82R9516 JSA-D
By: Solomons H.B. No. 900
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the composition of the congressional districts for the
State of Texas.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. The districts from which the members of the
United States House of Representatives from the State of Texas are
elected are the districts as provided by law and used for the
election of the members of the United States House of
Representatives at the 2010 general election except as those
districts are changed by Section 2 of this Act.
SECTION 2. (a) The portion of Congressional District 4
located in Cass County tract 950100, block 4015, is transferred to
Congressional District 1.
(b) The portion of Congressional District 11 located in
Nolan County tract 950100, block 2272, is transferred to
Congressional District 19.
(c) The portion of Congressional District 26 located in
Cooke County is transferred to Congressional District 13.
SECTION 3. In this Act, "tract," "block group," and "block"
mean the geographic areas identified by those terms on the 2010
Census TIGER/Line Shapefiles, prepared by the federal Bureau of the
Census for the Twenty-third Decennial Census of the United States,
enumerated as of April 1, 2010.
SECTION 4. It is the intention of the Texas Legislature
that, if any county, tract, block group, block, or other geographic
area has erroneously been left out of this Act, a court reviewing
this Act should include that area in the appropriate district in
accordance with the intent of the legislature, using any available
evidence of that intent, including evidence such as that used by the
Supreme Court of Texas in Smith v. Patterson, 111 Tex. 535, 242 S.W.
749 (1922).
SECTION 5. (a) This Act supersedes all previous enactments
or orders adopting congressional districts for the State of Texas.
(b) Chapter 2 (H.B. 3), Acts of the 78th Legislature, 3rd
Called Session, 2003 (Article 197i, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes),
is repealed.
SECTION 6. The districts set out in Section 2 of this Act
apply to the election of the members of the United States House of
Representatives from Texas beginning with the primary and general
elections in 2012 for members of the 113th Congress. This Act does
not affect the membership or congressional districts of the 112th
Congress.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect on the 91st day after the last day of the
legislative session.