County of Merced Citizens Redistricting Commission.

Assembly Member Soria’s proposal would establish a County of Merced Citizens Redistricting Commission to redraw the county’s Board of Supervisors districts in response to the decennial census, with the aim of creating one 11-member body that operates independently from the board and uses specified criteria to guide boundary adjustments. The commission would be charged with adjusting supervisorial district boundaries in Merced County and would function under a special statute tailored to the county’s unique circumstances.

The bill sets out an intricate selection process and qualifications to compose the 11-member commission. The political party preferences of members, as shown on recent voter registrations, would be as proportional as possible to the county’s registered voters, while not requiring exact parity. At least one member must reside in each of the five existing supervisorial districts. Qualifications include county residency, long-term consistency of party or no-party preference, voting in at least one of the last three statewide elections, and seven specified restrictions on recent offices, employment, or lobbying. Applicants meeting the criteria may be submitted by the county elections official, who must publicly publish up to 60 qualified applicants and neither communicate with the board about the process nor influence the nomination. From the pool, five commissioners would be drawn from five district subpools, and then five additional commissioners would be appointed by those five selected members from among remaining finalists, requiring at least three votes for appointment. The final 11 members would be selected to reflect diversity in race, ethnicity, geography, gender, and, as applicable, party preference, while avoiding fixed ratio formulas. The term of each commissioner ends with the appointment of the next successor, and commissioners are subject to conflict-of-interest and ethics provisions.

In terms of map-drawing procedures, the commission would establish single-member supervisorial districts using established mapping criteria and would be bound by the Ralph M. Brown Act. Before drawing a map, it must hold at least five public hearings over no fewer than 30 days, with at least one hearing in each district, and may adapt those hearings to virtual formats as public health requirements require. After drafting a map, the commission would post it on the county website and hold at least two additional public hearings over no fewer than 30 days. A public calendar for all hearings would be published, with scheduling designed to accommodate diverse work schedules, and agendas would be posted at least seven days in advance. The bill requires live translation for applicable languages upon request and directs the commission to undertake outreach to maximize participation. The county board would ensure access to a complete redistricting data database and related software, provide funding and staff for the commission, and make all redistricting records public. The commission would adopt a redistricting plan and file it with the county elections official by a specified deadline; the plan would be subject to referendum in the same manner as ordinances, and the commission would accompany the final map with a report explaining how the criteria guiding its decisions were satisfied.

The proposal also addresses governance, transparency, and potential costs. It prohibits outside communications about redistricting matters except in defined public settings and defines deprivation of impartiality as a guiding standard while ensuring that all records and data considered in map development remain public. A five-year ineligibility period would bar appointees from certain elective offices and a three-year period from employment or lobbying roles related to state or federal bodies. In a broader policy context, the bill’s findings assert that Merced County requires a special statutory approach to redistricting and would reimburse local agencies for any costs mandated by the state if determined so by the appropriate mandate authority; reimbursement would follow established procedures for state-mandated local programs. The measure creates a clear relationship between the commission’s activities, county governance, and public accountability, with the referendum mechanism providing a check on finalized maps.