Before tackling the administrative portion of its agenda, the commissioners heard from state and federal leaders involved in the U.S. Census effort. The presentation and question/answer session topics ranged from how Montana state employees had worked with the federal Bureau in preparation for the 2020 Census to results from the 2010 Census to how people could find information about the upcoming census and census-related jobs.

Then, the commissioners engaged in a conversation with a University of Florida professor about public engagement in redistricting and a public mapping software project that aims to help more individuals draw boundary lines for their state and communities.

During their work session, the commissioners reviewed and revised a set of initial operating procedures before adopting those procedures. Specifically, the commissioners agreed that use of a written proxy would be allowed should a commissioner be unable to attend a meeting at which a vote was taken.

The commissioners also discussed but did not set the next meeting date. When set by the presiding officer, that date will be available at the commission's website. If you wish to receive emailed notices of future commission meeting dates and other commission activities, please sign up using the following link: https://leg.mt.gov/lyris-list/

Commission website: https://leg.mt.gov/districting/2020-commission/
Commission staff: Rachel Weiss, rweiss@mt.gov or 406-444-5367