Section 11-85-51 Designation of State Planning and Development Districts by Governor Generally; Designation of Single County State Planning and Development Districts.

(a) The Governor may, from time to time as he deems appropriate and necessary, define and designate a state planning and development district by executive order. (b) In defining boundaries of state planning and development districts, the Governor shall consult with the governmental units concerned and shall consider such factors as community of interest and homogeneity; geographic features and natural boundaries; patterns of communication and transportation; patterns of urban development; total population and population density; similarity of social and economic problems; boundaries of existing regional planning commissions and councils of government; existing state functional planning areas and the utility of proposed boundaries for provision of governmental services. Districts should be as large as practicable consistent with the above factors and except as provided in subsection (d) of this section, shall include at least three contiguous counties and contain a population of at least 100,000. No county shall be divided in forming a district. (c) The Governor may change boundaries of districts as required to reflect changing conditions or otherwise to fulfill the purposes of this article observing the criteria and procedures stated in subsection (b) of this section. (d) Any provision of this section to the contrary notwithstanding, the Governor may define and designate single county state planning and development districts within any county having a population between 93,000 and 100,000 persons according to the most recent federal decennial census.