Senate passes Ruggerio bill to create commission to reapportion General Assembly, congressional districts

STATE HOUSE — The Senate today passed legislation introduced by Senate President Dominick J. Ruggerio (D-Dist. 4, North Providence, Providence) that would create a reapportionment commission.

The legislation (2021-S 0852A) would establish an 18-member special commission on reapportionment whose purpose would be to draft and to report to the General Assembly an act to reapportion the districts of the General Assembly and the states congressional districts.

“It’s time once again to reapportion our General Assembly and congressional districts, and we want to make sure it’s done in the most transparent way possible,” said President Ruggerio. “This legislation calls for the commission to conduct public hearings, and to give members of the public access to the technical software used for district mapping.”

The state constitution calls for the General Assembly to reapportion its districts after each federal census. The last census took place in 2020.

The commission would consist of 18 members — four from the Senate, four from the House of Representatives, three from the general public that are appointed by the Speaker of the House, and three from the general public that are appointed by the President of the Senate.

The commission would be tasked in making its recommendations to the General Assembly by Jan. 15, 2022.

The measure now moves to the House of Representatives, where companion legislation (2021-H 6222A) has been introduced by Speaker of the House K. Joseph Shekarchi (D-Dist. 23, Warwick).

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