 members elected at each general election and redistricted as provided in this section. 3 Beginning with the 2030 decennial census, the house of representatives shall consist of 4 one hundred three members. 5 (b) The house independent bipartisan citizens commission shall redistrict the house of 6 representatives using the following methods, listed in order of priority: 7 (1) Districts shall be as nearly equal as practicable in population, and shall be drawn 8 on the basis of one person, one vote. Districts are as nearly equal as practicable in population
EXPLANATION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is intended to be omitted from the law. Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language. HJR 121 2
9 if no district deviates by more than one percent from the ideal population of the district, as 10 measured by dividing the number of districts into the statewide population data being used, 11 except that a district may deviate by up to three percent if necessary to follow political 12 subdivision lines consistent with subdivision (4) of this subsection; 13 (2) Districts shall be established in a manner so as to comply with all requirements of 14 the United States Constitution and applicable federal laws, including, but not limited to, the 15 Voting Rights Act of 1965 (as amended). The following principles shall take precedence over 16 any other part of this constitution: no district shall be drawn in a manner which results in a 17 denial or abridgment of the right of any citizen of the United States to vote on account of race 18 or color; and no district shall be drawn such that members of any community of citizens 19 protected by the preceding clause have less opportunity than other members of the electorate 20 to participate in the political process and to elect representatives of their choice; 21 (3) Subject to the requirements of subdivisions (1) and (2) of this subsection, districts 22 shall be composed of contiguous territory as compact as may be. Areas which meet only at 23 the points of adjoining corners are not contiguous. In general, compact districts are those 24 which are square, rectangular, or hexagonal in shape to the extent permitted by natural or 25 political boundaries; 26 (4) To the extent consistent with subdivisions (1) to (3) of this subsection, 27 communities shall be preserved. Districts shall satisfy this requirement if district lines follow 28 political subdivision lines to the extent possible, using the following criteria, in order of 29 priority. First, each county shall wholly contain as many districts as its population allows. 30 Second, if a county wholly contains one or more districts, the remaining population shall be 31 wholly joined in a single district made up of population from outside the county. If a county 32 does not wholly contain a district, then no more than two segments of a county shall be 33 combined with an adjoining county. Third, split counties and county segments, defined as 34 any part of the county that is in a district not wholly within that county, shall each be as few as 35 possible. Fourth, as few municipal lines shall be crossed as possible; 36 (5) Districts shall be drawn in a manner that achieves both partisan fairness and, 37 secondarily, competitiveness, but the standards established by subdivisions (1) to (4) of this 38 subsection shall take precedence over partisan fairness and competitiveness. "Partisan 39 fairness" means that parties shall be able to translate their popular support into legislative 40 representation with approximately equal efficiency. "Competitiveness" means that parties' 41 legislative representation shall be substantially and similarly responsive to shifts in the 42 electorate's preferences. 43 To this end, the average electoral performance of the two political parties receiving the 44 most votes in the three preceding general elections for governor, for United States Senate, and 45 for President of the United States shall be calculated. This index shall be defined as the total HJR 121 3
46 votes received by each party in the three preceding general elections for governor, for United 47 States Senate, and for President of the United States, divided by the total votes cast for both 48 parties in these elections. Using this index, the total number of wasted votes for each party, 49 summing across all of the districts in the plan shall be calculated. "Wasted votes" are votes 50 cast for a losing candidate or for a winning candidate in excess of the threshold needed for 51 victory. In any redistricting plan and map of the proposed districts, the difference between the 52 two parties' total wasted votes, divided by the total votes cast for the two parties, shall not 53 exceed fifteen percent. 54 To promote competitiveness, the electoral performance index shall be used to simulate 55 elections in which the hypothetical statewide vote shifts by one percent, two percent, three 56 percent, four percent, and five percent in favor of each party. The vote in each individual 57 district shall be assumed to shift by the same amount as the statewide vote. In each of these 58 simulated elections, the difference between the two parties' total wasted votes, divided by the 59 total votes cast for the two parties, shall not exceed fifteen percent. 60 (c) Within sixty days after the population of this state is reported to the President for 61 each decennial census of the United States or, in the event that a redistricting plan has been 62 invalidated by a court of competent jurisdiction, within sixty days that such a ruling has been 63 made, the state committee and the congressional district committees of each of the two 64 political parties casting the highest vote for governor at the last preceding general election 65 shall meet and the members of each committee shall nominate, by a majority vote of the 66 elected members of the committee present, provided that a majority of the elected members is 67 present, members of their party, residents in that district, in the case of a congressional district 68 committee, as nominees for the house independent bipartisan citizens commission. No party 69 shall select more than one nominee from any one state legislative district. The congressional 70 district committees shall each submit to the governor their list of two elected nominees. The 71 state committees shall each submit to the governor their list of five elected nominees. Within 72 thirty days thereafter, the governor shall appoint a house independent bipartisan citizens 73 commission consisting of one nominee from each list submitted by each congressional district 74 committee and two nominees from each list submitted by each state committee to redistrict 75 the state into one hundred and sixty-three representative districts and to establish the numbers 76 and boundaries of said districts. No person shall be appointed to both the house independent 77 bipartisan citizens commission and the senate independent bipartisan citizens commission 78 during the same redistricting cycle. 79 If any committee fails to submit a list within such time, the governor shall appoint a 80 member of his or her own choice from the political party of the committee failing to submit a 81 list, provided that in the case of a congressional district committee failing to submit a list, the HJR 121 4
82 person appointed to the commission by the governor shall reside in the congressional district 83 of such committee. 84 Members of the commission shall be disqualified from holding office as members of 85 the general assembly for four years following the date of the filing by the commission of its 86 final redistricting plan. 87 For the purposes of this Article, the term congressional district committee or 88 congressional district refers to the congressional district committee or the congressional 89 district from which a congressman was last elected, or, in the event members of congress 90 from this state have been elected at large, the term congressional district committee refers to 91 those persons who last served as the congressional district committee for those districts from 92 which congressmen were last elected, and the term congressional district refers to those 93 districts from which congressmen were last elected. Any action pursuant to this section by 94 the congressional district committee shall take place only at duly called meetings, shall be 95 recorded in their official minutes and only members present in person shall be permitted to 96 vote. 97 (d) The commissioners so selected shall, on the fifteenth day, excluding Sundays and 98 state holidays, after all members have been appointed, meet in the capitol building and 99 proceed to organize by electing from their number a chairman, vice chairman and secretary. 100 The commission shall adopt an agenda establishing at least three hearing dates on which 101 hearings open to the public shall be held to hear objections or testimony from interested 102 persons. A copy of the agenda shall be filed with the clerk of the house of representatives 103 within twenty-four hours after its adoption. Executive meetings may be scheduled and held 104 as often as the commission deems advisable. 105 (e) Not later than five months after the appointment of the commission, the 106 commission shall file with the secretary of state a tentative redistricting plan and map of the 107 proposed districts and during the ensuing fifteen days shall hold such public hearings as may 108 be necessary to hear objections or testimony of interested persons. The commission shall 109 make public the tentative redistricting plan and map of the proposed districts, as well as all 110 demographic and partisan data used in the creation of the plan and map. 111 (f) Not later than six months after the appointment of the commission, the 112 commission shall file with the secretary of state a final statement of the numbers and the 113 boundaries of the districts together with a map of the districts, and no statement shall be valid 114 unless approved by at least seven-tenths of the members. 115 (g) After the final statement is filed, members of the house of representatives shall be 116 elected according to such districts until a new redistricting plan is made as provided in this 117 section, except that if the final statement is not filed within six months of the time fixed for 118 the appointment of the commission, the commission shall stand discharged and the house of HJR 121 5
119 representatives shall be redistricted using the same methods and criteria as described in 120 subsection (b) of this section by a commission of six members appointed from among the 121 judges of the appellate courts of the state of Missouri by the state supreme court, a majority of 122 whom shall sign and file its redistricting plan and map with the secretary of state within 123 ninety days of the date of the discharge of the house independent bipartisan citizens 124 commission. The judicial commission shall make public the tentative redistricting plan and 125 map of the proposed districts, as well as all demographic and partisan data used in the 126 creation of the plan and map. Thereafter, members of the house of representatives shall be 127 elected according to such districts until a redistricting plan is made as provided in this section. 128 (h) Each member of the commission shall receive as compensation fifteen dollars a 129 day for each day the commission is in session but not more than one thousand dollars, and, in 130 addition, shall be reimbursed for his or her actual and necessary expenses incurred while 131 serving as a member of the commission. 132 (i) No redistricting plan shall be subject to the referendum. 133 (j) Any action expressly or implicitly alleging that a redistricting plan violates this 134 Constitution, federal law, or the United States Constitution shall be filed in the circuit court of 135 Cole County and shall name the body that approved the challenged redistricting plan as a 136 defendant. Only an eligible Missouri voter who sustains an individual injury by virtue of 137 residing in a district that exhibits the alleged violation, and whose injury is remedied by a 138 differently drawn district, shall have standing. If the court renders a judgment in which it 139 finds that a completed redistricting plan exhibits the alleged violation, its judgment shall 140 adjust only those districts, and only those parts of district boundaries, necessary to bring the 141 map into compliance. The supreme court shall have exclusive appellate jurisdiction upon the 142 filing of a notice of appeal within ten days after the judgment has become final. Section 8. No one shall be elected to serve more than eight years total in any one 2 house of the General Assembly nor more than sixteen years total in both houses of the 3 General Assembly. In applying this section, service in the General Assembly resulting from 4 an election prior to December 3, 1992, or service of less than one year, in the case of a 5 member of the house of representatives, or two years, in the case of a member of the senate, 6 by a person elected after the effective date of this section to complete the term of another 7 person, shall not be counted. Beginning January 1, 2032, no one shall be elected to serve 8 more than sixteen years total in both houses of the General Assembly. Section 54. Beginning January 1, 2032, no member of the house of 2 representatives shall serve as the speaker or speaker pro tempore of the house of 3 representatives for more than three consecutive terms and no member of the senate HJR 121 6
4 shall serve as the president pro tempore of the senate for more than two consecutive 5 terms. ✔