Mich. Comp. Laws » Michigan Compiled Laws / Chapter 4 / Act 463 of 1996
Michigan Compiled Laws

Mich. Comp. Laws § 4.261 (2026)

Redistricting plan for senate and house of representatives; enactment by legislature; guidelines.

✓ current as of July 2026
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REDISTRICTING PLANS


Act 463 of 1996


4.261 Redistricting plan for senate and house of representatives; enactment by legislature; guidelines.

Sec. 1.

    By November 1, 2001, and every 10 years thereafter, the legislature shall enact a redistricting plan for the senate and house of representatives. Except as otherwise required by federal law for legislative districts in this state, the redistricting plan shall be enacted using only the following guidelines:

    (a) The senate districts shall consist of 38 single-member districts.

    (b) The house of representatives districts shall consist of 110 single-member districts.

    (c) Senate and house of representatives districts shall be areas of convenient territory contiguous by land. Areas that meet only at the points of adjoining corners are not contiguous.

    (d) Senate and house of representatives districts shall have a population not exceeding 105% and not less than 95% of the ideal district size for the senate or the house of representatives unless and until the United States supreme court establishes a different range of allowable population divergence for state legislative districts.

    (e) Senate and house of representatives district lines shall preserve county lines with the least cost to the principle of equality of population provided for in subdivision (d).

    (f) If it is necessary to break county lines to stay within the range of allowable population divergence provided for in subdivision (d), the fewest whole cities or whole townships necessary shall be shifted. Between 2 cities or townships, both of which will bring the districts into compliance with subdivisions (d) and (h), the city or township with the lesser population shall be shifted.

    (g) Within those counties to which there is apportioned more than 1 senate district or house of representatives district, district lines shall be drawn on city and township lines with the least cost to the principle of equality of population between election districts consistent with the maximum preservation of city and township lines and without exceeding the range of allowable divergence provided for in subdivision (d).

    (h) If it is necessary to break city or township lines to stay within the range of allowable divergence provided for in subdivision (d), the number of people necessary to achieve population equality shall be shifted between the 2 districts affected by the shift, except that in lieu of absolute equality the lines may be drawn along the closest street or comparable boundary.

    (i) Within a city or township to which there is apportioned more than 1 senate district or house of representatives district, district lines shall be drawn to achieve the maximum compactness possible within a population range of 98% to 102% of absolute equality between districts within that city or township.

    (j) Compactness shall be determined by circumscribing each district within a circle of minimum radius and measuring the area, not part of the Great Lakes and not part of another state, inside the circle but not inside the district.

    (k) If a discontiguous township island exists within an incorporated city or discontiguous portions of townships are split by an incorporated city, the splitting of the township shall not be considered a split if any of the following circumstances exist:

    (i) The city must be split to stay within the range of allowable divergence provided for in subdivision (d) and it is practicable to keep the township together within 1 district.

    (ii) A township island is contained within a whole city and a split of the city would be required to keep the township intact.

    (iii) The discontiguous portion of a township cannot be included in the same district with another portion of the same township without creating a noncontiguous district.

    (l) Senate and house districts shall not violate the precedents established in Miller v Johnson, 115 S Ct 2475; 132 L Ed 2d 762 (1995); Bush v Vera, 116 S Ct 1941; 135 L Ed 2d 248 (1996); and, Shaw v Hunt, 116 S Ct 1894; 135 L Ed 2d 207 (1996).

History: 1996, Act 463, Eff. Mar. 31, 1997

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 7 cases, 2012–2019 · leading case: Citizens Protecting Michigan's Constitution v. Sec'y of State, 921 N.W.2d 247 (Mich. 2018).
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Citizens Protecting Michigan's Constitution v. Sec'y of State, 921 N.W.2d 247 (Mich. 2018). · cites it 12× “156 The Secretary of State has more detailed obligations under the proposal, involving the 151 MCL 4.261; MCL 3.63. 152 MCL 4.261(c); MCL 3.”
League of Women Voters of Mich. v. Benson, 373 F. Supp. 3d 867 (E.D. Mich. 2019). · cites it 8× “63 (Senate and House districts); Mich. Comp. Laws § 4.261 (congressional districts).”
In re Senate Jt. Resolution of Legislative Apportionment 1176, 83 So. 3d 597 (Fla. 2012). “VI, § 4; Wis. Const, art. IV, § 4. . States that codify a compactness requirement by statute include Idaho, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Mexico, and North Dakota.”
Citizens Protecting Michigan's Constitution v. Sec'y of State, 922 N.W.2d 404 (Mich. Ct. App. 2018). “Thus, after the 1982 and 1992 federal decennial censuses, redistricting has occurred without a commission because the Legislature has decided the districts. With that history in mind, we turn to the VNP Proposal to amend the Constitution to create an independent citizens…”
League of Women Voters of Mich. v. Johnson, 352 F. Supp. 3d 777 (E.D. Mich. 2018). “It appears from Appendix D2 that in a relatively small number of simulations, Congressional Districts 4, 7, and 8 would be more Republican-leaning than they are currently. ( See ECF No. 129-51 at PageID # 4781.”
NAACP v. Snyder, 879 F. Supp. 2d 662 (E.D. Mich. 2012). · cites it 6× “” 2 Mich. Comp. Laws § 4.261 . The Apol standards require Michigan’s districts to respect, inter alia, principles of convenience; contiguity; county, city, and township boundaries; and compactness.”
Citizens Protecting Michigan's Constitution v. Sec'y of State (Mich. Ct. App. 2018). “-8- In 1996, the Legislature enacted guidelines for the redistricting of senate and house of representative districts, see MCL 4.261 et seq. In 1999, the Legislature passed the congressional redistricting act, MCL 3.”
— Mich. Comp. Laws § 4.261(c) — 1 case
Citizens Protecting Michigan's Constitution v. Sec'y of State, 921 N.W.2d 247 (Mich. 2018). “156 The Secretary of State has more detailed obligations under the proposal, involving the 151 MCL 4.261; MCL 3.63. 152 MCL 4.261(c); MCL 3.”
— Mich. Comp. Laws § 4.261(e) — 1 case
Citizens Protecting Michigan's Constitution v. Sec'y of State, 921 N.W.2d 247 (Mich. 2018). “156 The Secretary of State has more detailed obligations under the proposal, involving the 151 MCL 4.261; MCL 3.63. 152 MCL 4.261(c); MCL 3.”
— Mich. Comp. Laws § 4.261(i) — 1 case
Citizens Protecting Michigan's Constitution v. Sec'y of State, 921 N.W.2d 247 (Mich. 2018). “156 The Secretary of State has more detailed obligations under the proposal, involving the 151 MCL 4.261; MCL 3.63. 152 MCL 4.261(c); MCL 3.”
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