Bill Text: TX SR2 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Establishing redistricting rules for the 88th Legislature.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2023-01-11 - Reported enrolled [SR2 Detail]
Download: Texas-2023-SR2-Introduced.html
Bill Title: Establishing redistricting rules for the 88th Legislature.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2023-01-11 - Reported enrolled [SR2 Detail]
Download: Texas-2023-SR2-Introduced.html
88R7438 BEF-F | ||
By: Huffman | S.R. No. 2 |
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BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the State of Texas, That the | ||
following rules of procedure shall be observed by the Senate for the | ||
consideration of redistricting during the 88th Legislature: | ||
SECTION 1. REDISTRICTING COMMITTEE. (a) The Special | ||
Committee on Redistricting is composed of members appointed by the | ||
President. The President shall designate the chair and vice-chair | ||
from the total membership of the committee. | ||
(b) Bills and resolutions relating to the composition of | ||
legislative, congressional, and State Board of Education districts | ||
shall be referred to the committee by the President. Senate rules | ||
governing a motion to refer or commit are applicable, except that | ||
the special committee takes precedence over a standing committee | ||
when several motions are made. | ||
(c) The committee shall have the same authority and powers | ||
granted to standing committees by Senate rules and by applicable | ||
statutes. Where applicable, the rules governing standing | ||
committees of the Senate apply to the committee's proceedings. In | ||
case of any conflict, the procedures herein shall prevail over a | ||
conflicting Senate or committee rule. | ||
SECTION 2. REGIONAL HEARINGS; VIDEOCONFERENCE TESTIMONY. | ||
(a) The committee shall hold regional hearings to solicit public | ||
input on redistricting, including local communities of interest. | ||
(b) The committee may meet to conduct a regional hearing in | ||
any location in this state that the chair determines appropriate to | ||
encourage participation from all areas of the state. The committee | ||
may allow the use of two-way videoconferencing to facilitate | ||
testimony from the general public during a regional hearing held in | ||
the Capitol. | ||
(c) A witness testifying by videoconference must be clearly | ||
visible and audible to the committee members. A committee member | ||
questioning a witness by videoconference must be clearly visible | ||
and audible to the witness and the committee members. | ||
(d) A witness testifying by videoconference must submit a | ||
witness affirmation form before testifying. | ||
(e) The chair may provide procedures for the orderly | ||
participation of witnesses and may reasonably limit the time for | ||
registration of witnesses, the order of appearance, and the time | ||
allotted for each witness in order to provide all witnesses the | ||
opportunity to be heard in a timely manner. | ||
(f) The committee may not consider or take formal action on | ||
a specific bill, resolution, or other nonprocedural matter during a | ||
regional hearing, except for the adoption of permanent rules at an | ||
initial meeting held in the Capitol. | ||
SECTION 3. PUBLIC NOTICE OF MEETINGS. (a) The chair shall | ||
give public notice at least 72 hours in advance of a meeting for a | ||
regional hearing during the regular session or the interim between | ||
sessions and at least 48 hours in advance during a called session. | ||
(b) The chair shall give public notice at least 48 hours in | ||
advance of a meeting for a public hearing on a bill or resolution. | ||
(c) Public notice of the time and place of a meeting shall be | ||
posted in a public place in the manner required by Senate rules. | ||
SECTION 4. CONSIDERATION OF REDISTRICTING BILLS BY SENATE. | ||
(a) No proposed amendment, amendment to the amendment, or | ||
substitute amendment changing any district in a legislative, | ||
congressional, or State Board of Education redistricting bill is | ||
eligible for consideration on second or third reading unless 35 | ||
copies of an amendment packet prepared by the Texas Legislative | ||
Council have been filed with the calendar clerk in accordance with | ||
this section. | ||
(b) An amendment packet is not required to include a | ||
description of geography in the form of counties and census tracts, | ||
block groups, and blocks, but must include: | ||
(1) a general written description of the proposed | ||
changes, including district numbers if the amendment does not | ||
propose a statewide substitute plan, the names of counties or a | ||
description of regions affected, and the plan number assigned by | ||
the redistricting computer system operated by the Texas Legislative | ||
Council; | ||
(2) one or more maps prepared by the Texas Legislative | ||
Council indicating the changes made by the amendment; and | ||
(3) standard reports prepared by the Texas Legislative | ||
Council that include population, voter data, and incumbent | ||
locations for the districts affected by the amendment. | ||
(c) The calendar clerk shall as soon as practicable make | ||
filed amendment packets available to the members of the Senate. The | ||
calendar clerk shall also work with the Texas Legislative Council | ||
to provide hyperlinks from the bill webpage on the public | ||
legislative information website to the appropriate plan for each | ||
amendment in the public DistrictViewer application operated by the | ||
Texas Legislative Council. | ||
(d) An amendment packet for each original amendment that | ||
will be offered during second reading consideration of a | ||
legislative, congressional, or State Board of Education | ||
redistricting bill must be filed with the calendar clerk by 9 a.m. | ||
on the third calendar day after the date the bill is reported | ||
favorably from a committee, excluding Sundays. | ||
(e) A bill with filed amendments subject to Subsection (d) | ||
of this section is not eligible for consideration on second reading | ||
until amendment packets have been made available to members of the | ||
Senate for at least 24 hours. | ||
(f) Subsections (d) and (e) of this section do not apply | ||
after the 122nd day of the regular session, nor to a bill that | ||
originates in the House of Representatives during a called session. | ||
SECTION 5. AUTHORITY; CONFLICT OF RULES. The Senate adopts | ||
these redistricting rules and procedures under the authority of | ||
Section 11, Article III, Texas Constitution. All questions of | ||
procedure not provided for in this resolution shall be subject to | ||
the standing rules of the Senate. In case of any conflict, the | ||
procedures herein shall prevail over a conflicting Senate rule or | ||
procedure. |