Nineteen states have now ended various aspects of prison gerrymandering, and each charts a slightly different path to achieving that goal. We put together this quick-reference chart to help advocates sift through the substantive (but not always substantial) differences between the states' laws, but for convenient comparison, we also include states that achieved reform through other channels:
—Aleks Kajstura
last updated July 3, 2024
Does the legislation address: | ||||||||||
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State | Legislative history | Statutory reference | Congressional districts? | State legislative districts? | County government districts? | City/Town council districts? | School Board districts? | Is the legislative solution mandatory? | What types of facilities are covered by the legislation? | How does the state count people with unknown or out-of-state addresses? |
Sample | Model Legislation | Model Statute | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | State, Federal | Counts at-large |
California | AB 420 (2011) AB 1986 (2012) AB 2172 (2018) AB 849 (2019) | Cal. Elec. Code § 21003 (general provisions), § 21500 (counties), § 21601 (general law cities), and § 21621 (chartered cities) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Congressional - Yes (AB 420) State - Citizens Redistricting Commission votes to adopt legislative recommendation (AB 420) Counties - Yes (AB 849) Cities/Towns - Yes (AB 849) | State | Counts at-large |
Colorado | HB 20-1010 (2020) SB 02-007 (2002) HB 04-1230 (2004) | Colo. Rev. Stat. § 2-2-902; § 2-2-901; § 30-10-306 (1), (2), (4); § 30-10-306.7; § 22-31-105(2) and (7)(a); § 22-31-109; § 22-31-110(1)(b); and § 22-31-105(6.5) | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Congressional - Contested, the Congressional Commission voted not to use the adjusted data (HB 20-1010) State - Yes, and the State Commission voted to use the adjusted data (HB 20-1010) Counties - Yes (SB 02-007) School Boards - Yes (HB 04-1230) | State, Federal | Counts at the facility location |
Connecticut | SB 753 (2021) | Public Act No. 21-13 | No | Yes | County government doesn't exist in Conn. | Yes | No | State - Yes Cities/Towns - Yes | State, Federal1 | Counts at-large. All people serving LWOP are counted at the location of the facility regardless of their home address. |
Delaware | HB 384 (2010), SB 171 (2021) | Del. Code Ann. tit. 29 § 804A | N/A | Yes | No | No | No | State - Yes (HB 384) | State, Federal2 | Counts at facility location (SB 171) |
Illinois | HB 3653 (2021) HB 1496 (2023) | Public Act No. 101-0652 (TBD) 730 ILCS 205/2-10 730 ILCS 5/5-4-1 730 ILCS 5/3-5-1 | No | Yes | No | No | No | State - Yes (HB 3653) | State, Federal | Counts at-large |
Maine | LD 1704/HP 1093 (2023) | 21-A MRSA §1208 | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | State | Does not count toward population total of any district. |
Maryland | HB46/SB400 (2010) | Md. Code Ann. Elec. Law § 8-701, and Md. Code Ann. State Gov't § 2-2A-01 and Md. Code Ann. Local Gov't § 1-1307 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Congressional - Yes State - Yes Counties - Yes Cities/Towns - Yes | State, Federal | Counts at the facility location |
Massachusetts | [redistricting committee action] | N/A | Yes3 | Yes4 | No | No | No | No | ||
Michigan | These sections were last amended by acts in 1966. | Mich. Comp. Laws § 46.404(g) Mich. Comp. Laws § 117.27a(5) | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | Counties - Yes (except fails to address federal facilities) (§ 46.404(g)) Cities/Towns - Yes (except fails to address federal) (§ 117.27a(5)) | State | N/A |
Minnesota | HB 4772 - Art.5 §2 (2024) | TBD | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | State, Federal | Counts at-large |
Montana | SB 77 (2023) | TBD | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | State, Federal, Regional, Private | Counts at-large |
Nevada | AB 450 (2019) | Nev. Rev. Stat. § 218B.080 and § 218B.105; §§ 218B at 218B.010 and 218B.050; § 209 at 209.131; § 304 at 304.065 and 304.060; and § 396 at 396.0414 and 396.031. | Yes | Yes | No | No | Board of Regents (higher ed.) | Congressional - Yes State - Yes School Boards - Yes, but as to Board of Regents only | State | Not specified by statute |
New Jersey | S758 (2020) A698/S3964 (2021) | N.J. Stat. Ann. § 18A:13-8 (see also Board v. New Jersey, 372 N.J. Super. 341, 858 A.2d 576 (2004)), and § 52:4-1.1, § 52:4-1.2, § 52:4-1.3, § 52:4-1.4, and § 52:4-1.5 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Congressional - Yes (A698/S3964) State - Yes (S758) County - Yes (A698/S3964) City/Town - Yes (A698/S3964) School Boards - Yes (A698/S3964) | State, Federal | Counts at-large |
New York | Part XX of the revenue budget (A9710D/S6610C) and technical amendment, A11597/S8415 (enacted in 2010) | N.Y. Correct. Law Section 71(8), adding N.Y. Legis. Law Section 83-m(13), and N.Y. Mun. Home Rule Law Section 10 (13) | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | State - Yes Counties - Yes Cities/Towns - Yes | State, Federal | Counts at-large (all people in federal facilities are counted at-large) |
Pennsylvania | [redistricting commission action] | N/A | No | Yes | No | No | No | |||
Rhode Island | [redistricting commission action] | N/A | No | Yes | No | No | No | |||
Tennessee | SB1811/HB2053 (2016) | Tenn. Code Ann. § 5-1-111 | No | No | Yes | No | No | Counties - No (explicitly permitted, but not required) | All correctional institutions | N/A |
Virginia | HB 1339 (2013) HB 1255/SB 717 (2020) | Va. Code Ann. § 24.2-304.04, § 24.2-314, § 53.1-52, § 24.2-304.1, § 30-265, and § 53.1-10 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Congressional - Yes (HB 1255/SB 717) State - Yes (HB 1255/SB 717) Counties - Yes (HB 1255/SB 717) Cities/Towns - Yes (HB 1255/SB 717) | State, Federal, and Local | Counts at the facility location |
Washington | SB 5287 (2019) | Wash. Rev. Code § 44.05.140 and § 4.05.090. | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | State adult, Juvenile | Counts at the facility location |
Connecticut is one of six states with integrated jail and prison systems and while its redistricting statute applies to people in state prisons, in Connecticut this population includes people who in other states would be classified as being in a local jail. ↩
Delaware is one of six states with integrated jail and prison systems and while its redistricting statute applies to people in state prisons, in Delaware this population includes people who in other states would be classified as being in a local jail. ↩
The Massachusetts redistricting commission does not count incarcerated people at home, but it uses the Census Bureau's PL 94-171 redistricting data, table P5, (which reports counts of incarcerated people at the facility) to mitigate the impact of the Bureau's counts. Essentially, the redistricting commission redistricts based on unadjusted Census data, but keeps the reported facility populations in mind to ensure that districts meet population requirements without using the facility populations as padding. ↩
The Massachusetts redistricting commission does not count incarcerated people at home, but it uses the Census Bureau's PL 94-171 redistricting data, table P5, (which reports counts of incarcerated people at the facility) to mitigate the impact of the Bureau's counts. Essentially, the redistricting commission redistricts based on unadjusted Census data, but keeps the reported facility populations in mind to ensure that districts meet population requirements without using the facility populations as padding. ↩
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