Bill Text: TX HJR83 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Proposing a constitutional amendment establishing the Texas Redistricting Commission to redistrict the Texas Legislature and Texas congressional districts and revising procedures for redistricting.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-03-03 - Referred to Redistricting [HJR83 Detail]

Download: Texas-2023-HJR83-Introduced.html

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88R3873 JRJ-D
By: Anchía H.J.R. No. 83

A JOINT RESOLUTION
proposing a constitutional amendment establishing the Texas
Redistricting Commission to redistrict the Texas Legislature and
Texas congressional districts and revising procedures for
redistricting.
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Article III, Texas Constitution, is amended by
adding Section 28a to read as follows:
Sec. 28a. (a) The Texas Redistricting Commission exercises
the legislative authority of this state to adopt redistricting
plans for the election of the Texas House of Representatives, the
Texas Senate, and the members of the United States House of
Representatives elected from this state. Districts for those
legislative bodies may not be established or changed except as
provided by this section.
(b) The commission consists of seven members selected as
follows:
(1) one member appointed by the member of the Texas
Senate with the most seniority, as defined by senate rules;
(2) one member appointed by the member of the Texas
Senate with the most seniority, as defined by senate rules, who is
of a different political party than the member described by
Subdivision (1) of this subsection;
(3) one member appointed by the member of the Texas
House of Representatives with the most seniority, as defined by
house rules;
(4) one member appointed by the member of the Texas
House of Representatives with the most seniority, as defined by
house rules, who is of a different political party than the member
described by Subdivision (3) of this subsection;
(5) one member appointed by an affirmative vote of not
fewer than three of the members of the commission selected under
Subdivisions (1) through (4) of this subsection; and
(6) two members appointed by the member appointed
under Subdivision (5) of this subsection who must be retired
federal judges appointed to the federal bench by presidents of
different political parties.
(c) The members of the commission shall appoint one of the
members to serve as presiding officer by an affirmative vote of a
majority of the members of the commission.
(d) Each member of the commission must be a resident of this
state and have relevant skills and abilities, including analytical
skills, the capacity for impartiality, and an appreciation for the
diverse demographics and geography of the state. A person is not
eligible to serve on the commission if the person:
(1) holds an elective or appointive public office,
other than the office of retired federal judge if the member is
appointed under Subsection (b)(6) of this section or an office on
the governing body of a school district;
(2) holds an office in a political party;
(3) is employed by:
(A) an elected or appointed public official;
(B) a candidate for the legislature or the United
States Congress; or
(C) an entity whose principal purpose is to
support or oppose a candidate described by Paragraph (B) of this
subdivision;
(4) has served in a position described by Subdivision
(1), (2), or (3) of this subsection within the three years preceding
the date the person is appointed to the commission;
(5) is required by law to register with the Texas
Ethics Commission on account of the person's communications with
state officers to influence legislation or administrative action,
or was required to register in that capacity in the three years
preceding the date the person was appointed to the commission; or
(6) is related to an elected or appointed public
official within the second degree by consanguinity, as determined
under general law governing consanguinity.
(e) The full term of a member of the commission is a 10-year
term that begins on February 1 of the year ending in 1 in which the
initial appointment to the position is required to be made and
expires on January 31 of the next year ending in 1. A vacancy on the
commission is filled in the same manner as provided by this section
for the original appointment.
(f) A member of the commission may not be a candidate in an
election for the Texas Senate or Texas House of Representatives
before the third anniversary of the date the commission adopts a
redistricting plan or modification of a plan for that body during
the person's service on the commission.
(g) A member of the Texas House of Representatives, the
Texas Senate, or the United States House of Representatives may not
have contact, directly or indirectly, with a redistricting
commission member or with redistricting commission staff, with
respect to redistricting, except by testimony in a public hearing.
Redistricting commission members may not engage in any discussions,
directly or indirectly, regarding redistricting or the work of the
redistricting commission with members of the Texas House of
Representatives, the Texas Senate, or the United States House of
Representatives, except during a public hearing or by written
communication given to the entire commission. If a redistricting
commission member engages in a prohibited discussion or violates
state law regarding public meetings, the commission may, by
majority vote, remove the member from the commission.
(h) A redistricting plan or modification of a redistricting
plan is adopted by a vote of not fewer than five members of the
commission.
(i) The members of the commission appointed under
Subsections (b)(1) through (4) of this section shall be appointed
not earlier than January 25 or later than January 31 of each year
ending in 1. The member appointed under Subsection (b)(5) of this
section shall be appointed not later than the 15th day after the
commission convenes under Subsection (k) of this section. The
members appointed under Subsection (b)(6) of this section shall be
appointed not later than the 15th day after the date of an
appointment under Subsection (b)(5) of this section.
(j) As soon as practicable after the commission convenes,
all members of the commission must attend training provided by a
legislative agency that has provided redistricting services to the
legislature. The training must include:
(1) information on the demographics and geography of
the state;
(2) the responsibilities of the commission;
(3) information on the redistricting process; and
(4) redistricting software training.
(k) The commission shall convene on the first business day
after January 31 of each year ending in 1 and shall adopt a
redistricting plan for the Texas Senate, the Texas House of
Representatives, and the members of the United States House of
Representatives elected from this state not later than July 1 of
that year, unless the federal decennial census is delivered to the
appropriate officials of this state after May 1 of that year, in
which event the commission shall adopt those redistricting plans
not later than the 90th day after the date the census is delivered.
(l) The commission shall reconvene to modify a
redistricting plan if the plan becomes unenforceable by order of a
court or by action of any other appropriate authority. In modifying
a redistricting plan, the commission must comply with all
applicable standards imposed by this section, other provisions of
this constitution, and laws enacted under this section but is not
limited to modifications necessary to correct legal deficiencies.
(m) In a redistricting plan or modification of a plan
adopted under this section, the commission shall consider the
following criteria, giving priority to each criterion in the order
listed:
(1) districts must be drawn in accordance with the
federal constitution and all applicable federal laws, including the
federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Section 10101 et seq.);
(2) in addition to the requirements of federal law,
districts must be drawn in a manner that does not discriminate on
the basis of race, color, or membership in a language minority group
by ensuring the voting strength of racial, ethnic, and language
minorities in the districts is not diluted in a manner that deprives
minority voters of an equal opportunity to elect a candidate of
their choice;
(3) each district must be composed of contiguous
territory, and for purposes of this subdivision territory that is
adjoining only at a point is not considered contiguous;
(4) to the extent reasonable, district boundaries may
not divide a community of interest other than a community based on a
relationship with a political party or candidate for public office;
(5) to the extent reasonable, district boundaries must
coincide with the boundaries of political subdivisions of the state
and divide the smallest number of counties, municipalities, and
school districts possible;
(6) each congressional district must contain a
population as nearly equal as possible to the population of any
other district in the plan; and
(7) in a redistricting plan for the Texas Senate or
Texas House of Representatives, the overall range of population
deviation from the district with the largest population to the
district with the smallest population may not exceed 2.5 percent.
(n) If a political subdivision must be divided, the
commission shall give preference to dividing a more populous
political subdivision before a less populous one. This subsection
does not apply to a boundary drawn along a county line that divides
a municipality.
(o) The commission may not draw a redistricting plan
purposely to favor or discriminate against a political party or any
other group.
(p) The commission shall provide a process by which the
public may comment on a proposed redistricting plan or proposed
modification of a plan. The commission shall consider those
comments in the adoption or modification of a redistricting plan.
(q) For a reasonable period before the commission considers
a redistricting plan, including a modification of a redistricting
plan, the commission shall make available to the public:
(1) a report that identifies for each district in the
plan:
(A) boundaries;
(B) population;
(C) racial and ethnic composition;
(D) compactness measure;
(E) divided governmental units; and
(F) political performance indexes; and
(2) the total number of:
(A) governmental units of each type that are
divided;
(B) politically balanced districts; and
(C) districts anticipated to lean toward each
political party.
(r) The legislature shall enact laws consistent with this
section to implement this section. The laws may include additional
qualifications for commission members and additional standards
applicable to redistricting plans.
(s) The legislature shall appropriate money or otherwise
provide the commission with sufficient facilities and personnel to
enable the commission to carry out its duties.
(t) This section takes effect January 1, 2031. On that
date, the Legislative Redistricting Board is abolished and Section
28 of this article is repealed. The Texas Redistricting Commission
shall convene for the first time on the first business day after
January 31, 2031. This subsection expires January 1, 2032.
SECTION 2. Section 7a, Article V, Texas Constitution, is
amended by amending Subsections (e) and (i) and adding Subsection
(j) to read as follows:
(e) Unless the legislature enacts a statewide
reapportionment of the judicial districts following each federal
decennial census, the board shall convene not later than the first
Monday of June of the third year following the year in which the
federal decennial census is taken to make a statewide
reapportionment of the districts. The board shall complete its
work on the reapportionment and file its order with the secretary of
state not later than August 31 of the same year. If the Judicial
Districts Board fails to make a statewide apportionment by that
date, the Texas [Legislative] Redistricting Commission [Board]
established by Section 28a, Article III, [Section 28,] of this
constitution shall convene on September 1 of the same year to make a
statewide reapportionment of the judicial districts not later than
the 90th [150th] day after the final day for the Judicial Districts
Board to make the reapportionment.
(i) The legislature, the Judicial Districts Board, or the
Texas [Legislative] Redistricting Commission [Board] may not
redistrict the judicial districts to provide for any judicial
district smaller in size than an entire county except as provided by
this section. Judicial districts smaller in size than the entire
county may be created subsequent to a general election where a
majority of the persons voting on the proposition adopt the
proposition "to allow the division of ____________ County into
judicial districts composed of parts of ____________ County." No
redistricting plan may be proposed or adopted by the legislature,
the Judicial Districts Board, or the Texas [Legislative]
Redistricting Commission [Board] in anticipation of a future action
by the voters of any county.
(j) Until January 1, 2031, a reference in this section to
the Texas Redistricting Commission means the Legislative
Redistricting Board established under Section 28, Article III, of
this constitution. This subsection expires January 1, 2031.
SECTION 3. This proposed constitutional amendment shall be
submitted to the voters at an election to be held November 7, 2023.
The ballot shall be printed to permit voting for or against the
following proposition: "The constitutional amendment establishing
the Texas Redistricting Commission to redistrict the Texas
Legislature and Texas congressional districts and revising
procedures for redistricting."