Section 6. Upon the determination of the total number of members of each house of the state legislature to which each basic island unit is entitled, the commission shall apportion the members among the districts therein and shall redraw district lines where necessary in such manner that for each house the average number of permanent residents per member in each district is as nearly equal to the average for the basic island unit as practicable.

In effecting such redistricting, the commission shall be guided by the following criteria:

1. No district shall extend beyond the boundaries of any basic island unit.

2. No district shall be so drawn as to unduly favor a person or political faction.

3. Except in the case of districts encompassing more than one island, districts shall be contiguous.

4. Insofar as practicable, districts shall be compact.

5. Where possible, district lines shall follow permanent and easily recognized features, such as streets, streams and clear geographical features, and, when practicable, shall coincide with census tract boundaries.

6. Where practicable, representative districts shall be wholly included within senatorial districts.

7. Not more than four members shall be elected from any district.

8. Where practicable, submergence of an area in a larger district wherein substantially different socio-economic interests predominate shall be avoided. [Add Const Con 1978 and election Nov 7, 1978; am HB 2327 (1992) and election Nov 3, 1992]