SENATE BILL 583
49th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2009
INTRODUCED BY
Linda M. Lopez
AN ACT
RELATING TO THE ELECTION CODE; TEMPORARILY FREEZING PRECINCT BOUNDARIES FOR REDISTRICTING PURPOSES; PROVIDING FOR THE ADJUSTMENT OF PRECINCT BOUNDARIES; PROVIDING FOR DELAYED REPEAL; DECLARING AN EMERGENCY.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
Section 1. [NEW MATERIAL] SUSPENSION OF CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS--PRECINCT BOUNDARY FREEZE--EXCEPTIONS.--
A. For the purpose of redistricting following the federal decennial census, the authority of boards of county commissioners to create new precincts or to combine precincts and to alter their boundaries pursuant to Section 1-3-2, 1-3-3 or 4-38-21 NMSA 1978 is suspended from June 1, 2009 until January 31, 2012, and all precinct boundaries are frozen until January 31, 2012, except those precinct boundaries not in compliance with the provisions of the Precinct Boundary Adjustment Act.
B. The secretary of state may authorize a board of county commissioners to adjust precinct boundaries in accordance with the Precinct Boundary Adjustment Act and shall notify the legislative council service of any adjustments.
Section 2. Section 1-3-12 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1984 (1st S.S.), Chapter 3, Section 4, as amended) is amended to read:
"1-3-12. ADJUSTING PRECINCT BOUNDARIES.--
A. Before each federal decennial census, every precinct boundary shall be adjusted to coincide with a [numbered or named street or road or with a visible terrain] feature or a boundary that is:
(1) shown on the standard base maps developed pursuant to Subsection B of this section;
(2) a designated census block boundary on the proposed federal PL 94-171 [2000] 2010 census block maps; or
(3) approved by the secretary of state and the bureau of the census.
B. Prior to commencement of the federal decennial census, the secretary of state shall have prepared and shall furnish to each county clerk standard base maps of the county. The standard base map for urban and nonurban areas of the county shall, as nearly as practical, show:
(1) all state and federal highways;
(2) all numbered and named county roads that have been certified to the department of transportation;
(3) all military installation boundaries and federal and state prison boundaries;
(4) all major railroad lines; [and]
(5) federal, state and county political boundaries, municipal boundaries and school district boundaries;
(6) all streets within urban areas; and
[(5)] (7) other major terrain features such as flowing rivers and streams, arroyos, powerlines, pipelines, roads, trails and ridgelines and other acceptable census block boundaries.
C. The board of county commissioners and the county clerks, upon receipt of the standard base maps from the secretary of state, shall:
(1) adjust all [urban] precinct boundaries to coincide with numbered or named street boundaries [(2) adjust all nonurban precinct boundaries to coincide with] or suitable visible terrain features shown on the standard base map; provided that [in order to make an adjustment, two or more existing precincts may be consolidated without consolidating existing polling places; and provided further that] the precincts shall be composed of contiguous and compact areas, and state, county [and], municipal, school district and other political boundary lines [may] shall serve as precinct boundaries whenever possible; and
[(3)] (2) upon the completion of the precinct boundary adjustments as required in this section, indicate on the standard base maps the boundaries for both urban and nonurban precincts and, together with a written description of the precincts, shall send an electronic copy in a format approved by the secretary of state or four copies of the precinct maps to the secretary of state for approval.
D. The precincts shown upon the standard base maps submitted pursuant to the provisions of this section and as revised and approved by the secretary of state pursuant to the Precinct Boundary Adjustment Act shall become the official precincts of each county for the [2001] 2011 redistricting. For the [2002] 2012 and subsequent primary and general elections, changes in precincts shall be made in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 1, Article 3 NMSA 1978.
E. A [county commission] local public body, when creating or redrawing districts, shall not split a precinct into two or more districts for any elected office unless necessary to comply with federal law or to preserve communities of interest.
F. Precincts shall be designated solely by whole numbers."
Section 3. Section 1-3-13 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1983, Chapter 223, Section 4, as amended) is amended to read:
"1-3-13. SECRETARY OF STATE POWERS AND DUTIES.--
A. The secretary of state shall review all county precinct maps submitted pursuant to Section 1-3-12 NMSA 1978 for compliance with the provisions of the Precinct Boundary Adjustment Act. Those county precinct maps determined not to be in compliance with the precinct boundary criteria set forth in Subsection A of Section 1-13-12 NMSA 1978 shall be rejected and returned to the appropriate county clerk with a written statement setting forth those instances [where] in which the map does not comply. The county clerk and the board of county commissioners shall make the required adjustments and resubmit one copy of the corrected county precinct map within thirty days after receiving notice of noncompliance.
B. Prior to January 1, [2002] 2012, if any precinct boundary adjustments are necessary to meet the legal and constitutional requirements of [legislative reapportionment] redistricting, the secretary of state shall notify any county of those boundary adjustments that are necessary in that county. Upon review and certification of the adjusted precinct boundaries, the county shall submit the certified precinct changes to the secretary of state for final approval of the precincts for the [2002] 2012 primary and general elections."
Section 4. DELAYED REPEAL.--Section 1 of this act is repealed effective January 31, 2012.
Section 5. EMERGENCY.--It is necessary for the public peace, health and safety that this act take effect immediately.
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