Proposes amendment to the Hawaii Constitution to require multimember districts for state house of representatives and senate districts.

A BILL FOR AN ACT

SECTION 1. The purpose of this Act is to propose an amendment to Article IV, section 6, of the Constitution of the State of Hawaii to prohibit single member electoral districts.

SECTION 2. Article IV, section 6, of the Constitution of the State of Hawaii is amended to read as follows:

"APPORTIONMENT WITHIN BASIC ISLAND UNITS

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 nor fewer than two 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."

SECTION 3. The question to be printed on the ballot shall be as follows:

SECTION 4. New Constitutional material is underscored.

SECTION 5. This amendment shall take effect upon compliance with article XVII, section 3, of the Constitution of the State of Hawaii.