House Bill 309 Summary

• Establishes a bipartisan redistricting protocol where House and Senate majority and minority caucuses each form 3-member committees to redraw legislative districts following the decennial census.

• Implements an alternating "freeze and redraw" process where each caucus committee sequentially locks in a set number of districts while redrawing the remaining ones, ensuring both parties have input on final maps.

• Requires completion of preliminary redistricting plans by August 1, public hearings in all counties plus Wilmington, and General Assembly approval by September 1 (extendable to September 23) of years ending in "1".

• Mandates full transparency through a General Assembly website displaying committee member contact information, previous district maps with demographic data, and all maps at each stage of the redistricting process.

• Provides judicial backup whereby a panel of the Chancellor and 3 Superior Court judges (one matching the Chancellor's party, two from the opposing party) may complete redistricting if the General Assembly fails to act by September 30 or if courts strike down the plan.