Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

Tennessee House Bill HJR0094 Compare Versions

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4	4	HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 94
5	5	By Dixie
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8	8	HJR0094
9	9	000035
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12	12	A RESOLUTION to propose an amendment to revise provisions in
13	13	Article II regarding the creation of legislative
14	14	districts.
15	15
16	16	BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED
17	17	FOURTEENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE, THE SENATE
18	18	CONCURRING, that a majority of all the members of each house concurring, as shown by the
19	19	yeas and nays entered on their journals, that it is proposed that Article II of the Constitution of
20	20	Tennessee be amended by deleting Sections 4, 5, 5a, 6, and 6a, and substituting instead the
21	21	following:
22	22	Sec. 4. Number of representatives – Apportionment.
23	23	The number of Representatives shall be ninety-nine and shall be apportioned among the
24	24	several counties or districts substantially according to population. Counties having two or more
25	25	Representatives shall be divided into separate districts. In a district composed of two or more
26	26	counties, each county shall adjoin at least one other county of such district, and a county shall
27	27	not be divided more than once in forming such a district. Each district shall be represented by a
28	28	qualified voter of that district.
29	29	Sec. 5. Number of senators – Apportionment.
30	30	The number of Senators shall be apportioned among the several counties or districts
31	31	substantially according to population, and shall not exceed one-third the number of
32	32	Representatives. Counties having two or more Senators shall be divided into separate districts.
33	33	In a district composed of two or more counties, each county shall adjoin at least one other
34	34	county of such district, and a county shall not be divided more than once in forming such a
35	35	district. Each district must be represented by a qualified voter of that district.
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40	40	Sec. 6a. Independent redistricting commission – Establishment and commissioner
41	41	qualifications.
42	42	An independent redistricting commission for state legislative and congressional districts
43	43	is hereby established as a permanent commission in the legislative branch. The commission
44	44	shall consist of thirteen commissioners. The commission shall adopt a redistricting plan for
45	45	each of the following types of districts: state senate districts, state house of representatives
46	46	districts, and congressional districts. Each commissioner must:
47	47	(a) Be registered and eligible to vote in the State of Tennessee;
48	48	(b) Not currently be or in the past six years have been any of the following:
49	49	(1) A declared candidate for partisan federal, state, or local office;
50	50	(2) An elected official to partisan federal, state, or local office;
51	51	(3) An officer or member of the governing body of a national, state, or
52	52	local political party;
53	53	(4) A paid consultant or employee of a federal, state, or local elected
54	54	official or political candidate; of a federal, state, or local political candidate's
55	55	campaign; or of a political action committee;
56	56	(5) An employee of the legislature;
57	57	(6) A person who is registered as a lobbyist with the Tennessee ethics
58	58	commission, or its successor agency, or any employee of such person; or
59	59	(7) A state employee in an executive service position;
60	60	(c) Not be a parent, stepparent, child, stepchild, or spouse of any individual
61	61	disqualified under subsection (b); or
62	62	(d) Not be otherwise disqualified for appointed or elected office by this
63	63	constitution.
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68	68	For five years after the date of appointment, a commissioner is ineligible to hold a
69	69	partisan state or local elective office in this state.
70	70	Sec. 6b. Independent redistricting commission – Application and selection process.
71	71	Commissioners shall be selected through the following process:
72	72	(a) The secretary of state shall:
73	73	(1) Make applications for commissioner available to the general public
74	74	not later than January 1 of the year of the federal decennial census. The
75	75	secretary of state shall circulate the applications in a manner that invites wide
76	76	public participation from different regions of the state. The secretary of state
77	77	shall also mail applications for commissioner to ten thousand Tennessee
78	78	registered voters, selected at random, by January 1 of the year of the federal
79	79	decennial census;
80	80	(2) Require applicants to provide a completed application; and
81	81	(3) Require applicants to attest under oath that they meet the
82	82	qualifications set forth in Article II, Section 6a and either that they affiliate with
83	83	one of the two major political parties with the largest representation in the
84	84	legislature, and if so, identify the party with which they affiliate, or that they do not
85	85	affiliate with either of the major parties.
86	86	(b) Subject to subsection (c), the secretary of state shall mail additional
87	87	applications for commissioner to Tennessee registered voters selected at random until at
88	88	least thirty qualifying applicants that affiliate with one of the two major parties have
89	89	submitted applications, at least thirty qualifying applicants that identify that they affiliate
90	90	with the other of the two major parties have submitted applications, and at least forty
91	91	qualifying applicants that identify that they do not affiliate with either of the two major
92	92	parties have submitted applications, each in response to the mailings.
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97	97	(c) The secretary of state shall accept applications for commissioner until June 1
98	98	of the year of the federal decennial census.
99	99	(d) By July 1 of the year of the federal decennial census, from all of the
100	100	applications submitted, the secretary of state shall:
101	101	(1) Eliminate incomplete applications and applications of applicants who
102	102	do not meet the qualifications in Article II, Section 6a based solely on the
103	103	information contained in the applications;
104	104	(2) Randomly select sixty applicants from each pool of affiliating
105	105	applicants and eighty applicants from the pool of non-affiliating applicants, and
106	106	fifty percent of each pool shall be populated from the qualifying applicants to
107	107	such pool who returned an application mailed pursuant to subsection (a) or (b);
108	108	provided, that if fewer than thirty qualifying applicants affiliated with a major party
109	109	or fewer than forty qualifying non-affiliating applicants have applied to serve on
110	110	the commission in response to the random mailing, the balance of the pool shall
111	111	be populated from the balance of qualifying applicants to that pool. The random
112	112	selection process used by the secretary of state to fill the selection pools must
113	113	use accepted statistical weighting methods to ensure that the pools, as closely as
114	114	possible, mirror the geographic and demographic makeup of the state; and
115	115	(3) Submit the randomly selected applications to the speaker of the
116	116	senate and the minority leader of the senate, and the speaker of the house of
117	117	representatives and the minority leader of the house of representatives.
118	118	(e) By August 1 of the year of the federal decennial census, the speaker of the
119	119	senate, the minority leader of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives,
120	120	and the minority leader of the house of representatives may each strike up to five
121	121	applicants from any pool or pools.
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126	126	(f) By September 1 of the year of the federal decennial census, the secretary of
127	127	state shall randomly draw the names of four commissioners from each of the two pools
128	128	of remaining applicants affiliating with a major party, and five commissioners from the
129	129	pool of remaining non-affiliating applicants.
130	130	Sec. 6c. Independent redistricting commission – Terms and vacancies.
131	131	Except as provided below, commissioners shall hold office for a term that expires once
132	132	the commission has completed the commission's obligations for a census cycle but not before
133	133	any judicial review of the redistricting plan is complete. If a commissioner's seat becomes
134	134	vacant for any reason, then the secretary of state shall fill the vacancy by randomly drawing a
135	135	name from the remaining qualifying applicants in the selection pool from which the original
136	136	commissioner was selected. A commissioner's office becomes vacant upon the occurrence of
137	137	any of the following:
138	138	(a) Death or mental incapacity of the commissioner;
139	139	(b) The secretary of state's receipt of the commissioner's written resignation;
140	140	(c) The commissioner is, or was within the immediately preceding twenty years,
141	141	convicted of a felony involving dishonesty, deceit, fraud, or a breach of the public trust
142	142	and the conviction is or was related to the person's official capacity while the person was
143	143	holding any elective office or position of employment in local, state, or federal
144	144	government;
145	145	(d) The commissioner ceases to be qualified to serve as a commissioner under
146	146	Article II, Section 6a; or
147	147	(e) After written notice and an opportunity for the commissioner to respond, a
148	148	vote of ten of the commissioners finding substantial neglect of duty, gross misconduct in
149	149	office, or inability to discharge the duties of office.
150	150	Sec. 6d. Independent redistricting commission – Administration and funding.
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155	155	The secretary of state shall be secretary of the commission without vote, and in that
156	156	capacity shall furnish, under the direction of the commission, all technical services that the
157	157	commission deems necessary. The commission shall elect its own chairperson. The
158	158	commission has the sole power to make its own rules of procedure. The commission shall have
159	159	procurement and contracting authority and may hire staff and consultants for the purposes of
160	160	this section, including legal representation.
161	161	Beginning no later than July 1 of the year preceding the federal decennial census, and
162	162	continuing each year in which the commission operates, the legislature shall appropriate funds
163	163	sufficient to compensate the commissioners and to enable the commission to carry out its
164	164	functions, operations, and activities, which activities include retaining independent, nonpartisan
165	165	subject-matter experts and legal counsel, conducting hearings, publishing notices, and
166	166	maintaining a record of the commission's proceedings, and any other activity necessary for the
167	167	commission to conduct its business, at an amount equal to not less than twenty-five percent of
168	168	the general fund budget for the secretary of state for that fiscal year. Within six months after the
169	169	conclusion of each fiscal year, the commission shall return to the state treasury all moneys
170	170	unexpended for that fiscal year. The commission shall furnish reports of expenditures, at least
171	171	annually, to the governor and the legislature and shall be subject to annual audit as provided by
172	172	law. Each commissioner shall receive compensation at least equal to twenty-five percent of the
173	173	governor's salary. The State of Tennessee shall indemnify commissioners for costs incurred if
174	174	the legislature does not appropriate sufficient funds to cover such costs.
175	175	The commission shall have legal standing to prosecute an action regarding the
176	176	adequacy of resources provided for the operation of the commission, and to defend any action
177	177	regarding an adopted plan. The commission shall inform the legislature if the commission
178	178	determines that funds or other resources provided for operation of the commission are not
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183	183	adequate. The legislature shall provide adequate funding to allow any action regarding an
184	184	adopted plan to be defended.
185	185	Sec. 6e. Independent redistricting commission – Meetings and plan development.
186	186	The secretary of state shall convene the commission by October 15 in the year of the
187	187	federal decennial census. Not later than November 1 in the year immediately following the
188	188	federal decennial census, the commission shall adopt a redistricting plan for each of the
189	189	following types of districts: state senate districts, state house of representatives districts, and
190	190	congressional districts.
191	191	Before commissioners draft any plan, the commission shall hold at least ten public
192	192	hearings throughout the state for the purpose of informing the public about the redistricting
193	193	process and the purpose and responsibilities of the commission and soliciting information from
194	194	the public about potential plans. The commission shall accept for consideration written
195	195	submissions of proposed redistricting plans and any supporting materials, including underlying
196	196	data, from any member of the public. These written submissions are public records.
197	197	After developing at least one proposed redistricting plan for each type of district, the
198	198	commission shall publish the proposed redistricting plans and any data and supporting materials
199	199	used to develop the plans. Each commissioner may only propose one redistricting plan for each
200	200	type of district. The commission shall hold at least five public hearings throughout the state for
201	201	the purpose of soliciting comments from the public about the proposed plans. Each of the
202	202	proposed plans shall include such census data as is necessary to accurately describe the plan
203	203	and verify the population of each district, and a map and legal description that include the
204	204	political subdivisions, such as counties and municipalities; man-made features, such as streets,
205	205	roads, highways, and railroads; and natural features, such as waterways, which form the
206	206	boundaries of the districts.
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211	211	Each commissioner shall perform their duties in a manner that is impartial and reinforces
212	212	public confidence in the integrity of the redistricting process. The commission shall conduct all
213	213	of its business at open meetings. Nine commissioners, including at least one commissioner
214	214	from each selection pool constitute a quorum, and all meetings require a quorum. The
215	215	commission shall provide advance public notice of its meetings and hearings. The commission
216	216	shall conduct its hearings in a manner that invites wide public participation throughout the state.
217	217	The commission shall use technology to provide contemporaneous public observation and
218	218	meaningful public participation in the redistricting process during all meetings and hearings.
219	219	The commission, and the commission's members, staff, attorneys, and consultants, shall
220	220	not discuss redistricting matters with members of the public outside of an open meeting of the
221	221	commission, except that a commissioner may communicate about redistricting matters with
222	222	members of the public to gain information relevant to the performance of the commissioner's
223	223	duties if such communication occurs in writing or at a previously publicly noticed forum or town
224	224	hall open to the general public.
225	225	The commission, and the commission's members, staff, attorneys, experts, and
226	226	consultants, may not directly or indirectly solicit or accept any gift or loan of money, goods,
227	227	services, or other thing of value greater than twenty dollars for the benefit of any person or
228	228	organization, which may influence the manner in which the commissioner, staff, attorney,
229	229	expert, or consultant performs their duties.
230	230	Sec. 6f. Independent redistricting commission – Decisions.
231	231	Except as provided in Article II, Section 6h, a final decision of the commission requires
232	232	the concurrence of a majority of the commissioners. A decision on the dismissal or retention of
233	233	paid staff or consultants requires the vote of at least one commissioner affiliating with each of
234	234	the major parties and one non-affiliating commissioner. All decisions of the commission shall be
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239	239	recorded, and the record of the commission's decisions must be readily available to any
240	240	member of the public without charge.
241	241	Sec. 6g. Independent redistricting commission – Criteria for district plans.
242	242	The commission shall abide by the following criteria in proposing and adopting each
243	243	plan, in order of priority:
244	244	(a) Districts must be of equal population, or substantially equal population, as
245	245	mandated by the United States constitution, and shall comply with the voting rights act
246	246	and other federal laws;
247	247	(b) Districts must be geographically contiguous. Island areas are considered to
248	248	be contiguous by land to the county of which they are a part;
249	249	(c) Districts must reflect consideration of county and municipal boundaries;
250	250	(d) Districts must be reasonably compact;
251	251	(e) Districts must reflect the state's diverse population and communities of
252	252	interest. Communities of interest may include, but are not limited to, populations that
253	253	share cultural or historical characteristics or economic interests. Communities of interest
254	254	do not include relationships with political parties, incumbents, or political candidates;
255	255	(f) Districts shall not provide a disproportionate advantage to any political party,
256	256	which is to be determined using accepted measures of partisan fairness; and
257	257	(g) Districts shall not favor or disfavor an incumbent elected official or a
258	258	candidate.
259	259	Sec. 6h. Independent redistricting commission – Plan adoption procedure.
260	260	The commission shall follow the following procedure in adopting a plan:
261	261	(a) Before voting to adopt a plan, the commission shall ensure that the plan is
262	262	tested, using appropriate technology, for compliance with the criteria described in Article
263	263	II, Section 6g;
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268	268	(b) Before voting to adopt a plan, the commission shall provide public notice of
269	269	each plan that will be voted on and provide at least forty-five days for public comment on
270	270	the proposed plan or plans. Each plan that will be voted on shall include such census
271	271	data as is necessary to accurately describe the plan and verify the population of each
272	272	district, and shall include the map and legal description required in Article II, Section 6i;
273	273	and
274	274	(c) A final decision of the commission to adopt a redistricting plan requires a
275	275	majority vote of the commission, including at least two commissioners who affiliate with
276	276	each major party, and at least two commissioners who do not affiliate with either major
277	277	party. If no plan satisfies this requirement for a type of district, then the commission
278	278	shall use the following procedure to adopt a plan for that type of district:
279	279	(1) Each commissioner may submit one proposed plan for each type of
280	280	district to the full commission for consideration;
281	281	(2) Each commissioner shall rank the plans submitted according to
282	282	preference. Each plan shall be assigned a point value inverse to its ranking
283	283	among the number of choices, giving the lowest ranked plan one point and the
284	284	highest ranked plan a point value equal to the number of plans submitted; and
285	285	(3) The commission shall adopt the plan receiving the highest total
286	286	points, that is also ranked among the top half of plans by at least two
287	287	commissioners not affiliated with the party of the commissioner submitting the
288	288	plan, or in the case of a plan submitted by non-affiliated commissioners, is
289	289	ranked among the top half of plans by at least two commissioners affiliated with a
290	290	major party. If plans are tied for the highest point total, then the secretary of
291	291	state shall randomly select the final plan from those plans. If no plan meets the
292	292	requirements of this subdivision (c)(3), then the secretary of state shall randomly
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297	297	select the final plan from among all submitted plans pursuant to subdivision
298	298	(c)(1).
299	299	Sec. 6i. Independent redistricting commission – Plan publication, reporting, and
300	300	effective date.
301	301	Within thirty days after adopting a plan, the commission shall publish the plan and the
302	302	material reports, reference materials, and data used in drawing it, including any programming
303	303	information used to produce and test the plan. The materials must be published in such a
304	304	manner that an independent person is able to replicate the conclusion without any modification
305	305	of any of the published materials.
306	306	For each adopted plan, the commission shall issue a report that explains the basis on
307	307	which the commission made its decisions in achieving compliance with plan requirements and
308	308	shall include the map and legal description required in Article II, Section 6e. A commissioner
309	309	who votes against a redistricting plan may submit a dissenting report to be issued with the
310	310	commission's report.
311	311	An adopted redistricting plan becomes law sixty days after its publication. The secretary
312	312	of state shall keep a public record of all proceedings of the commission and shall publish and
313	313	distribute each plan and required documentation.
314	314	Sec. 6j. Independent redistricting commission – Judicial review and severability.
315	315	The supreme court, in the exercise of original jurisdiction, shall direct the secretary of
316	316	state or the commission to perform their respective duties, may review a challenge to any plan
317	317	adopted by the commission, and shall remand a plan to the commission for further action if the
318	318	plan fails to comply with the requirements of this constitution, the constitution of the United
319	319	States, or superseding federal law. In no event shall any body, except the independent
320	320	redistricting commission acting pursuant to Article II, Sections 6a-6l, promulgate and adopt a
321	321	redistricting plan or plans for this state.
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326	326	Article II, Sections 6a-6l are self-executing. If a final court decision holds any part or
327	327	parts of these sections to be in conflict with the United States constitution or federal law, then
328	328	these sections shall be implemented to the maximum extent that the United States constitution
329	329	and federal law permit. Any provision held invalid is severable from the remaining portions of
330	330	these sections.
331	331	Sec. 6k. Independent redistricting commission – Constitutional interpretation and
332	332	protection of commission functions.
333	333	Notwithstanding this constitution, or any prior judicial decision, as of the effective date of
334	334	the constitutional amendment adding Article II, Sections 6a-6l, for purposes of interpreting this
335	335	constitutional amendment the people declare that the powers granted to the commission are
336	336	legislative functions not subject to the control or approval of the legislature, and are exclusively
337	337	reserved to the commission. The commission, and all of its responsibilities, operations,
338	338	functions, contractors, consultants, and employees are not subject to change, transfer,
339	339	reorganization, or reassignment, and shall not be altered or abrogated in any manner
340	340	whatsoever, by the legislature. No other body shall be established by law to perform functions
341	341	that are the same or similar to those granted to the commission in this section.
342	342	Sec. 6l. Independent redistricting commission – Anti-retaliation protections.
343	343	Notwithstanding any other law, an employer shall not discharge, threaten to discharge,
344	344	intimidate, coerce, or retaliate against any employee because of the employee's membership on
345	345	the commission or attendance or scheduled attendance at any meeting of the commission.
346	346	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the foregoing be referred to the One Hundred
347	347	Fourteenth General Assembly and that this resolution proposing such amendment be published
348	348	in accordance with Article XI, Section 3 of the Constitution of Tennessee by posting such
349	349	amendment on the official website of the Secretary of State and on the official website of the
350	350	General Assembly.
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355	355	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Clerk of the House of Representatives is directed
356	356	to deliver copies of this resolution to the Secretary of State, with this final resolving clause being
357	357	deleted from such copies.
358	358