California Citizens Redistricting Commission – Statement on Commission Business

The California Citizens Redistricting Commission is committed to creating a transparent, inclusive, and impartial process for all Californians. Since the appointment of the 14 Commissioners in August 2020, the Commission has based its decisions on the advice of its legal counsel. The Commission has adhered to all applicable laws. Furthermore, the Commission and all its committees of three or more members strictly adhere to Bagley-Keene open meeting requirements. At present, the only committees of three or more members are the Legal Affairs Committee and the Public Input Design Committee, and both these committees meet in open, noticed sessions as required by law. All the other committees of the Commission are purely advisory and consist of only two Commission members who communicate with external stakeholders to conduct research, plan meeting logistics, and gather information, which is brought back to the Commission for further consideration.

Committees that have only two members and are purely advisory are not subject to the requirements of the Bagley-Keene Open Meetings Act. Government Code Section 11121 (c) clearly states that advisory committees are only subject to Bagley-Keene if they have three or more members. The Office of the California Attorney General has made this clear in its Handy Guide to the Bagley-Keene Open Meetings Act, which states “[i]f an advisory committee . . . has only two members, it is not covered by the Bagley-Keene Act.”

For the Commission to draft fair and representative congressional, State Senate, State Assembly and Board of Equalization district maps, we need to hear from our fellow Californians. In order to increase community engagement in the redistricting process, the Commission has been conducting presentations to educate the public about how to become involved in the redistricting process. These presentations are publicly noticed and are either open to the public and/or recorded and posted on the Commission’s website to increase transparency. While no input concerning the Commission’s redistricting responsibilities or map drawing is received at these presentations, these events are a great way for the public to learn about redistricting and how Californians can engage in the process.

We invite Californians to engage with the Commission. You can share your communities’ stories and locations through our Community of Interest Tool – DrawMyCACommunity.org – where you can electronically submit a map and tell us about your community. If you prefer paper and pen, we will be distributing a paper “Community of Interest Tool” to complete and return to the redistricting commission. Finally, our website lists other ways you can connect with the California Citizens Redistricting Commission. Visit us at: WeDrawTheLinesCA.org.

California Citizens Redistricting Commission
http://www.wedrawthelinesca.org/