Section 29-2-51

Creation; members; chairman; expanded membership in certain quadrenniums.

(a) There is hereby created a permanent legislative committee to be known as the Permanent Legislative Committee on Reapportionment, hereinafter referred to as the "committee."

(b) Except during the quadrennium in which the United States census is released and the Legislature is actually involved with the reapportionment process, the committee shall be composed of six members appointed during the organizational session of each quadrennium to serve each quadrennium as follows: Three members of the Senate to be appointed by the Lieutenant Governor and three members of the House to be appointed by the Speaker of the House.

The committee members shall select from among its numbers a Senator and a member of the House of Representatives to serve as co-chairpersons for the quadrennium to preside over meetings of the committee. Whenever the Legislature is not in regular or special session, each member of the committee shall be entitled to his usual legislative pay, travel expenses and per diem for each day he spends in attending any such meeting or conducting business of the committee within or without the state.

(c) In those quadrenniums in which the United States official decennial census is released and while the Legislature is actually involved in the reapportionment process, the committee shall be composed of 22 members as follows: One member of the House of Representatives from each congressional district, four members of the House of Representatives at-large to be appointed by the Speaker of the House and one member of the Senate from each congressional district, four members of the Senate at-large, to be appointed by the Lieutenant Governor. Upon the completion of the reapportionment process, the committee composition shall revert to the six member committee provided in subsection (b) hereof.

(Acts 1990, No. 90-388, p. 530, §2; Acts 1991, No. 91-347, p. 645, §1.)