(a) A reapportionment commission shall be constituted before May 1 of each reapportionment year, and the members shall be appointed and certified to hold office until a general election is held under a reapportionment plan of the commission, or of a court of competent jurisdiction, or a new commission is constituted under article IV, section 2 of the state constitution, whichever event shall occur first.
(b) The reapportionment commission shall be placed within the office of elections for administrative purposes only.
(c) In each regular session of the legislature that immediately precedes a reapportionment year, the chief election officer shall request an appropriation that is separate from the office of elections' operating budget and sufficient to enable the commission to carry out its duties, to be effective in the year in which the reapportionment commission is constituted.