Senate Bill 497 Summary

• Reduces Michigan's congressional districts from 15 to 14, effective for terms of office beginning January 1, 2013, based on the 2010 decennial census apportionment.

• Requires the Secretary of State to prepare maps and legal descriptions of each district using political subdivisions (counties, cities, townships), man-made features (streets, roads, highways), and natural features (waterways) as boundaries.

• Appropriates $30,000 to the Department of State for fiscal year ending September 30, 2012, to cover costs of Secretary of State compliance with redistricting requirements.

• Establishes that the redistricting plan consists of 14 single-member districts that are contiguous by land and comply with the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Equal Protection Clause while preserving traditional neutral principles like county and municipal boundary preservation.

• Changes the census reference from 2000 decennial census to 2010 decennial census for defining "block" and "tract" terms used in redistricting.