Senate Bill 235 - Summary

• Creates an 11-member Redistricting Commission for the State of Delaware to reapportion legislative districts every ten years after the federal decennial census, with ten voting members appointed by legislative leadership and one non-voting Chair elected by the voting members.

• Establishes eligibility restrictions prohibiting Commission members from holding elective office, being registered lobbyists (within one year of appointment), being elected state officials (within two years of appointment), or running for the General Assembly in the following election.

• Requires the Commission to conduct an open and transparent redistricting process including public meetings, a website with district maps and demographic data, four public hearings (one per county and City of Wilmington), and submission of a Preliminary Plan by the second Monday in May and Final Plan by June 15.

• Sets a deadline of September 30 for the General Assembly and Governor to enact a redistricting plan; if missed, a two-member judicial panel (the Chancellor and a Superior Court Judge of different political parties) shall complete redistricting with a final, binding plan by November 30.

• Requires the Commission to submit recommendations for process improvements to the General Assembly and establish that all Commission records be preserved by the State Commissioner of Elections for at least twenty years.