§ 30-393. Redistricting Commission Selection Committee; chairman; quorum; compensation and expenses.
Pursuant to § 30-394, citizen commissioners will be selected by the Redistricting Commission Selection Committee and appointed no later than January 15 of the year ending in one and shall continue to serve until their successors are appointed. Qualifications, as outlined in § 30-393, have been included below. In order to apply, citizens must have been a resident of Virginia and a registered voter in Virginia for three (3) years immediately preceding the application period (Starting November 30, 2017.) Citizens must also have voted in at least two of the previous three general elections (November elections in 2018, 2019, 2020.) A. There shall be a Redistricting Commission Selection Committee established for the purpose of selecting the citizen commissioners of the Virginia Redistricting Commission. This committee shall consist of five retired judges of the circuit courts of Virginia. B. By November 15 of the year ending in zero, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia shall certify to the Speaker of the House of Delegates, the leader in the House of Delegates of the political party having the next highest number of members in the House of Delegates, the President pro tempore of the Senate of Virginia, and the leader in the Senate of Virginia of the political party having the next highest number of members in the Senate of Virginia a list of at least 10 retired judges of the circuit courts of Virginia who are willing to serve on the Committee, and no retired judge who is a parent, spouse, child, sibling, parent-in-law, child-in-law, or sibling-in-law of, or a cohabitating member of a household with, a member of the Congress of the United States or of the General Assembly shall be included in such list. In compiling this list, the Chief Justice shall give consideration to the racial, ethnic, geographic, and gender diversity of the Commonwealth. These members shall each select a judge from the list and shall promptly, but not later than November 20, communicate their selection to the Chief Justice, who shall immediately notify the four judges selected. In making their selections, the members shall give consideration to the racial, ethnic, geographic, and gender diversity of the Commonwealth. Within three days of being notified of their selection, the four judges shall select, by a majority vote, a judge from the list prescribed herein to serve as the fifth member of the Committee, who shall serve as the chairman of the Committee. A majority of the Committee members, which majority shall include the chairman, shall constitute a quorum. The judges of the Committee shall serve until their successors are appointed. If a judge cannot, for any reason, complete his term, the remaining judges shall select a replacement from the list prescribed herein. C. Members of the Committee shall receive compensation for their services and shall be allowed all reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties as provided in §§ 2.2- 2813 and 2.2-2825. The compensation and expenses of members and all other necessary expenses of the Committee shall be provided from existing appropriations to the Commission. D. All meetings and records of the Committee shall be subject to the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.2-3700 et seq.), except as provided in subsection E of § 30-394. E. Notwithstanding the provisions of § 1-210 regarding the computation of time, if an act required by this section is to be performed on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, or any day or part of a day on which the government office where the act to be performed is closed, the act required shall be performed on the first business day immediately preceding the Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, or day on which the government office is closed. § 30-394. Citizen commissioners; application process; qualifications; selection. A. Within three days following the selection of the fifth member of the Committee, the Committee shall adopt an application and process by which residents of the Commonwealth may apply to serve on the Commission as citizen commissioners. The Division of Legislative Services shall assist the Committee in the development of the application and process. The application for service on the Commission shall require applicants to provide personal contact information and information regarding the applicant's race, ethnicity, gender, age, date of birth, education, and household income. The application shall require an applicant to disclose, for the period of three years immediately preceding the application period, the applicant's (i) voter registration status; (ii) preferred political party affiliation, if any, and any political party primary elections in which he has voted; (iii) history of any partisan public offices or political party offices held or sought; (iv) employment history, including any current or prior employment with the Congress of the United States or one of its members, the General Assembly or one of its members, any political party, or any campaign for a partisan public office, including a volunteer position; and (v) relevant leadership experience or involvements with professional, social, political, volunteer, and community organizations and causes. The application shall require an applicant to disclose information regarding the partisan activities and employment history of the applicant's parent, spouse, child, sibling, parent-in-law, child-in-law, or sibling-in-law, or any person with whom the applicant is a cohabitating member of a household, for the period of three years immediately preceding the application period. The Committee may require applicants to submit three letters of recommendation from individuals or organizations. The application process shall provide for both paper and electronic or online applications. The Committee shall cause to be advertised throughout the Commonwealth information about the Commission and how interested persons may apply. B. To be eligible for service on the Commission, a person shall have been a resident of the Commonwealth and a registered voter in the Commonwealth for three years immediately preceding the application period. He shall have voted in at least two of the previous three general elections. No person shall be eligible for service on the Commission who: 1. Holds, has held, or has sought partisan public office or political party office; 2. Is employed by or has been employed by a member of the Congress of the United States or of the General Assembly or is employed directly by or has been employed directly by the United States Congress or by the General Assembly; 3. Is employed by or has been employed by any federal, state, or local campaign; 4. Is employed by or has been employed by any political party or is a member of a political party central committee; 5. Is a lobbyist registered pursuant to Article 3 (§ 2.2-418 et seq.) of Chapter 4 of Title 2.2 or a lobbyist's principal as defined in § 2.2-419 or has been such a lobbyist or lobbyist's principal in the previous five years; or 6. Is a parent, spouse, child, sibling, parent-in-law, child-in-law, or sibling-in-law of a person described in subdivisions 1 through 5, or is a cohabitating member of a household with such a person. C. The application period shall begin no later than December 1 of the year ending in zero and shall end four weeks after the beginning date. During this period, interested persons shall submit a completed application and any required documentation to the Division of Legislative Services. All applications shall be reviewed by the Division of Legislative Services to ensure an applicant's eligibility for service pursuant to subsection B, and any applicant who is ineligible for service shall be removed from the applicant pool. The Division of Legislative Services shall make available the application for persons to use when submitting a paper application and shall provide electronic access for electronic submission of applications. D. Within two days of the close of the application period, the Division of Legislative Services shall provide to the Speaker of the House of Delegates, the leader in the House of Delegates of the political party having the next highest number of members in the House of Delegates, the President pro tempore of the Senate of Virginia, and the leader in the Senate of Virginia of the political party having the next highest number of members in the Senate of Virginia the applications and documentation submitted by those applicants who are eligible for service on the Commission pursuant to subsection B and submitted complete applications, including any required documentation. E. By January 1 of the year ending in one, those persons receiving the applications pursuant to subsection D shall each submit to the Committee a list of at least 16 citizen candidates for service on the Commission. In selecting citizen candidates, they shall give consideration to the racial, ethnic, geographic, and gender diversity of the Commonwealth. They shall notify the Division of Legislative Services of the citizen candidates submitted to the Committee for consideration, and the Division of Legislative Services shall promptly provide to the Committee the applications and documentation for each citizen candidate being considered. Only the applications and documentation for each citizen candidate shall be maintained as public records. F. Within two weeks of receipt of the lists of citizen candidates and related materials pursuant to subsection E, but no later than January 15, the Committee shall select, by a majority vote in a public meeting, two citizen members from each list submitted. In making its selections, the Committee shall ensure the citizen commissioners are, as a whole, representative of the racial, ethnic, geographic, and gender diversity of the Commonwealth. The Committee shall promptly notify those eight citizens of their selection to serve as a citizen commissioner of the Commission. No member of the Committee shall communicate with a member of the General Assembly or the United States Congress, or any person acting on behalf of a member of the General Assembly or the United States Congress, about any matter related to the selection of citizen commissioners after receipt of the lists submitted pursuant to subsection E. G. Notwithstanding the provisions of § 1-210 regarding the computation of time, if an act required by this section is to be performed on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, or any day or part of a day on which the government office where the act to be performed is closed, the act required shall be performed on the first business day immediately preceding the Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, or day on which the government office is closed. | 