Cal. ELEC § 21160 — California Code / Code elec / Division 21 / Chapter 2 / Section 21160
Section 21160
Status: in_force

(a) The local jurisdiction shall make a good faith effort to encourage residents, including those in underrepresented communities and non-English-speaking communities, to participate in the redistricting process.

(b) No later than four weeks before the first hearing or workshop held pursuant to Section 21150, the legislative body or districting body shall adopt a redistricting public education and outreach plan to inform residents about the local jurisdiction’s redistricting process and how to participate. Notwithstanding subdivision (i) of Section 23003, if a local jurisdiction establishes a hybrid redistricting commission to recommend changes to the legislative body’s district boundaries, the public education and outreach plan required by this subdivision shall be adopted by the local jurisdiction, and not by the commission.

(1) A draft version of the plan shall be posted online for a 14-day review and comment period prior to being adopted. In developing the draft plan, the local jurisdiction shall make a good faith effort to consult with organizations that are active in the local jurisdiction, including those active in language minority communities, and shall identify those consulted organizations in the draft report.

(2) The plan shall include a description of all of the following:

(A) How the local jurisdiction will devote the necessary resources on education and outreach to ensure that residents, including residents speaking an applicable language, are informed about the local jurisdiction’s redistricting process.

(B) The specific methods the jurisdiction plans to use to inform residents about the redistricting process and how to participate. Examples may include media, including an identification of any media outlets that the jurisdiction plans to use, direct contact with residents, and community events or town halls.

(C) How the local jurisdiction will inform organizations that are active in the local jurisdiction, including organizations that requested to be notified of the jurisdiction’s redistricting and organizations active in language minority communities, about the local jurisdiction redistricting process and which of these organizations, if any, that the jurisdiction will partner with to inform the public.

(D) Whether and how the local jurisdiction will coordinate its outreach and messaging with other local jurisdictions in the same county that are also redistricting.

(E) The number of workshops and public hearings the local jurisdiction intends to hold and their anticipated dates.

(3) A jurisdiction may use the redistricting public education and outreach template developed pursuant to paragraph (6) of subdivision (a) of Section 21170 when satisfying the requirements of this subdivision.

(c) Throughout the redistricting process, the local jurisdiction shall make a good faith effort to provide redistricting information to all of the following:

(1) Media organizations that provide local jurisdiction news coverage, including media organizations that serve language minority communities.

(2) Good government, civil rights, civic engagement, neighborhood, and community groups or organizations that are active in the local jurisdiction, including those active in language minority communities.

(3) Any person that has requested to be notified concerning the local jurisdiction’s redistricting process. The local jurisdiction shall maintain a contact list for all such persons and provide them with regular updates throughout the redistricting process including, at minimum, notices of upcoming workshops or public hearings.

(d) The local jurisdiction shall arrange for the live translation in an applicable language of a workshop or public hearing held pursuant to this chapter if a request for translation is made at least 72 hours before the workshop or public hearing, unless less than five days’ notice is provided for the workshop or public hearing, in which case the request shall be made at least 48 hours before the workshop or public hearing.

(e) Notwithstanding Section 54954.2 of the Government Code, the local jurisdiction shall publish the date, time, and location for any workshop or public hearing on the internet at least five days before the workshop or public hearing. However, if there are fewer than 28 days until the deadline to adopt boundaries, the local jurisdiction may publish the date, time, and location for the workshop or public hearing on the internet for at least 72 hours before the workshop or public hearing.

(f) (1) A draft map shall be published on the internet for at least 7 days before being adopted as a final map by the districting body provided that, if there are fewer than 28 days until the deadline to adopt boundaries, the draft map may instead be published on the internet for at least 72 hours.

(2) Each draft map prepared by a member of an advisory or hybrid redistricting commission, a member of the districting body, or by employees or contractors of the local jurisdiction, or any draft map submitted by the public that a member of the advisory or hybrid redistricting commission or districting body asks be discussed or considered at a future public hearing, shall be accompanied by information on the total population, citizen voting age population, and racial and ethnic characteristics of the citizen voting age population of each proposed election district, to the extent the local jurisdiction has that data.

(3) (A) An advisory or hybrid redistricting commission, the districting body, and employees or contractors of the local jurisdiction shall not release draft maps of election districts earlier than three weeks after the block-level redistricting database required by subdivision (b) of Section 8253 of the Government Code is first made publicly available. This subparagraph does not prohibit the commission or districting body from holding workshops or public hearings on the placement of election district boundaries before the earliest date that draft maps of election districts may be released.

(B) If the period of time between the date that the redistricting database is made publicly available and the map adoption deadline is fewer than 90 days and more than 59 days, the waiting period described in subparagraph (A) is reduced to 7 days.

(C) If the period of time between the date that the redistricting database is made publicly available and the map adoption deadline is fewer than 60 days, the waiting period described in subparagraph (A) does not apply.

(g) (1) The local jurisdiction shall either video or audio record or prepare a written summary of each oral public comment, and each deliberation by a districting body or an advisory or hybrid redistricting commission, made at every workshop or public hearing held pursuant to this chapter. The local jurisdiction shall make the recording or written summary of a workshop or public hearing available to the public on its redistricting web page no later than 14 days after the workshop or public hearing. Notwithstanding subdivision (i) of Section 23003, if a local jurisdiction establishes a hybrid redistricting commission, the local jurisdiction, not the hybrid redistricting commission, shall be responsible for meeting the requirements of this subdivision.

(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the local jurisdiction shall do both of the following:

(A) At least 72 hours before holding the first of its final two workshops or public hearings, make all of the recordings or written summaries of the workshops and public hearings that the local jurisdiction has already held available to the public on its redistricting web page.

(B) Make all of the recordings or written summaries of the public hearings required by paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) of Section 21150 available to the public on its redistricting web page at least 72 hours before the first public hearing required by paragraph (2) of subdivision (d) of Section 21150.

(h) (1) The districting body, or an advisory or hybrid redistricting commission, shall allow the public to submit written public comment or draft neighborhood, community of interest, or district maps both in a paper format and electronically.

(2) The local jurisdiction shall make any written public comments or draft maps available to the public on its redistricting web page no later than 14 days after receiving the public comment or draft map.

(3) Notwithstanding paragraph (2), the local jurisdiction shall do both of the following:

(A) At least 72 hours before holding the first of its final two workshops or public hearings, make all of the written comments or draft maps available to the public on its redistricting web page, except for any public comment or draft map received less than four business days before that workshop or public hearing.

(B) Make all of the written comments or draft maps available to the public on its redistricting web page at least 72 hours before the first public hearing required by paragraph (2) of subdivision (d) of Section 21150, except for any public comment or draft map received less than four business days before that workshop or public hearing.

(i) Prior to holding its first workshop or public hearing, the local jurisdiction shall establish, and maintain for at least 10 years after the adoption of new election district boundaries, an accessible internet web page dedicated to redistricting. The web page may be hosted on the local jurisdiction’s existing internet website or another internet website maintained by the local jurisdiction. Prior to the first workshop or public hearing and until new district boundaries are adopted, the homepage of the local jurisdiction’s internet website shall include a prominent link to the redistricting web page. The web page shall include, or link to, all of the following information:

(1) A general explanation of the redistricting process for the local jurisdiction. This explanation shall be provided in English and applicable languages.

(2) An explanation of the procedures for a member of the public to provide in-person or remote oral public comment during a public hearing or to submit written public comment or a draft map to the districting body, or an advisory or hybrid redistricting commission, either in a paper or electronic format, for consideration at a future public hearing. The explanation shall be provided in English and applicable languages.

(3) A calendar of all workshop and public hearing dates. A calendar listing that includes the date, time, and location of the workshop or public hearing dates satisfies the notice required by subdivision (e).

(4) A notice of the applicable languages in which the local jurisdiction will provide live translation of a workshop or public hearing upon request and instructions for making such a request. This notice and these instructions shall be provided in English and applicable languages.

(5) Instructions and a method for a person to sign up to receive regular notices regarding redistricting, including notices of upcoming workshops or public hearings. These instructions shall be provided in English and applicable languages.

(6) The notice and agenda for each workshop and public hearing.

(7) The recording or written summary of each workshop and public hearing.

(8) Each draft map considered by the districting body or an advisory or hybrid redistricting commission at a public hearing.

(9) Each written public comment submitted to the local jurisdiction.

(10) The results of the local jurisdiction’s analysis under paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 21130.

(11) The existing map of election district boundaries prior to redistricting.

(12) The adopted final map of election district boundaries after redistricting, and where applicable, the report required pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 21130.

(j) This section does not apply when a legislative body transitions from being elected at-large to elected by districts or from districts.

(k) Subdivisions (b) to (g), inclusive, paragraphs (2) and (3) of subdivision (h), and paragraphs (4) to (10), inclusive, of subdivision (i) do not apply to special districts or small education districts. Subdivision (i) does not apply to special districts or small education districts that do not have a website for the jurisdiction and are not legally required to establish such a website.