Virginia Citizens Redistricting Commission; established.

Redistricting; Virginia Citizens Redistricting Commission.Establishes the Virginia Citizens Redistricting Commission (the Commission), a10-member commission responsible for proposing legislative and congressionaldistricts following a decennial census, to be submitted to and approved by theGeneral Assembly. A selection committee consisting of five retired judges of acircuit court in Virginia, selected by the Speaker of the House of Delegates,the minority leader in the House of Delegates, and the majority and minorityleaders in the Senate from a list compiled by the Chief Justice of the SupremeCourt of Virginia, is tasked with adopting a process by which registeredVirginia voters may apply to serve on the Commission and selecting from the applicantsa list of 22 candidates. The bill requires five of the candidates to be voterswho affiliate with the political party receiving the highest number of votesfor governor at the immediately preceding gubernatorial election, fivecandidates to be voters who affiliate with the political party receiving thenext highest number of votes for governor at the immediately precedinggubernatorial election, and 12 candidates to be voters who do not affiliatewith any political party. The Speaker of the House of Delegates, the minorityleader in the House of Delegates, and the majority and minority leaders in theSenate then strike names from the list until there is the final list of 10Commission members, three of whom affiliate with the political party receivingthe highest number of votes for governor at the immediately precedinggubernatorial election, three of whom affiliate with the political partyreceiving the next highest number of votes for governor at the immediatelypreceding gubernatorial election, and four of whom do not affiliate with anypolitical party. To be submitted to the General Assembly, a proposed plan isrequired to receive an affirmative vote of seven of the 10 Commission members,including at least one vote from each of the political parties represented.Initial plans submitted to the General Assembly are not subject to amendment,but if submission of subsequent plans is necessary, such plans may be amendedin the same manner as other bills.