Berkeley Municipal Code Ch. 2.10 Citizens Redistricting Commission

The purpose of this Chapter is to implement Article V, Section 9.5 of the Charter, which provides for the decennial establishment of a Citizens Redistricting Commission in order to ensure an open and transparent redistricting process that allows public comment on the drawing of district boundaries and is conducted with integrity, fairness, and without personal or political considerations. (Ord. 7699-NS § 1 (part), 2020)

A. “Commission” means the Citizens Redistricting Commission.

B. “Immediate Family” means a spouse, domestic partner, cohabitant, child, stepchild, grandchild, parent, stepparent, mother-in-law, father-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, grandparent, great grandparent, brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister, stepsibling, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, or first cousin (that is, a child of an aunt or uncle).

C. “Special Master” means an individual with the requisite expertise and qualification on the subject of redistricting that is appointed by the commission to create a council district map pursuant to the impasse procedures of the City Charter. (Ord. 7699-NS § 1 (part), 2020)

A. The Commission shall consist of eight (8) District Commissioners (one (1) for each Council district) and five (5) At-Large Commissioners.

B. There shall be eight (8) Alternate District Commissioners and five (5) alternate At-Large Commissioners. (Ord. 7699-NS § 1 (part), 2020)

A. Beginning no later than September 1st of the year in which the decennial federal census is taken, the City Clerk shall conduct public outreach as specified in Charter Section 9.5(b)(4).

B. No later than February 1st of the year after the decennial federal census is taken, the City Clerk shall initiate the nomination process as specified in Charter Section 9.5(b)(5).

C. The City Clerk shall develop and recommend a budget for the Commission sufficient to carry out the requirements of the City Charter and this Chapter.

D. The City Clerk or City Clerk’s designee shall serve as Secretary to the Citizens Redistricting Commission.

E. At each meeting or public hearing of the Commission, the City Clerk shall make available for public viewing copies of each Commissioner’s application to serve on the Commission as well as copies of all political, financial or other disclosures required of each Commissioner by Section 9.5 of the Charter or any other provision of City or state law, including but not limited to each Commissioner’s Statement of Economic Interests and any disclosures under Charter Section 9.5(b)(3)(iii). (Ord. 7699-NS § 1 (part), 2020)

A. All applicants shall submit their application on a form provided by the City Clerk, which shall include a declaration under penalty of perjury that the applicant meets the eligibility criteria set forth in Charter Section 9.5 and this Chapter, has made all required disclosures, and that the statements they are making are true and correct.

B. The Commission application shall include questions asking if an applicant falls into one or more of the prohibited categories set forth in Charter Section 9.5(b)(3)(i).

1. If an applicant discloses that they fall into any of the prohibited categories set forth in Charter Section 9.5(b)(3)(i), the applicant shall be removed from the applicant pool and shall not be considered for appointment.

2. If it is determined at any point during the selection process that an applicant falls into one or more of the prohibited categories as set forth in Charter Section 9.5(b)(3)(i) then that applicant shall be disqualified.

3. If, after being selected and appointed to the Commission, it is determined that a Commissioner falls into one of the prohibited categories set forth in Charter Section 9.5(b)(3)(i), the Commissioner shall be immediately removed from the Commission, as provided for in Charter Section 9.5(e) and this Chapter.

C. All applicants shall affirm that, if selected, they shall comply with all requirements of the Charter and this Chapter applicable to members of the Commission.

D. Applicants shall file a Statement of Economic Interests (Form 700), provide a written statement of qualifications not longer than three hundred (300) words expressing why they believe they are qualified to serve on the Commission, and consent to a background check if appointed. Promptly after reviewing the background check to determine eligibility, the City Clerk shall either return it to the applicant or destroy it.

E. To the extent permitted by law, all application forms, materials and disclosures shall be kept confidential, and shall not be released to the public until all thirteen (13) Commissioners have been appointed.

F. After closure of the 30-day nomination period provided for in Charter Section 9.5(b)(5), the City Clerk shall remove from the applicant pool any applicants who do not satisfy the eligibility criteria set forth in Charter Section 9.5(b)(3), and shall divide the remaining applicants into separate pools, one for each then-existing City Council district in which the applicants reside. If there is an insufficient number of applicants in the pool of eligible applicants to fill a district seat or an alternate seat, the Commission may request, by a majority vote, that the City Clerk conduct a new, accelerated nomination and selection process to add additional applicants to the pool of eligible applicants.

G. The selection process for District Commissioners and At-Large Commissioners shall be conducted in accordance with Section 9.5(b)(6) of the City Charter and this Chapter.

H. When selecting the five (5) At-Large Commissioners, if there is an insufficient number of applicants in the remaining pool of eligible applicants to fill five (5) at-large seats and five (5) alternate at-large seats, the Commission may request, by a majority vote, that the City Clerk conduct a new, accelerated nomination and selection process to add additional applicants to the remaining pool of eligible applicants.

1. Once the pool of eligible applicants has a sufficient number of applicants to fill five (5) at-large seats and five (5) alternate at-large seats, the Commission shall, by a majority vote, select five (5) additional individuals from the remaining pool to serve as At-Large Commissioners and five (5) more individuals to serve as alternate At-Large Commissioners.

I. All commissioners and alternate commissioners shall swear or affirm the oath for public officials prescribed by the California Constitution. (Ord. 7699-NS § 1 (part), 2020)

A. The Commission shall operate under the provisions of the Commissioners’ Manual, as adopted by resolution of the City Council, except when superseded by the City Charter or the provisions of this Chapter.

B. After selection of the five (5) At-Large Commissioners pursuant to Charter Section 9.5(b)(6)(iii), the Commission shall elect one (1) of its members to serve as Chair and one (1) to serve as the Vice-Chair. The term of the Chair and Vice-Chair is the term of their service on the Commission as defined in Charter Section 9.5(b)(2), unless the Chair or Vice-Chair resign the position or is removed from the position by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the Commission. The Commissioner selected by the body to fill a vacancy in the position of Chair or Vice-Chair shall serve the remainder of the term.

C. Once all commissioners and alternate commissioners have completed training related to their service on the Commission, the Commission shall convene for the purpose of drawing City Council district boundaries.

D. For the purpose of selecting the At-Large Commissioners and At-Large Alternates, a quorum of the eight (8) District Commissioners is always five (5), and five (5) affirmative votes are always needed to take action unless otherwise specified by statute.

E. A quorum of the full thirteen (13) member Commission is always seven (7), and seven (7) affirmative votes are always needed to take action unless otherwise specified by statute.

F. Commissioners may make a request for a Leave of Absence from a Commission meeting, or for a period of time not to exceed three (3) months, by submitting a written request to the City Clerk by 5:00pm on the business day prior to the Commission meeting. The temporary vacancy will be filled as specified in Charter Section 9.5(e)(3).

G. The Commission shall comply with all relevant provisions of the Open Government Ordinance (Berkeley Municipal Code Chapter 2.06).

H. The Commission shall hold at least three (3) public hearings, each at a different location, to solicit public input on redistricting priorities and allow for submission of redistricting proposals by members of the public and public review of and input on any map proposed to be adopted by the Commission. The Commission shall display draft redistricting maps for public comment in a manner designed to achieve the widest public access reasonably possible and shall provide ample opportunity for public input.

I. Commissioners are strictly prohibited from communicating with or initiating or receiving communications about redistricting matters from anyone outside of a public meeting or hearing; however, communications outside of a meeting between Commissioners, staff, legal counsel, and consultants retained by the City, that are otherwise permitted by the Brown Act (California Government Code Section 54950 et seq.) or its successor, are not prohibited. The receipt of written communications (whether through paper or electronic format) from the public submitted at a public meeting of the Commission or submitted prior to a Citizens Redistricting Commission meeting to the Secretary and made part of the public record are not prohibited. Any communication received by a Commissioner inconsistent with this subsection shall be promptly disclosed to the Secretary for the public record. Failure to disclose received communications or a Commissioner’s response to such communications may be considered gross misconduct and grounds for removal from the Commission.

J. Alternate commissioners may attend Commission meetings, other than closed session meetings under the Brown Act, and may give public comment to the Commission. Unless appointed to serve on the Commission, Alternate Commissioners may not vote in Commission meetings or hearings.

K. Upon the expiration of thirty (30) days after the Council’s final approval by ordinance of the Commission’s redistricting plan, the City Clerk shall submit the new district boundaries to the Alameda County Registrar of Voters for implementation starting with the next General Municipal Election. (Ord. 7699-NS § 1 (part), 2020)

If a Commissioner or Alternate Commissioner is eligible to be removed pursuant to Charter Section 9.5(e), the Commissioner or Alternate Commissioner shall be provided written notice. The vote to remove the Commissioner or Alternate Commissioner shall appear on the next Commission agenda for which no posting or publication deadline has passed, occurring not more than thirty (30) days from the date the notice was mailed. The Commissioner or Alternate Commissioner may provide a written response or may provide a verbal response at the meeting of the Commission where the vote for removal will occur. The Commissioner or Alternate Commissioner may be removed by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the Commission. A Commissioner or Alternate Commissioner subject to removal may vote on their own removal. The decision of the Commission is final and may not be appealed. (Ord. 7699-NS § 1 (part), 2020)

In the event of an impasse in which the City Clerk is required to recommend, and the Commission is required to select, a Special Master pursuant to Charter Section 9.5(d)(4), the City Clerk and Commission shall consider retired judges, professors with knowledge about redistricting and reapportionment law, experts with experience advising government agencies on redistricting, and other persons with appropriate knowledge, expertise and experience. The Commission must select a Special Master within thirty (30) days of the City Clerk presenting their recommendations. (Ord. 7699-NS § 1 (part), 2020)

A. Voting members of the Commission shall be compensated at a rate of one hundred dollars ($100) per meeting for attendance at a regular meeting of the full Commission to compensate for the time the Commissioner is engaged in Commission business.

B. The rate of compensation for Commissions seated after each of the subsequent federal decennial censuses will be calculated based on the increase in the Consumer Price Index over the compensation provided for in paragraph (A) of this section.

C. Members of the Commission who meet eligibility requirements may also receive reimbursement for expenses for child care, dependent care, or disabled support services in the same manner as members of City boards and commissions. (Ord. 7699-NS § 1 (part), 2020)

Should any provision of this Chapter be held invalid, the remainder of this Chapter shall not be affected thereby, and such word, phrase, sentence, part, section, subsection, or other portion shall be severable, and the remaining provisions of this Chapter shall remain in full force and effect. The voters hereby declare that they would have passed this Chapter and each subsection, sentence, clause, and phrase thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more subsections, sentences, clauses, or phrases had been declared invalid, and that each subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, word, or other portion is therefore explicitly severable, part-by-part, phrase-by-phrase, and word-by-word, and that if any portion is determined by a court of competent jurisdiction to be unlawful, unenforceable, or otherwise void, voidable, or invalid, that the least amount of language possible shall be severed from the Chapter. (Ord. 7699-NS § 1 (part), 2020)