{"formats":[{"name":"JSON","format":"json","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-json\/30-399.json"},{"name":"Plain Text","format":"text","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-text\/30-399.txt"},{"name":"XML","format":"xml","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-xml\/30-399.xml"},{"name":"HTML","format":"html","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-html\/30-399.html"}],"law_id":70782,"edition_id":1,"section_id":70782,"structure_id":15599,"section_number":"30-399","catch_line":"Establishment of districts by the Supreme Court of Virginia","history":"2020, Sp. Sess. I, c. 56; 2022, Sp. Sess. I, c. 1.","full_text":"A\n\nIn the event the Commission fails to submit a plan for districts by the deadline set forth in subsection A or B of § 30-397, or the General Assembly fails to adopt a plan for districts by the deadline set forth in subsection C or D of § 30-398, the Supreme Court of Virginia (the Court) shall be responsible for establishing the districts.B\n\nThe Court shall, not later than March 1 of a year ending in one, enact rules and procedures as may be necessary for implementing the requirements of Article II, Section 6-A of the Constitution of Virginia, empowering the Court to establish congressional or state legislative districts as provided for in that section. In enacting such rules and procedures, the Court shall follow the provisions of this section.C\n\nPublic participation in the Court’s redistricting deliberations shall be permitted. Such public participation may be through briefings, written submissions, hearings in open court, or any other means as may be prescribed by the Court.D\n\nThe Division of Legislative Services shall make available staff support and technical assistance to the Court to perform those duties as may be requested or assigned to it by the Court.E\n\nAny plan for congressional or state legislative districts established by the Court shall adhere to the standards and criteria for districts set forth in Article II, Section 6 of the Constitution of Virginia and § 24.2-304.04.F\n\nThe Court shall appoint two special masters to assist the Court in the establishment of districts. The two special masters shall work together to develop any plan to be submitted to the Court for its consideration.\n\t\t\tWithin one week of the Commission’s failure to submit plans or the General Assembly’s failure to adopt plans, the leaders in the House of Delegates having the highest and next highest number of members in the House of Delegates and the leaders in the Senate of Virginia having the highest and next highest number of members in the Senate of Virginia shall each submit to the Court a list of three or more nominees, along with a brief biography and resume for each nominee, including the nominee’s particular expertise or experience relevant to redistricting. The Court shall then select, by a majority vote, one special master from the lists submitted by the legislative leaders of the political party having the highest number of members in their respective chambers and one special master from the lists submitted by the legislative leaders of the political party having the next highest number of members in their respective chambers. The persons appointed to serve as special masters shall have the requisite qualifications and experience to serve as a special master and shall have no conflicts of interest. In making its appointments, the Court shall consider any relevant redistricting experience in the Commonwealth and any practical or academic experience in the field of redistricting. The Court shall be reimbursed by the Commonwealth for all costs, including fees and expenses, related to the appointment or work of the special master from funds appropriated for this purpose.G\n\nAny justice who is a parent, spouse, child, sibling, parent-in-law, child-in-law, or sibling-in-law of, or a cohabitating member of a household with, a member of the Congress of the United States or of the General Assembly shall recuse himself from any decision made pursuant to this section, and no senior justice designated pursuant to § 17.1-302 shall be assigned to the case or matter to serve in his place.","order_by":null,"text":{"0":{"id":255287,"text":"In the event the Commission fails to submit a plan for districts by the deadline set forth in subsection A or B of § 30-397, or the General Assembly fails to adopt a plan for districts by the deadline set forth in subsection C or D of § 30-398, the Supreme Court of Virginia (the Court) shall be responsible for establishing the districts.","type":"section","prefixes":["A"],"prefix":"A","entire_prefix":"A","prefix_anchor":"A","level":1,"next_prefix":"B"},"1":{"id":255288,"text":"The Court shall, not later than March 1 of a year ending in one, enact rules and procedures as may be necessary for implementing the requirements of Article II, Section 6-A of the Constitution of Virginia, empowering the Court to establish congressional or state legislative districts as provided for in that section. In enacting such rules and procedures, the Court shall follow the provisions of this section.","type":"section","prefixes":["B"],"prefix":"B","entire_prefix":"B","prefix_anchor":"B","level":1,"prior_prefix":"A","next_prefix":"C"},"2":{"id":255289,"text":"Public participation in the Court’s redistricting deliberations shall be permitted. Such public participation may be through briefings, written submissions, hearings in open court, or any other means as may be prescribed by the Court.","type":"section","prefixes":["C"],"prefix":"C","entire_prefix":"C","prefix_anchor":"C","level":1,"prior_prefix":"B","next_prefix":"D"},"3":{"id":255290,"text":"The Division of Legislative Services shall make available staff support and technical assistance to the Court to perform those duties as may be requested or assigned to it by the Court.","type":"section","prefixes":["D"],"prefix":"D","entire_prefix":"D","prefix_anchor":"D","level":1,"prior_prefix":"C","next_prefix":"E"},"4":{"id":255291,"text":"Any plan for congressional or state legislative districts established by the Court shall adhere to the standards and criteria for districts set forth in Article II, Section 6 of the Constitution of Virginia and § 24.2-304.04.","type":"section","prefixes":["E"],"prefix":"E","entire_prefix":"E","prefix_anchor":"E","level":1,"prior_prefix":"D","next_prefix":"F"},"5":{"id":255292,"text":"The Court shall appoint two special masters to assist the Court in the establishment of districts. The two special masters shall work together to develop any plan to be submitted to the Court for its consideration.\n\t\t\tWithin one week of the Commission’s failure to submit plans or the General Assembly’s failure to adopt plans, the leaders in the House of Delegates having the highest and next highest number of members in the House of Delegates and the leaders in the Senate of Virginia having the highest and next highest number of members in the Senate of Virginia shall each submit to the Court a list of three or more nominees, along with a brief biography and resume for each nominee, including the nominee’s particular expertise or experience relevant to redistricting. The Court shall then select, by a majority vote, one special master from the lists submitted by the legislative leaders of the political party having the highest number of members in their respective chambers and one special master from the lists submitted by the legislative leaders of the political party having the next highest number of members in their respective chambers. The persons appointed to serve as special masters shall have the requisite qualifications and experience to serve as a special master and shall have no conflicts of interest. In making its appointments, the Court shall consider any relevant redistricting experience in the Commonwealth and any practical or academic experience in the field of redistricting. The Court shall be reimbursed by the Commonwealth for all costs, including fees and expenses, related to the appointment or work of the special master from funds appropriated for this purpose.","type":"section","prefixes":["F"],"prefix":"F","entire_prefix":"F","prefix_anchor":"F","level":1,"prior_prefix":"E","next_prefix":"G"},"6":{"id":255293,"text":"Any justice who is a parent, spouse, child, sibling, parent-in-law, child-in-law, or sibling-in-law of, or a cohabitating member of a household with, a member of the Congress of the United States or of the General Assembly shall recuse himself from any decision made pursuant to this section, and no senior justice designated pursuant to § 17.1-302 shall be assigned to the case or matter to serve in his place.","type":"section","prefixes":["G"],"prefix":"G","entire_prefix":"G","prefix_anchor":"G","level":1,"prior_prefix":"F"}},"ancestry":[{"id":15599,"edition_id":1,"name":"Virginia Redistricting Commission","identifier":"62","label":"chapter","depth":2,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12738,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:56:42","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:56:42","permalink":{"id":200723,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":15599,"identifier":"62","token":"30\/62","url":"\/30\/62\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12738,"edition_id":1,"name":"General Assembly","identifier":"30","label":"title","depth":1,"order_by":1,"parent_id":null,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:43:51","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:43:51","permalink":{"id":199019,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12738,"identifier":"30","token":"30","url":"\/30\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}}],"structure_contents":[{"id":59535,"structure_id":15599,"section_number":"30-391","catch_line":"Virginia Redistricting Commission","url":"\/30-391\/","token":"30\/62\/30-391","metadata":false},{"id":76731,"structure_id":15599,"section_number":"30-392","catch_line":"Membership; terms; vacancies; chairman; quorum; compensation and expenses","url":"\/30-392\/","token":"30\/62\/30-392","metadata":false},{"id":68540,"structure_id":15599,"section_number":"30-393","catch_line":"Redistricting Commission Selection Committee; chairman; quorum; compensation and expenses","url":"\/30-393\/","token":"30\/62\/30-393","metadata":false},{"id":61980,"structure_id":15599,"section_number":"30-394","catch_line":"Citizen commissioners; application process; qualifications; selection","url":"\/30-394\/","token":"30\/62\/30-394","metadata":false},{"id":84571,"structure_id":15599,"section_number":"30-395","catch_line":"Staff to Virginia Redistricting Commission; census liaison","url":"\/30-395\/","token":"30\/62\/30-395","metadata":false},{"id":61740,"structure_id":15599,"section_number":"30-396","catch_line":"Public participation in redistricting process; publicly available data","url":"\/30-396\/","token":"30\/62\/30-396","metadata":false},{"id":86732,"structure_id":15599,"section_number":"30-397","catch_line":"Proposal and submission of plans for districts","url":"\/30-397\/","token":"30\/62\/30-397","metadata":false},{"id":63845,"structure_id":15599,"section_number":"30-398","catch_line":"Consideration of plans by the General Assembly; timeline","url":"\/30-398\/","token":"30\/62\/30-398","metadata":false},{"id":70782,"structure_id":15599,"section_number":"30-399","catch_line":"Establishment of districts by the Supreme Court of Virginia","url":"\/30-399\/","token":"30\/62\/30-399","metadata":false},{"id":68965,"structure_id":15599,"section_number":"30-400","catch_line":"Remedial redistricting plans","url":"\/30-400\/","token":"30\/62\/30-400","metadata":false}],"previous_section":{"id":63845,"structure_id":15599,"section_number":"30-398","catch_line":"Consideration of plans by the General Assembly; timeline","url":"\/30-398\/","token":"30\/62\/30-398","metadata":false},"next_section":{"id":68965,"structure_id":15599,"section_number":"30-400","catch_line":"Remedial redistricting plans","url":"\/30-400\/","token":"30\/62\/30-400","metadata":false},"metadata":false,"official_url":"https:\/\/law.lis.virginia.gov\/vacode\/30-399\/","history_text":false,"references":[{"id":63845,"section_number":"30-398","catch_line":"Consideration of plans by the General Assembly; timeline","order_by":null,"url":"\/30-398\/"},{"id":58043,"section_number":"8.01-3","catch_line":"Supreme Court may prescribe rules; effective date and availability; indexed, and annotated; effect of subsequent enactments of General Assembly","order_by":null,"url":"\/8.01-3\/"}],"refers_to":[{"id":71338,"section_number":"17.1-302","catch_line":"Senior justice","order_by":null,"url":"\/17.1-302\/"},{"id":86732,"section_number":"30-397","catch_line":"Proposal and submission of plans for districts","order_by":null,"url":"\/30-397\/"},{"id":63845,"section_number":"30-398","catch_line":"Consideration of plans by the General Assembly; timeline","order_by":null,"url":"\/30-398\/"}],"permalink":{"id":200757,"object_type":"law","relational_id":70782,"identifier":"30-399","token":"30\/62\/30-399","url":"\/30-399\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1},"url":"\/30-399\/","token":"30\/62\/30-399","dublin_core":{"Title":"Establishment of districts by the Supreme Court of Virginia","Type":"Text","Format":"text\/html","Identifier":"\u00a7 30-399","Relation":"Code of Virginia"},"html":"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

A.<\/span> In the event the Commission fails to submit a plan for districts by the deadline set forth in subsection A or B of § 30-397<\/a>, or the General Assembly fails to adopt a plan for districts by the deadline set forth in subsection C or D of § 30-398<\/a>, the Supreme Court<\/span> of Virginia (the Court<\/span>) shall be responsible for establishing the districts. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

B.<\/span> The Court<\/span> shall, not later than March 1 of a year ending in one, enact rules and procedures as may be necessary for implementing the requirements of Article II, Section 6-A of the Constitution of Virginia, empowering the Court<\/span> to establish congressional or state legislative districts as provided for in that section. In enacting such rules and procedures, the Court<\/span> shall follow the provisions of this section. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

C.<\/span> Public participation in the Court<\/span>’s redistricting deliberations<\/span> shall be permitted. Such public participation may be through briefings, written submissions, hearings<\/span> in open court<\/span>, or any other means as may be prescribed by the Court<\/span>. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

D.<\/span> The Division of Legislative Services shall make available staff support and technical assistance to the Court<\/span> to perform those duties as may be requested or assigned to it by the Court<\/span>. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

E.<\/span> Any plan for congressional or state legislative districts established by the Court<\/span> shall adhere to the standards and criteria for districts set forth in Article II, Section 6 of the Constitution of Virginia and § 24.2-304.04<\/a>. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

F.<\/span> The Court<\/span> shall appoint two special masters to assist the Court<\/span> in the establishment of districts. The two special masters shall work together to develop any plan to be submitted to the Court<\/span> for its consideration.\n\t\t\tWithin one week of the Commission’s failure to submit plans or the General Assembly’s failure to adopt plans, the leaders in the House of Delegates having the highest and next highest number of members in the House of Delegates and the leaders in the Senate of Virginia having the highest and next highest number of members in the Senate of Virginia shall each submit to the Court<\/span> a list of three or more nominees, along with a brief<\/span> biography and resume for each nominee, including the nominee’s particular expertise or experience relevant to redistricting. The Court<\/span> shall then select, by a majority vote, one special master from the lists submitted by the legislative leaders of the political party<\/span> having the highest number of members in their respective chambers<\/span> and one special master from the lists submitted by the legislative leaders of the political party<\/span> having the next highest number of members in their respective chambers<\/span>. The persons appointed to serve as special masters shall have the requisite qualifications and experience to serve as a special master and shall have no conflicts of interest. In making its appointments, the Court<\/span> shall consider any relevant redistricting experience in the Commonwealth and any practical or academic experience in the field of redistricting. The Court<\/span> shall be reimbursed by the Commonwealth for all costs, including fees and expenses, related to the appointment or work of the special master from funds appropriated for this purpose. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

G.<\/span> Any justice who is a parent, spouse, child, sibling, parent-in-law<\/span>, child-in-law<\/span>, or sibling-in-law<\/span> of, or a cohabitating member of a household with, a member of the Congress of the United States or of the General Assembly shall recuse<\/span> himself from any decision made pursuant to this section, and no senior justice designated pursuant to § 17.1-302<\/a> shall be assigned to the case or matter to serve in his place. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>","plain_text":" CODE OF VIRGINIA\n\nESTABLISHMENT OF DISTRICTS BY THE SUPREME COURT OF VIRGINIA (\u00a7 30-399)\n\nA. In the event the Commission fails to submit a plan for districts by the\ndeadline set forth in subsection A or B of § 30-397, or the General\nAssembly fails to adopt a plan for districts by the deadline set forth in\nsubsection C or D of § 30-398, the Supreme Court of Virginia (the Court)\nshall be responsible for establishing the districts.\n\nB. The Court shall, not later than March 1 of a year ending in one, enact rules\nand procedures as may be necessary for implementing the requirements of Article\nII, Section 6-A of the Constitution of Virginia, empowering the Court to\nestablish congressional or state legislative districts as provided for in that\nsection. In enacting such rules and procedures, the Court shall follow the\nprovisions of this section.\n\nC. Public participation in the Court’s redistricting deliberations shall\nbe permitted. Such public participation may be through briefings, written\nsubmissions, hearings in open court, or any other means as may be prescribed by\nthe Court.\n\nD. The Division of Legislative Services shall make available staff support and\ntechnical assistance to the Court to perform those duties as may be requested or\nassigned to it by the Court.\n\nE. Any plan for congressional or state legislative districts established by the\nCourt shall adhere to the standards and criteria for districts set forth in\nArticle II, Section 6 of the Constitution of Virginia and § 24.2-304.04.\n\nF. The Court shall appoint two special masters to assist the Court in the\nestablishment of districts. The two special masters shall work together to\ndevelop any plan to be submitted to the Court for its consideration.\n\t\t\tWithin one week of the Commission’s failure to submit plans or the\nGeneral Assembly’s failure to adopt plans, the leaders in the House of\nDelegates having the highest and next highest number of members in the House of\nDelegates and the leaders in the Senate of Virginia having the highest and next\nhighest number of members in the Senate of Virginia shall each submit to the\nCourt a list of three or more nominees, along with a brief biography and resume\nfor each nominee, including the nominee’s particular expertise or\nexperience relevant to redistricting. The Court shall then select, by a majority\nvote, one special master from the lists submitted by the legislative leaders of\nthe political party having the highest number of members in their respective\nchambers and one special master from the lists submitted by the legislative\nleaders of the political party having the next highest number of members in\ntheir respective chambers. The persons appointed to serve as special masters\nshall have the requisite qualifications and experience to serve as a special\nmaster and shall have no conflicts of interest. In making its appointments, the\nCourt shall consider any relevant redistricting experience in the Commonwealth\nand any practical or academic experience in the field of redistricting. The\nCourt shall be reimbursed by the Commonwealth for all costs, including fees and\nexpenses, related to the appointment or work of the special master from funds\nappropriated for this purpose.\n\nG. Any justice who is a parent, spouse, child, sibling, parent-in-law,\nchild-in-law, or sibling-in-law of, or a cohabitating member of a household\nwith, a member of the Congress of the United States or of the General Assembly\nshall recuse himself from any decision made pursuant to this section, and no\nsenior justice designated pursuant to § 17.1-302 shall be assigned to the\ncase or matter to serve in his place.\n\nHISTORY: 2020, Sp. Sess. I, c. 56; 2022, Sp. Sess. I, c. 1.","edition":{"id":1,"name":"2025","slug":"2025","date_created":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","date_modified":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","current":1,"order_by":1,"last_import":null}}