Bill Text: TX HCR38 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Urging Congress to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-03-11 - Referred to Elections [HCR38 Detail]
Download: Texas-2021-HCR38-Introduced.html
| 87R8457 TBO-D | ||
| By: Reynolds | H.C.R. No. 38 | |
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| WHEREAS, The history of the United States has been tarnished | ||
| by discriminatory policies that suppress minority voting rights and | ||
| threaten the foundation of our democracy; and | ||
| WHEREAS, On March 7, 1965, civil rights activists the | ||
| Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and John Lewis led a peaceful | ||
| march against voting inequality and were met with extreme violence; | ||
| this event prompted a public outcry and inspired Congress to pass | ||
| the Voting Rights Act later that year; the bipartisan legislation | ||
| allowed direct federal oversight and protections of election | ||
| processes to prevent states from suppressing minority voters; and | ||
| WHEREAS, In 2013, a landmark Supreme Court decision weakened | ||
| the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by ending the preclearance process, | ||
| which required jurisdictions with a history of voting | ||
| discrimination to submit changes to voting policies for federal | ||
| approval before implementing them; this limited the federal | ||
| government's ability to deter voter suppression, and North Carolina | ||
| and Texas immediately passed voting changes that were previously | ||
| rejected for preclearance; these laws remained during several | ||
| elections before federal courts later determined that they were | ||
| discriminatory; and | ||
| WHEREAS, U.S. Representatives Terri Sewell and John Lewis | ||
| coauthored the Voting Rights Advancement Act, which was renamed in | ||
| honor of Congressman Lewis after his passing; this bill would | ||
| restore the protections of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 while | ||
| updating the coverage criteria to reflect current conditions and | ||
| apply to all states; furthermore, the bill focuses the preclearance | ||
| process on a set of discriminatory measures, requires reasonable | ||
| public notice for voting changes, and allows the Attorney General | ||
| to request the presence of federal observers in places at risk of | ||
| racial discrimination in voting; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Congressman John Lewis dedicated his life to | ||
| protecting Americans' right to vote, and Congress should pass his | ||
| legislation to prevent voter suppression and uphold our nation's | ||
| core value of equality; now, therefore, be it | ||
| RESOLVED, That the 87th Legislature of the State of Texas | ||
| hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to pass | ||
| the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act; and, be it further | ||
| RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official | ||
| copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to | ||
| the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of | ||
| Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the | ||
| members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that | ||
| this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a | ||
| memorial to the Congress of the United States of America. | ||
