Colorado Reapportionment Commission (05/23/2011)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

COLORADO REAPPORTIONMENT COMMISSION

Date:	05/23/2011	ATTENDANCE

Time:	11:02 AM to 01:19 PM	Atencio	X
		Berry	X
Place:	LSB A	Carroll	X
		Jones	X
This Meeting was called to order by		Loevy	X
	Mario Carrera	Nicolais	X
		Salazar	E
This Report was prepared by		Tool	X
	Bo Pogue	Witwer	X
		Webb	E
		Carrera	X
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
Commissioner Logisitics Description of Census Geography Autobound Redistricting Software Demonstration Commission Procedures and Policies and Staff Use Discussion of Regions and Sequencing of Hearings		Witness Testimony and/or Committee Discussion Only Witness Testimony and/or Committee Discussion Only Witness Testimony and/or Committee Discussion Only Pass Pass

Note: This meeting summary is not an official record of the commission or of the meeting. It is not intended to serve as a transcript or minutes of the commission meeting. The audio recording of the meeting is the official record of the meeting. This summary may be used as a guide to the audio recording. To access the audio recording of a commission meeting, visit the Colorado Joint Legislative Library located in the State Capitol, Room 048 (basement/ground floor level). You will need to note the date, time, and location of the meeting to access the audio recording. Copies of the audio recordings may be obtained at the library if you bring with you blank, recordable compact discs or a flash drive. Librarians are on site and available to assist you with accessing an audio recording.

11:02 AM -- Commissioner Logistics

The meeting was called to order. A quorum was present. Since he was not present at previous meetings, Commissioner Tool provided a short introduction and biography. Ms. Betsy Holdredge, Legislative Council Staff, briefed the commission on a number of issues relating to commissioner compensation and reimbursement.

11:09 AM -- Description of Census Geography

Mr. Jeremiah Barry, Reapportionment Commission Staff Director, briefed the commission on how the U.S. Census Bureau breaks the state into census tracts, block groups, and census blocks for redistricting purposes. Commission members received a handout that outlines this census geography (Attachment A). Mr. Barry explained how these layers translate into terminology used for reapportionment.

11:12 AM -- Autobound Redistricting Software Demonstration

Ms. Kate Watkins, Reapportionment Commission Staff, made a presentation to the commission on Autobound, the software that will be used by the commission to draw district maps. Ms. Watkins demonstrated the various geographic and demographic layers available for use on the software, and other software features and views. Ms. Watkins showed how to assign counties, precincts, and blocks to a district.

11:23 AM

Mr. Barry briefed the commission on how individual commissioner software training will take place, and discussed resources available to the commission pertaining to the software. Mr. Barry responded to questions about computer hardware available for mapmaking. Ms. Watkins demonstrated how to create districts based on a blank state map, from the county level down to the block level. Ms. Watkins responded to questions regarding how to navigate the software to reveal ethnic data in conformance with federal civil rights laws. Discussion ensued regarding the availability of certain software features to indicate the splitting of political boundaries, such as counties, and district population optimization. Commissioner Jones inquired about making the professional version of Autobound available to the commissioners, as opposed to a simpler, or LE, version.

11:36 AM

Mr. Barry explained the main differences between the professional and LE versions of Autobound, and the cost differential for these software versions. Commissioner Berry asked about exporting commission-created maps into staff software to run certain reports.

11:39 AM -- Commission Procedures and Policies and Staff Use

Mr. Barry briefed the commission on its upcoming meeting schedule, and the material to be covered at these meetings. Mr. Barry also explained the process that will be undertaken to create district maps on a region-by-region basis. Mr. Barry then presented a proposed policy for conducting map presentations and using commission staff to draft maps. Commission members received a draft policy, which mirrors the policy adopted during the 2001 round of reapportionment (Attachment B). The proposed policy also addressed map drafting by the general public. Discussion ensued regarding how the commission should go forward with a policy for map drafting. Commissioner Carroll provided input on the issue, and then asked for clarification on the commission's meeting schedule. Mr. Barry responded to questions regarding the basis on which the state should be broken up into regions: population or geography.

11:50 AM

Discussion continued regarding using staff to draw district maps, at least initially as the commissioners become comfortable with drawing maps using the Autobound software. Mr. Barry returned to discussing the schedule for drafting maps and releasing them to the commissioners. Commissioner Witwer expressed a preference for having staff draft regional district maps based on constitutional criteria as a starting point for further discussion. Mr. Barry responded to questions regarding the timing of the distribution of commissioner-created district maps. The commission continued to discuss using staff to draft maps during the initial weeks of hearings. Discussion followed regarding how to ensure that district maps adhere to certain constitutional requirements, and the role of staff in ensuring the constitutionality and nonpartisanship of maps. Mr. Barry suggested using a numbering process for labeling maps. Discussion followed regarding how labeling may affect transparency.


BILL:	Commission Procedures and Policies and Staff Use
TIME:	12:00:13 PM
MOVED:	Carroll
MOTION:	Ask staff to prepare maps in conjunction with accepting maps from commissioners based on a the schedule for the creation of staff maps and distribution to commission members. The schedule would require maps to be submitted by commissioners to staff by 12:00 p.m. on the Thursday following a Monday regional hearing with public testimony, and by close of business on Thursday when such a hearing is held on a Tuesday. The motion passed on a 9-0-2 vote.
SECONDED:	Witwer
		VOTE
	Atencio	Yes
	Berry	Yes
	Carroll	Yes
	Jones	Yes
	Loevy	Yes
	Nicolais	Yes
	Salazar	Excused
	Tool	Yes
	Witwer	Yes
	Webb	Excused
	Carrera	Yes

Final YES: 9 NO: 0 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

12:02 PM

Mr. Barry responded to questions regarding the format that will be used to transmit district maps to the commissioners. Discussion ensued regarding how to proceed with additional recommendations in Attachment B.


BILL:	Commission Procedures and Policies and Staff Use
TIME:	12:04:03 PM
MOVED:	Atencio
MOTION:	Moved to adopt items number 2 and 3 recommended in Attachment B, where redistricting plans are verified by Reapportionment Commission Staff before being presented to the commission for consideration at a meeting, and staff are available to assist with plan drawing while being available to assist others only at the direction of a commission member. The motion passed on a 9-0-2 vote.
SECONDED:	Carroll
		VOTE
	Atencio	Yes
	Berry	Yes
	Carroll	Yes
	Jones	Yes
	Loevy	Yes
	Nicolais	Yes
	Salazar	Excused
	Tool	Yes
	Witwer	Yes
	Webb	Excused
	Carrera	Yes

Final YES: 9 NO: 0 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

12:05 PM

Discussion returned to the schedule for making maps available to the commissioners. The commission then again directed its discussion toward the process for labeling district maps that will be under consideration, and the benefits of attaching a map to an individual rather than randomly numbering it. Commissioner Witwer suggested labeling maps in the same manner that proposed legislation is labeled. Commissioner Witwer responded to questions regarding his vision of a nonpartisan reapportionment process, which he had proposed at the commission's initial meeting. Discussion followed regarding the potential for initially numbering maps, and then attaching sponsor names at a later point in the process.


BILL:	Commission Procedures and Policies and Staff Use
TIME:	12:12:01 PM
MOVED:	Nicolais
MOTION:	Moved to number redistricting maps, keep track of map sponsors, and release the names of map sponsors at a later time. The motion passed on a 9-0-2 vote.
SECONDED:	Berry
		VOTE
	Atencio	Yes
	Berry	Yes
	Carroll	Yes
	Jones	Yes
	Loevy	Yes
	Nicolais	Yes
	Salazar	Excused
	Tool	Yes
	Witwer	Yes
	Webb	Excused
	Carrera	Yes

Final YES: 9 NO: 0 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

12:14 PM

The commission recessed.

12:37 PM -- Discussion of Regions and Sequencing of Hearings

The commission returned to order. The commission entered into a discussion about dividing the state into a number of regions to allow the reapportionment process to be addressed regionally and hold public hearings on a regional basis. To assist members in their deliberations, commissioners received from Reapportionment Commission Staff a proposed breakout of the state into six regions (Attachment C); a set of six alternative regions (Attachment D); two potential hearing schedules (Attachment E); a set of tables showing county-level population and demographic data (Attachment F); tables showing population changes from 2000 to 2010 among the current House and Senate districts (Attachment G); a meeting summary from the 2001 round of redistricting by the Reapportionment Commission, at which the commission made its determinations of reapportionment regions and hearing scheduling (Attachment H); and a listing of the commissioners from the three previous reapportionment commissions (Attachment I). Commissioner Witwer expressed support for Commissioner Salazar's proposal from the May 16th meeting for a region to be created from the counties in the San Luis Valley. Discussion ensued on the potential for including Pueblo County in this region, and the implications of the federal Voting Rights Act with regard to such a region. Commissioner Loevy discussed the areas that constitute various regions in Colorado. Commission members received a color map showing the state's regions as envisioned by Commissioner Loevy (Attachment J). Commissioner Carroll proposed that the first region be Pueblo and the San Luis Valley. Commissioner Nicholais distributed an additional color map of the state with counties (Attachment K). Discussion ensued regarding the counties that would be considered with the San Luis Valley. Discussion followed regarding the merits of including Pueblo County within region 1 and federal Voting Rights Act implications.


BILL:	Discussion of Regions and Sequencing of Hearings
TIME:	12:44:06 PM
MOVED:	Carroll
MOTION:	Moved to create reapportionment region 1, comprised of the following counties: Pueblo, Huerfano, Las Animas, Costilla, Alamosa, Conejos, Rio Grande, Mineral, and Saguache. The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Loevy
		VOTE
	Atencio
	Berry
	Carroll
	Jones
	Loevy
	Nicolais
	Salazar	Excused
	Tool
	Witwer
	Webb	Excused
	Carrera

Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection

12:49 PM

The commission discussed the make-up of the second region, and how to create a region out of the eastern plains considering its low population.


BILL:	Discussion of Regions and Sequencing of Hearings
TIME:	12:52:23 PM
MOVED:	Loevy
MOTION:	Moved to create reapportionment region 2, consisting of the following counties: Logan, Sedgwick, Phillips, Morgan, Washington, Yuma, Elbert, Lincoln, Kit Carson, Cheyenne, Crowley, Kiowa, Otero, Bent, Prowers, and Baca.
SECONDED:	Atencio
		VOTE
	Atencio
	Berry
	Carroll
	Jones
	Loevy
	Nicolais
	Salazar	Excused
	Tool
	Witwer
	Webb	Excused
	Carrera

Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection

12:53 PM

The commission discussed creating the third region from the western slope counties, including Jackson County. The committee discussed including Lake and Chaffee counties in the Western Slope region, and how to include input from absent commissioners in creating the regions. Discussion ensued regarding the potential for deferring creation of additional regions until the full commission is available for input.


BILL:	Discussion of Regions and Sequencing of Hearings
TIME:	12:54:53 PM
MOVED:	Loevy
MOTION:	Moved to create reapportionment region 3, consisting of the following counties: Moffat, Routt, Jackson, Grand, Rio Blanco, Garfield, Eagle, Summit, Mesa, Pitkin, Lake, Delta, Gunnison, Chaffee, Montrose, Ouray, San Miguel, Dolores, San Juan, Hinsdale, Montezuma, La Plata, and Archuleta. The motion passed without objection. The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Atencio
		VOTE
	Atencio
	Berry
	Carroll
	Jones
	Loevy
	Nicolais
	Salazar	Excused
	Tool
	Witwer
	Webb	Excused
	Carrera

Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Passed Without Objection


BILL:	Discussion of Regions and Sequencing of Hearings
TIME:	01:01:44 PM
MOVED:	Atencio
MOTION:	Moved to defer the creation of additional reapportionment regions to the May 31st commission meeting. The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Carroll
		VOTE
	Atencio
	Berry
	Carroll
	Jones
	Loevy
	Nicolais
	Salazar	Excused
	Tool
	Witwer
	Webb	Excused
	Carrera

Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection

01:03 PM

The commission entered a discussion about what criteria staff should consider in drafting initial district maps for the first three reapportionment regions. Commissioner Nicolais suggested that staff should be directed by Colorado Supreme Court Justice Hobbs' opinion in In re Reapportionment of the Colo. Gen. Assembly, 45 P.3d 1237 (Colo. 2002). The commission discussed the potential conflict between allowing staff to draw maps free of interference, and tying the maps to criteria expressed in the Hobbs opinion. Commissioner Jones proposed that staff draft maps in accordance with constitutional requirements. Discussion ensued regarding the merits of staff using the Hobbs opinion for direction. Discussion followed regarding disagreement in some quarters over the conditions contained in the Hobbs opinion. Commissioner Loevy discussed the merits of maintaining the status quo in maps with regard to current districts, while ensuring that incumbents remain in their current districts.


BILL:	Discussion of Regions and Sequencing of Hearings
TIME:	01:03:45 PM
MOVED:	Nicolais
MOTION:	Moved to direct the Colorado Reapportionment Commission Staff to draft district maps in accordance with the opinion of Colorado Supreme Court Justice Hobbs in In re Reapportionment of the Colo. Gen. Assembly, 45 P.3d 1237 (Colo. 2002). A substitute motion directing staff to follow the law as it pertains to redistricting passed.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Atencio
	Berry
	Carroll
	Jones
	Loevy
	Nicolais
	Salazar	Excused
	Tool
	Witwer
	Webb	Excused
	Carrera

Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION:


BILL:	Discussion of Regions and Sequencing of Hearings
TIME:	01:11:23 PM
MOVED:	Witwer
MOTION:	Moved to direct the Colorado Reapportionment Commission Staff to follow the law as it pertains to redistricting while creating district maps. The motion passed on a 9-0-2 vote.
SECONDED:	Carroll
		VOTE
	Atencio	Yes
	Berry	Yes
	Carroll	Yes
	Jones	Yes
	Loevy	Yes
	Nicolais	Yes
	Salazar	Excused
	Tool	Yes
	Witwer	Yes
	Webb	Excused
	Carrera	Yes

Final YES: 9 NO: 0 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

01:12 PM

Mr. Barry noted that the Attorney General's Office declined to provide legal representation to the commission based on potential conflicts with its current charge. Commissioner Loevy proposed creating a separate region for the City and County of Denver, a separate region for the remaining Metropolitan Denver suburbs, a region for Larimer and Weld counties, and a region for El Paso County with several counties to its west. Commissioner Atencio mentioned a report drafted in 1991 about racially polarized voting. Discussion ensued regarding Commissioner Loevy's proposed state regions, and the impact of increasing the number of regions above six on the commission's hearing schedule. Mr. Barry provided input on this schedule.

01:19 PM

The commission adjourned.