§8-25-4. Delineation of regions and recommendations of Governor thereon; publication of statement fixing regional boundaries; public hearings; certification of regional boundaries; change in boundaries.

(a) Within sixty days after the effective date of this article, the Governor shall define and recommend for the purposes of this article regional boundaries embracing each municipality and county within the state.

(b) In delineating boundaries of the regions, the Governor shall consider such factors as the units of local government shall express by proper resolution, including community interest and homogeneity; geographic features and natural boundaries; patterns of communication and transportation; patterns of urban development; uniformity of social and economic problems; special problems, boundaries of existing metropolitan and other substate planning and administrative areas; and utility of the proposed boundaries for efficient provision of governmental services. Municipalities shall not be divided when forming a region, except insofar as it is necessary to keep multicounty municipalities within a region.

(c) The Governor shall, within six months after the effective date of this article, certify to the Secretary of State the boundaries of each region.

(d) Not less than sixty days prior to the certification of the boundaries of any region, the Governor shall cause a statement setting forth the counties to be included within the boundary of the proposed region to be published as a Class I-0 legal advertisement in compliance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code, and the publication area for such publication shall be the proposed region. The Governor shall forward a copy of the statement to the principal executive officer or officers of each municipality and county located within the proposed region.

(e) Prior to the time that the Governor shall certify the boundaries of a region, he or his designee shall conduct at least one public hearing at a convenient place within the proposed region. The Governor shall advertise the meeting by means of a Class I-0 legal advertisement in compliance with the provisions of said article three, and the publication area for such advertisement shall be the proposed region. All public and private organizations located in, and all individuals residing in, municipalities or counties within or adjacent to the proposed region shall be permitted to appear and testify on matters pertaining to its boundaries.

(f) At any time following the certification of the boundaries of any region, the Governor may change such boundaries, pursuant to the criteria and procedures set forth in subsections (b), (c), (d) and (e) of this section.