HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOMM. 032 Ad Hoc Committee Report on Reapportionment
EDMUND HAITSUKA
Chairman
DAVID FUERTES
Vice Chair
DAPHNE HONMA
CASEY JARMAN
JAMAE KAWAUCHI
GUY KAULUKUKUI
JOSEPH KEALOHA
ALAPAKI NAHALE-A
SUSIE OSBORNE
TODD SHUMWAY
SCOTT UNGER
2009-2010
HAWAI‘I COUNTY
CHARTER COMMISSION
1
TO: HAWAI'I COUNTY CHARTER COMMISSIONER
FROM: Scott Unger, CHAIRPERSON, AD HOC COMMITTEE
FORMED TO INVESTIGATE THE POSSIBILITY OF AMENDING
ARTICLE 3, SECTION 17, OF THE HAWAI'I COUNTY
CHARTER.
RE: COMMITTEE REPORT AND FINDINGS
The Ad Hoc Committee formed to investigate the possibility of amending Article 3,
Section 17, of the Hawai'i County Charter consists of Chairperson Scott Unger and
members Casey Jarmen and Sue Osborn.
The Committee discussed and considered, among other things, changing the title and
scope of Section 3-17 “County Reapportionment Committee. The Committee determined
that: See attachment.
DRAFT REPORT – AD HOC COMMITTEE ON REAPPORTIONMENT
The Ad Hoc Committee on Reapportionment makes the following recommendations
based upon a review of § 3-17 of the Hawai`i County Charter.
1. Any reference to the County Reapportionment Commission be changed to the “County
Redistricting Commission”.
Rationale: Although the words “reapportionment” and “redistricting” are at times used
interchangeably, “reapportionment” generally refers to the assignment of U.S. House of
Representatives based on population of the U.S. in a particular census year. States may gain an
extra representative, lose a representative, or remain the same, depending on the size of their
population. “Redistricting” refers to establishing of voting district boundaries to ensure that
each district has approximately equal populations, thereby preventing the dilution of any
individual’s vote.
2. Change the language in § 3-17, first part of first sentence to read: “The redistricting
commission shall adhere to the following criteria in establishing the boundaries of the council
districts: . . .”
Rationale: Under the current language, the commission is to be “guided” by the 4
criteria; however, it should be made clear that they need to follow all of the criteria and justify
their decisions based solely on those criteria. They cannot ignore one criterion in favor of one or
more others.
3. Add a new section that requires the commission to prepare a written report to be submitted to
the Mayor and the Council with their district boundary plan. The report should give an
explanation of their reasoning and how the plan complies with the 4 criteria.
Rationale: This provision would add transparency to the redistricting plan and ensure
that they adequately considered all four criteria and not other factors.
4. Add a new section that requires the commission to hold at least one public hearing in each of
the nine council districts prior to completing the draft of the plan and one public hearing in east
Hawai`i and one in west Hawai`i after completion of the draft plan.
Rationale: This provision would add transparency to the redistricting plan, educate the
public, and allow for public input.
5. Change § 3-17(d) to be appointed and confirmed by July 1 of the U.S. census year before the
start of the redistricting year.
Rationale: Under the current provision, the Commission has only 10 months from the
date of confirmation of the final member to complete their work. The importance of the work of
this commission, the amount of information that must be gathered to draft a new plan, and the
time needed for commissioners to get up to speed on redistricting means that the commissioners
need adequate time to do their work. Therefore, we have added additional time. This time is
also needed to allow for the public hearings and for the completion of a written report justifying
the plan that we are recommending.