23005.
(a) The following definitions apply to this section:(1) “Board” means the board of supervisors of a county.
(2) “County” means a county described in subdivision (b).
(3) “County elections official” means a county’s registrar of voters.
(4) “Screening panel” means the screening panel created pursuant to subdivision (d).
(b) In any county described in subdivision (c) of Section 23001, a county independent redistricting
commission shall be established pursuant to this section. The commission shall consist of 10 members who shall be appointed on or before March 1, 2021, and on or before March 1 in each year ending in the number one thereafter. The political party preferences of the commission members, as shown on the members’ most recent affidavits of registration, shall be as proportional as possible to the total number of voters who are registered with each political party in that county or who decline to state or do not indicate a political party preference, based on voter registration at the most recent statewide election. However, a majority of commissioners shall not be registered with the same political party.
(c) (1) The commission selection process described in this section is designed to produce a commission that is independent
from the influence of the board and reasonably representative of the county’s diversity.
(2) A commission member shall engage in conduct that is impartial and that reinforces public confidence in the integrity of the redistricting process.
(d) (1) To aid in the nomination of qualified applicants to the commission, the county elections official shall establish a three-member screening panel pursuant to this subdivision. The screening panel shall include one of each of the following:
(A) A retired judge or a former member of a county civil grand jury.
(B) A professor of law, government, political science, public policy, or a
similar field who teaches at an accredited institution of postsecondary education.
(C) A representative of a nonpartisan good government organization that is located in, or has members who reside in, the county and that is exempt from federal income taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (26 U.S.C. Sec. 501(c)(3)).
(2) The county elections official shall randomly select members of the screening panel from a pool of qualified applicants. The county elections official shall recruit qualified applicants for the screening panel over a period of no less than two consecutive months.
(3) A member of the screening panel is subject to the requirements of subdivisions (c) and (d) of
Section 23003.
(e) (1) Each member of a commission established pursuant to this section shall meet the requirements of subdivisions (b), (c), and (d) of Section 23003 and shall be a voter who has been continuously registered with the same political party preference or with no political party preference either during the five years immediately preceding the date of the member’s appointment to the commission or since the member registered to vote for the first time, whichever is shorter.
(2) Each commissioner shall also possess experience that demonstrates all of the following:
(A) Analytical skills relevant to the redistricting process and voting rights and the ability to comprehend and apply
applicable state and federal legal requirements.
(B) Impartiality.
(C) An appreciation for the diverse demographics and geography of the county.
(f) (1) The county elections official shall request the assistance of neighborhood associations, community groups, civic organizations, and civil rights organizations to encourage eligible residents of the county to serve on the commission.
(2) An interested person meeting the qualifications specified in subdivision (e) may submit an application to the county elections official to be considered for membership on the commission. The county elections official shall designate an application
period of at least two months.
(3) The county elections official shall review applications for membership on the commission and eliminate applicants who do not meet the criteria specified in paragraph (1) of subdivision (e). The county may rely on an applicant’s certification that, to the best of the applicant’s knowledge, the applicant meets the requirements of this section. During the application period the county elections official shall maintain and periodically update a public list of qualifying applicants and shall review any allegations that an applicant on that list is ineligible to serve on the commission. If those allegations are substantiated the county elections official shall remove the applicant from consideration.
(g) (1) After the conclusion of the
application process described in subdivision (f), members of the commission shall be selected pursuant to the following process:
(A) At a public hearing and after receiving public comment the screening panel shall nominate for membership on the commission no less than 30 and no more than 40 of the most qualified applicants, based on the criteria specified in subdivision (e). The screening panel shall nominate at least three applicants from each supervisorial district. The political party preferences of the pool of nominees, as shown on the nominees’ most recent affidavits of registration, shall be approximately proportional to the number of voters who are registered with each political party in the county or who decline to state or do not indicate a party preference, based on voter registration at the most recent statewide
election.
(B) The county elections official shall review the applications of the applicants nominated pursuant to subparagraph (A) and remove from consideration any applicant who does not meet the eligibility criteria specified in paragraph (1) of subdivision (e). The county elections official shall divide the remaining nominees into five subpools corresponding to each of the five supervisorial districts in the county.
(C) At a regularly scheduled meeting of the board the county elections official shall randomly select one nominee from each of the five subpools described in subparagraph (B). Those five nominees shall be appointed to the commission unless, if those nominees were appointed, it would be impossible to create a commission with members whose political party
preferences would comply with subdivision (b). In that event the county elections official shall repeat the random selection as necessary until the composition of the political preferences of the selected nominees would make it possible to create a commission that complies with subdivision (b).
(D) The commissioners selected pursuant to subparagraph (C) shall review the remaining applicants in the subpools described in subparagraph (B) and shall appoint appoint, by majority vote, five additional applicants to the commission. The five appointees shall be chosen based on relevant experience, analytical skills, and ability to be impartial, and to ensure that the commission
reflects the county’s diversity, including racial, ethnic, geographic, and gender diversity. However, formulas or specific ratios shall not be applied for this purpose. The commissioners selected pursuant to subparagraph (C) shall also
consider political party preference and select applicants so that the composition of the political party preferences of the members of the commission comply with subdivision (b).
(E) The commission may, by majority vote, appoint an applicant from the pool of nominees described in subdivision (A) to fill a vacancy that may occur on the commission, provided that the appointed applicant is registered with the same political party preference as the departed commissioner.
(2) A member of the board, or an agent for a member of the board, shall not communicate with either the screening panel or a member of the screening panel regarding whom to nominate for consideration on the commission, or with the commissioners selected pursuant to
subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (g) regarding whom to appoint to the commission, except at a public hearing.
(3) The term of office of each member of the commission expires upon the appointment of the first member of a successor
commission.
(4) Five members of the commission shall constitute a quorum. Five Six or more affirmative votes of the commission are required to take an official action.
(h) (1) The commission shall conduct at least five public hearings, with at least one public hearing held in each supervisorial district, before adopting a final map. The commission shall schedule hearings at various times and on various days of the week to accommodate a variety of work schedules and to reach the largest possible audience.
(2) Notwithstanding Section 54954.2 of the Government Code, the commission shall publish the agenda for any public hearing on the county’s internet website at least seven days before the hearing. The agenda shall include a copy of any draft map that is eligible for adoption.
(3) (A) The commission shall provide a live translation of a hearing held pursuant to this section in an applicable language if a request for translation is made at least 72 hours before the hearing.
(B) For purposes of this paragraph paragraph, “applicable language” means a language spoken by members of a
language minority group who reside in the county and who are greater than or equal to 3 percent of the total voting age residents of the county in number.
(i) The commission shall take steps to encourage county residents to participate in the redistricting public review process. These steps may include the following:
(1) Providing information through media, social media, and public service announcements.
(2) Providing information through neighborhood associations, community groups, civic organizations, and civil rights organizations.
(3) Posting information on the county’s internet website that explains the redistricting process and the procedures for
testifying during a hearing or submitting written testimony directly to the commission.
(j) The board shall provide for reasonable funding and staffing of the commission.
(k) With any final map that the commission adopts, the commission shall issue a report that explains the basis on which it made its decisions.