84R12677 JRJ-F
By: Anchia H.J.R. No. 133
A JOINT RESOLUTION
proposing a constitutional amendment to establish certain
principles and procedures for the drawing of districts for the
Texas Senate, the Texas House of Representatives, and the United
States House of Representatives.
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 26, Article III, Texas Constitution, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 26. The members of the House of Representatives shall
be apportioned among districts of contiguous territory [the several
counties, according to the number of population in each, as nearly
as may be,] on a ratio obtained by dividing the population of the
State, as ascertained by the most recent United States census, by
the number of members of which the House is composed[; provided,
that whenever a single county has sufficient population to be
entitled to a Representative, such county shall be formed into a
separate Representative District, and when two or more counties are
required to make up the ratio of representation, such counties
shall be contiguous to each other; and when any one county has more
than sufficient population to be entitled to one or more
Representatives, such Representative or Representatives shall be
apportioned to such county, and for any surplus of population it may
be joined in a Representative District with any other contiguous
county or counties].
SECTION 2. Article III, Texas Constitution, is amended by
adding Section 28a to read as follows:
Sec. 28a. (a) The legislature's authority established
under Section 1 of this article includes the authority to adopt
redistricting plans for the election of the Texas Senate, the Texas
House of Representatives, and the members of the United States
House of Representatives elected from this state after the
publication of each United States decennial census.
(b) A plan for the election of the Texas Senate, the Texas
House of Representatives, and the members of the United States
House of Representatives elected from this state adopted by the
legislature must conform to the following principles:
1. A plan shall respect the integrity of the state's basic
geographic regions to the extent practicable.
2. A plan shall avoid unnecessarily dividing counties and
municipalities in the formation of districts. District lines shall
to the extent practicable be coterminous with the boundaries of
these political subdivisions.
3. A plan shall to the extent practicable keep intact
communities of interest defined by social, economic, racial,
ethnic, cultural, industrial, commercial, and geographic
commonalities.
4. A district shall be composed solely of undivided census
tracts as the smallest unit of redistricting.
5. A district shall be geographically compact and composed
of convenient contiguous territory.
6. A plan may not be drawn with consideration to partisan
political effect or with intent to favor or disfavor any specific
person, political party, or other organization.
7. A plan must comply with state and federal constitutional
and statutory requirements, including the federal Voting Rights Act
of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Section 10101 et seq.).
8. The districts in a plan must be equal in population as
nearly as practicable in accordance with the other principles
described by this subsection.
9. 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.
(c) The Supreme Court of Texas has original jurisdiction of
a legal challenge to a plan enacted by the legislature.
(d) The legislature may not redistrict this state's
districts adopted for the election of the Texas Senate, the Texas
House of Representatives, and the members of the United States
House of Representatives elected from this state more than once
following each census except to replace a plan ordered by a court
with a plan enacted by the legislature.
SECTION 3. This proposed constitutional amendment shall be
submitted to the voters at an election to be held November 3, 2015.
The ballot shall be printed to provide for voting for or against the
proposition: "The constitutional amendment to establish certain
principles and procedures for the drawing of districts for the
Texas Senate, the Texas House of Representatives, and the United
States House of Representatives."