Section 15.10.300 - Preparation for legislative redistricting(a) There is created as an independent agency of the state the Redistricting Planning Committee. The committee shall be composed of five members. One member shall be appointed by the president of the senate, one member shall be appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives, one member shall be appointed by the chief justice of the Alaska Supreme Court, and two members shall be appointed by the governor.(b) Four members of the committee constitute a quorum to transact business. Meetings of the committee are subject to AS 44.62.310.(c) The committee may make necessary preparations and arrangements for the Redistricting Board provided for in art. VI, sec. 8, Constitution of the State of Alaska. The committee may arrange for office space for the board and its staff before the convening of the board, including the leasing of appropriate facilities and office equipment.(d) The committee may compile or contract for the compilation of information necessary for the Redistricting Board to begin its work, including(1) paper maps or a computer data base received from the United States Bureau of the Census describing all units of census geography;(2) a computer data base of election and voter registration information from the division of elections to assist the Redistricting Board in determining compliance with 42 U.S.C. 1973 - 1973l (Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended) and other statutory and constitutional requirements;(3) information indicating the location of cultural, economic, geographic, demographic, and trade area factors in the state; and(4) information or analysis of state and federal court decisions concerning reapportionment.(e) The committee shall develop and issue a request for competitive sealed proposals to procure a computerized system that uses census data and maps to prepare plans for state senate and house districts in conformity with statutory and constitutional criteria and within applicable time constraints. The committee may award a contract for the acquisition of computer software and hardware and for the provision of computer services to the responsible and responsive offeror whose proposal is determined to be the most advantageous to the state, taking into consideration price and evaluation factors set out in the request for proposals. The computer system must be developed so that it is available for use by the Redistricting Board immediately upon the board's convening.(f) The committee may seek assistance as necessary from the legislative council, the Department of Administration, the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, the Department of Law, and the division of elections.(g) In the event that the committee is determined to be unlawful, the legislative council shall assume the committee's responsibilities and perform its duties as described in this section.(h) In this section, "committee" means the Redistricting Planning Committee.