The state legislature requested that the state Supreme Court rule on the constitutionality of Senate Bill 21-247, which purported to authorize the state’s independent commissions to begin the redistricting process using data other than data from the 2020 Census, given the delays in receiving full 2020 Census data because of COVID-19.

On June 1, 2021, the state Supreme Court opined that the bill would be unconstitutional if enacted; though the commissions could adopt the substantive provisions in the bill on their own, the legislature has no authority to direct the independent commission or define judicial standards for reviewing the constitutionality of the commission’s actions.