Texas 2011 - 82nd Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB196 Compare Versions

The same version is selected twice. Please select two different versions to compare.

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	By: Wentworth S.B. No. 196
2	2	(In the Senate - Filed November 9, 2010; January 31, 2011,
3	3	read first time and referred to Select Committee on Redistricting;
4	4	May 5, 2011, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 9,
5	5	Nays 5; May 5, 2011, sent to printer.)
6	6
7	7
8	8	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
9	9	AN ACT
10	10	relating to the reapportionment of congressional districts and the
11	11	creation, function, and duties of the Texas Congressional
12	12	Redistricting Commission.
13	13	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
14	14	SECTION 1. Subtitle A, Title 3, Government Code, is amended
15	15	by adding Chapter 307 to read as follows:
16	16	CHAPTER 307. TEXAS CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING COMMISSION
17	17	Sec. 307.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
18	18	(1) "Commission" means the Texas Congressional
19	19	Redistricting Commission.
20	20	(2) "Plan" means a redistricting plan for the Texas
21	21	congressional districts adopted as provided by this chapter.
22	22	Sec. 307.002. TEXAS CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING
23	23	COMMISSION. The Texas Congressional Redistricting Commission
24	24	exercises the legislative authority of this state to adopt
25	25	redistricting plans for the election of the members of the United
26	26	States House of Representatives elected from this state. A plan for
27	27	congressional districts may be established or modified only by the
28	28	commission as provided by this chapter.
29	29	Sec. 307.003. MEMBERSHIP; TERMS. (a) The initial
30	30	commission consists of nine members selected as follows:
31	31	(1) two members appointed by a majority vote of the
32	32	members of the Texas House of Representatives belonging to the
33	33	political party with the most members in the house of
34	34	representatives;
35	35	(2) two members appointed by a majority vote of the
36	36	members of the Texas House of Representatives belonging to the
37	37	political party with the second highest number of members in the
38	38	house of representatives;
39	39	(3) two members appointed by a majority vote of the
40	40	members of the Texas Senate belonging to the political party with
41	41	the most members in the senate;
42	42	(4) two members appointed by a majority vote of the
43	43	members of the Texas Senate belonging to the political party with
44	44	the second highest number of members in the senate; and
45	45	(5) one member appointed by an affirmative vote of not
46	46	fewer than five of the members of the commission selected under
47	47	Subdivisions (1)-(4).
48	48	(b) The member appointed under Subsection (a)(5) is a
49	49	nonvoting member and serves as presiding officer of the commission.
50	50	(c) Each member of the commission must be a resident of this
51	51	state. At least one member appointed by the Texas House of
52	52	Representatives and one member appointed by the Texas Senate must
53	53	reside in a county not designated as a metropolitan statistical
54	54	area as defined by the United States Office of Management and
55	55	Budget. If the members of a house of the legislature entitled to
56	56	make an appointment to the commission cannot agree on whether the
57	57	members belonging to the political party with the most members or
58	58	the political party with the second highest number of members will
59	59	make the appointment required by this subsection, the presiding
60	60	officer of that house shall designate the members who must make the
61	61	appointment required by this subsection.
62	62	(d) A person is not eligible to serve on the commission if
63	63	the person:
64	64	(1) holds an elective public office;
65	65	(2) holds an office in a political party other than
66	66	membership on a precinct committee;
67	67	(3) has served in a position described by Subdivision
68	68	(1) or (2) within the two years preceding the date the person is
69	69	appointed to the commission; or
70	70	(4) is required to register under Section 305.003 or
71	71	was required to register under that section in the two years
72	72	preceding the date the person is appointed to the commission.
73	73	(e) The full term of a member of the commission is a two-year
74	74	term that begins on February 1 of the year ending in 1 in which the
75	75	initial appointment to the position is required to be made and
76	76	expires on January 31 of the next year ending in 3.
77	77	(f) A vacancy on the commission is filled in the same manner
78	78	as provided by this section for the original appointment. If the
79	79	commission is convened when the vacancy occurs or if the vacancy
80	80	exists when the commission reconvenes, the appointing authority
81	81	shall fill the vacancy on or before the 20th day after the date the
82	82	vacancy occurs or the commission reconvenes, as applicable. The
83	83	members of the Texas House of Representatives or Texas Senate
84	84	authorized to appoint a member of the commission may meet as
85	85	necessary to make an appointment or to fill a vacancy.
86	86	(g) The members of the commission appointed under
87	87	Subsections (a)(1)-(4) shall be appointed not earlier than January
88	88	25 or later than January 31 of each year ending in 1. The member
89	89	appointed under Subsection (a)(5) shall be appointed not later than
90	90	the 30th day after the commission convenes under Section
91	91	307.008(b).
92	92	Sec. 307.004. OATH. Before serving on the commission, each
93	93	person appointed shall take and subscribe to the constitutional
94	94	oath of office.
95	95	Sec. 307.005. POLITICAL ACTIVITIES PROHIBITED. A member of
96	96	the commission may not:
97	97	(1) be a candidate for or campaign for elective office
98	98	while a member of the commission; or
99	99	(2) actively participate in or contribute to the
100	100	political campaign of a candidate for a state or federal elective
101	101	office while a member of the commission.
102	102	Sec. 307.006. OPERATION OF COMMISSION. (a) The
103	103	legislature shall appropriate sufficient money for the
104	104	compensation and payment of the expenses of the commission members
105	105	and any staff employed by the commission.
106	106	(b) The commission shall be provided access to statistical
107	107	or other information compiled by the state or its political
108	108	subdivisions as necessary for the commission's reapportionment
109	109	duties.
110	110	(c) The Texas Legislative Council, under the direction of
111	111	the commission, shall provide the technical staff and clerical
112	112	services that the commission needs to prepare its plans.
113	113	Sec. 307.007. DUTIES. The commission shall:
114	114	(1) adopt rules to administer this chapter; and
115	115	(2) comply with Chapters 551 and 552.
116	116	Sec. 307.008. ADOPTION OF PLAN. (a) A redistricting plan
117	117	or modification of a redistricting plan is adopted by a vote of not
118	118	fewer than five members of the commission.
119	119	(b) The commission shall convene on the first business day
120	120	after January 31 of each year ending in 1 and shall adopt a
121	121	redistricting plan for the members of the United States House of
122	122	Representatives elected from this state not later than August 31 of
123	123	that year, unless the federal decennial census is delivered to the
124	124	appropriate officials of this state after June 1 of that year, in
125	125	which event the commission shall adopt the redistricting plan not
126	126	later than the 90th day after the date the census is delivered.
127	127	Sec. 307.009. MODIFICATION OF PLAN; ADDITIONAL ACTION.
128	128	(a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), the commission may
129	129	reconvene on the motion of at least four of its voting members filed
130	130	with the secretary of state at any time after the adoption of the
131	131	initial congressional redistricting plan to modify that plan if the
132	132	plan becomes unenforceable by order of a court or by action of any
133	133	other appropriate authority or is subject to legal challenge in a
134	134	court proceeding. In modifying a redistricting plan, the
135	135	commission must comply with all applicable standards imposed by
136	136	this chapter but is not limited to modifications necessary to
137	137	correct legal deficiencies.
138	138	(b) The authority of the commission to act under this
139	139	chapter expires on January 31 of the next year ending in 3 unless
140	140	the final judgment of a court wholly or partly invalidates a plan
141	141	after that date.
142	142	Sec. 307.010. PLAN REQUIREMENTS. (a) In a redistricting
143	143	plan or modification of a plan adopted under this chapter:
144	144	(1) each district must be composed of contiguous
145	145	territory;
146	146	(2) each district must contain a population, excluding
147	147	nonresident military personnel, as nearly equal as practicable to
148	148	the population of any other district in the plan; and
149	149	(3) to the extent reasonable, each district must be
150	150	compact and convenient and be separated from adjoining districts by
151	151	natural geographic barriers, artificial barriers, or political
152	152	subdivision boundaries.
153	153	(b) For each plan or modification of a plan adopted by the
154	154	commission, the commission shall prepare and publish a report that
155	155	includes:
156	156	(1) for each district in the plan, the total
157	157	population and the percentage deviation from the average district
158	158	population;
159	159	(2) an explanation of the criteria used in developing
160	160	the plan, with a justification of any population deviation in a
161	161	district from the average district population;
162	162	(3) a map or maps of all the districts; and
163	163	(4) the estimated cost to be incurred by the counties
164	164	for changes in county election precinct boundaries required to
165	165	conform to the districts adopted by the commission.
166	166	(c) The commission shall make a copy of a report prepared
167	167	under this section available to the public.
168	168	Sec. 307.011. SUBMISSION OF PLAN. On adoption of a plan or
169	169	modification of a plan by the commission, the commission shall
170	170	submit the plan or modification to the governor, the secretary of
171	171	state, and the presiding officer of each house of the legislature.
172	172	Sec. 307.012. CESSATION OF OPERATIONS. (a) Following the
173	173	initial adoption of the plan that the commission is required to
174	174	adopt, the commission shall take all necessary steps to conclude
175	175	its business and suspend operations until the commission reconvenes
176	176	as provided by Section 307.009, if it does reconvene.
177	177	(b) The commission shall prepare a financial statement
178	178	disclosing all expenditures made by the commission. The official
179	179	record of the commission shall contain all relevant information
180	180	developed by the commission in carrying out its duties, including
181	181	maps, data, minutes of meetings, written communications, and other
182	182	information.
183	183	(c) After the commission suspends operations, the secretary
184	184	of state becomes the custodian of its official records for purposes
185	185	of election administration. Any unexpended money from an
186	186	appropriation to the commission reverts to the general revenue
187	187	fund.
188	188	Sec. 307.013. REAPPOINTMENT OF COMMISSION FOLLOWING COURT
189	189	ACTION. (a) If the final judgment of a state or federal court
190	190	invalidates all or part of a plan or otherwise makes the plan
191	191	unenforceable and as of January 31 of the next year ending in 3 the
192	192	commission has not modified the plan as authorized by Section
193	193	307.009 in response to the judgment, a new commission shall be
194	194	appointed in the manner provided by Section 307.003, except that
195	195	the appointments described by Sections 307.003(a)(1)-(4) must be
196	196	made not later than the later of February 14 of that year or the 14th
197	197	day after the date the judgment becomes final. The commission shall
198	198	convene not later than the fifth day after the date the last
199	199	appointment described by Sections 307.003(a)(1)-(4) is made, and
200	200	the commission must make the appointment described by Section
201	201	307.003(a)(5) not later than the fifth day after the date the
202	202	commission convenes.
203	203	(b) A commission appointed under Subsection (a) has the same
204	204	powers and duties under this chapter as a commission appointed
205	205	under Section 307.003 except that the terms of the members of the
206	206	commission and the authority of the commission to act under this
207	207	chapter expire on the earlier of:
208	208	(1) the date a judgment of a court approving a new plan
209	209	adopted by the commission becomes final; or
210	210	(2) the second anniversary of the date the commission
211	211	first convenes under Subsection (a).
212	212	SECTION 2. This Act takes effect January 1, 2013.
213	213	* * * * *