Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB127 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: West S.B. No. 127
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to the reapportionment of congressional districts and the
7	7	creation, function, and duties of the Texas Congressional
8	8	Redistricting Commission.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Subtitle A, Title 3, Government Code, is amended
11	11	by adding Chapter 307 to read as follows:
12	12	CHAPTER 307. TEXAS CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING COMMISSION
13	13	Sec. 307.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
14	14	(1) "Commission" means the Texas Congressional
15	15	Redistricting Commission.
16	16	(2) "Plan" means a redistricting plan for the Texas
17	17	congressional districts adopted as provided by this chapter.
18	18	Sec. 307.002. TEXAS CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING
19	19	COMMISSION. The Texas Congressional Redistricting Commission
20	20	exercises the legislative authority of this state to adopt
21	21	redistricting plans for the election of the members of the United
22	22	States House of Representatives elected from this state. A plan for
23	23	congressional districts may be established or modified only by the
24	24	commission as provided by this chapter.
25	25	Sec. 307.003. MEMBERSHIP; TERMS. (a) The initial
26	26	commission consists of nine members selected as follows:
27	27	(1) two members appointed by a majority vote of the
28	28	members of the Texas House of Representatives belonging to the
29	29	political party with the most members in the house of
30	30	representatives;
31	31	(2) 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 second highest number of members in the
34	34	house of representatives;
35	35	(3) two members appointed by a majority vote of the
36	36	members of the Texas Senate belonging to the political party with
37	37	the most members in the senate;
38	38	(4) two members appointed by a majority vote of the
39	39	members of the Texas Senate belonging to the political party with
40	40	the second highest number of members in the senate; and
41	41	(5) one member appointed by an affirmative vote of not
42	42	fewer than five of the members of the commission selected under
43	43	Subdivisions (1)-(4).
44	44	(b) The member appointed under Subsection (a)(5) is a
45	45	nonvoting member and serves as presiding officer of the commission.
46	46	(c) Each member of the commission must be a resident of this
47	47	state. At least one member appointed by the Texas House of
48	48	Representatives and one member appointed by the Texas Senate must
49	49	reside in a county not designated as a metropolitan statistical
50	50	area as defined by the United States Office of Management and
51	51	Budget. If the members of a house of the legislature entitled to
52	52	make an appointment to the commission cannot agree on whether the
53	53	members belonging to the political party with the most members or
54	54	the political party with the second highest number of members will
55	55	make the appointment required by this subsection, the presiding
56	56	officer of that house shall designate the members who must make the
57	57	appointment required by this subsection.
58	58	(d) A person is not eligible to serve on the commission if
59	59	the person:
60	60	(1) holds an elective public office;
61	61	(2) holds an office in a political party other than
62	62	membership on a precinct committee;
63	63	(3) has served in a position described by Subdivision
64	64	(1) or (2) within the two years preceding the date the person is
65	65	appointed to the commission; or
66	66	(4) is required to register under Section 305.003 or
67	67	was required to register under that section in the two years
68	68	preceding the date the person is appointed to the commission.
69	69	(e) The full term of a member of the commission is a two-year
70	70	term that begins on February 1 of the year ending in 1 in which the
71	71	initial appointment to the position is required to be made and
72	72	expires on January 31 of the next year ending in 3.
73	73	(f) A vacancy on the commission is filled in the same manner
74	74	as provided by this section for the original appointment. If the
75	75	commission is convened when the vacancy occurs or if the vacancy
76	76	exists when the commission reconvenes, the appointing authority
77	77	shall fill the vacancy on or before the 20th day after the date the
78	78	vacancy occurs or the commission reconvenes, as applicable. The
79	79	members of the Texas House of Representatives or Texas Senate
80	80	authorized to appoint a member of the commission may meet as
81	81	necessary to make an appointment or to fill a vacancy.
82	82	(g) The members of the commission appointed under
83	83	Subsections (a)(1)-(4) shall be appointed not earlier than January
84	84	25 or later than January 31 of each year ending in 1. The member
85	85	appointed under Subsection (a)(5) shall be appointed not later than
86	86	the 30th day after the commission convenes under Section
87	87	307.008(b).
88	88	Sec. 307.004. OATH. Before serving on the commission, each
89	89	person appointed shall take and subscribe to the constitutional
90	90	oath of office.
91	91	Sec. 307.005. POLITICAL ACTIVITIES PROHIBITED. A member of
92	92	the commission may not:
93	93	(1) be a candidate for or campaign for elective office
94	94	while a member of the commission; or
95	95	(2) actively participate in or contribute to the
96	96	political campaign of a candidate for a state or federal elective
97	97	office while a member of the commission.
98	98	Sec. 307.006. OPERATION OF COMMISSION. (a) The
99	99	legislature shall appropriate sufficient money for the
100	100	compensation and payment of the expenses of the commission members
101	101	and any staff employed by the commission.
102	102	(b) The commission shall be provided access to statistical
103	103	or other information compiled by the state or its political
104	104	subdivisions as necessary for the commission's reapportionment
105	105	duties.
106	106	(c) The Texas Legislative Council, under the direction of
107	107	the commission, shall provide the technical staff and clerical
108	108	services that the commission needs to prepare its plans.
109	109	Sec. 307.007. DUTIES. The commission shall:
110	110	(1) adopt rules to administer this chapter; and
111	111	(2) comply with Chapters 551 and 552.
112	112	Sec. 307.008. ADOPTION OF PLAN. (a) A redistricting plan
113	113	or modification of a redistricting plan is adopted by a vote of not
114	114	fewer than five members of the commission.
115	115	(b) The commission shall convene on the first business day
116	116	after January 31 of each year ending in 1 and shall adopt a
117	117	redistricting plan for the members of the United States House of
118	118	Representatives elected from this state not later than August 31 of
119	119	that year, unless the federal decennial census is delivered to the
120	120	appropriate officials of this state after June 1 of that year, in
121	121	which event the commission shall adopt the redistricting plan not
122	122	later than the 90th day after the date the census is delivered.
123	123	Sec. 307.009. MODIFICATION OF PLAN; ADDITIONAL ACTION.
124	124	(a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), the commission may
125	125	reconvene on the motion of at least four of its voting members filed
126	126	with the secretary of state at any time after the adoption of the
127	127	initial congressional redistricting plan to modify that plan if the
128	128	plan becomes unenforceable by order of a court or by action of any
129	129	other appropriate authority or is subject to legal challenge in a
130	130	court proceeding. In modifying a redistricting plan, the
131	131	commission must comply with all applicable standards imposed by
132	132	this chapter, but is not limited to modifications necessary to
133	133	correct legal deficiencies.
134	134	(b) The authority of the commission to act under this
135	135	chapter expires on January 31 of the next year ending in 3 unless
136	136	the final judgment of a court wholly or partly invalidates a plan
137	137	after that date.
138	138	Sec. 307.010. PLAN REQUIREMENTS. (a) In a redistricting
139	139	plan or modification of a plan adopted under this chapter:
140	140	(1) each district must be composed of contiguous
141	141	territory;
142	142	(2) each district must contain a population, excluding
143	143	nonresident military personnel, as nearly equal as practicable to
144	144	the population of any other district in the plan; and
145	145	(3) to the extent reasonable, each district must be
146	146	compact and convenient and be separated from adjoining districts by
147	147	natural geographic barriers, artificial barriers, or political
148	148	subdivision boundaries.
149	149	(b) For each plan or modification of a plan adopted by the
150	150	commission, the commission shall prepare and publish a report that
151	151	includes:
152	152	(1) for each district in the plan, the total
153	153	population and the percentage deviation from the average district
154	154	population;
155	155	(2) an explanation of the criteria used in developing
156	156	the plan, with a justification of any population deviation in a
157	157	district from the average district population;
158	158	(3) a map or maps of all the districts; and
159	159	(4) the estimated cost to be incurred by the counties
160	160	for changes in county election precinct boundaries required to
161	161	conform to the districts adopted by the commission.
162	162	(c) The commission shall make a copy of a report prepared
163	163	under this section available to the public.
164	164	Sec. 307.011. SUBMISSION OF PLAN. On adoption of a plan or
165	165	modification of a plan by the commission, the commission shall
166	166	submit the plan or modification to the governor, the secretary of
167	167	state, and the presiding officer of each house of the legislature.
168	168	Sec. 307.012. CESSATION OF OPERATIONS. (a) Following the
169	169	initial adoption of the plan that the commission is required to
170	170	adopt, the commission shall take all necessary steps to conclude
171	171	its business and suspend operations until the commission reconvenes
172	172	as provided by Section 307.009 if it does reconvene.
173	173	(b) The commission shall prepare a financial statement
174	174	disclosing all expenditures made by the commission. The official
175	175	record of the commission shall contain all relevant information
176	176	developed by the commission in carrying out its duties, including
177	177	maps, data, minutes of meetings, written communications, and other
178	178	information.
179	179	(c) After the commission suspends operations, the secretary
180	180	of state becomes the custodian of its official records for purposes
181	181	of election administration. Any unexpended money from an
182	182	appropriation to the commission reverts to the general revenue
183	183	fund.
184	184	Sec. 307.013. REAPPOINTMENT OF COMMISSION FOLLOWING COURT
185	185	ACTION. (a) If the final judgment of a state or federal court
186	186	invalidates all or part of a plan or otherwise makes the plan
187	187	unenforceable and as of January 31 of the next year ending in 3 the
188	188	commission has not modified the plan as authorized by Section
189	189	307.009 in response to the judgment, a new commission shall be
190	190	appointed in the manner provided by Section 307.003, except that
191	191	the appointments described by Sections 307.003(a)(1)-(4) must be
192	192	made not later than the later of February 14 of that year or the 14th
193	193	day after the date the judgment becomes final. The commission shall
194	194	convene not later than the fifth day after the date the last
195	195	appointment described by Sections 307.003(a)(1)-(4) is made, and
196	196	the commission must make the appointment described by Section
197	197	307.003(a)(5) not later than the fifth day after the date the
198	198	commission convenes.
199	199	(b) A commission appointed under Subsection (a) has the same
200	200	powers and duties under this chapter as a commission appointed
201	201	under Section 307.003 except that the terms of the members of the
202	202	commission and the authority of the commission to act under this
203	203	chapter expire on the earlier of:
204	204	(1) the date a judgment of a court approving a new plan
205	205	adopted by the commission becomes final; or
206	206	(2) the second anniversary of the date the commission
207	207	first convenes under Subsection (a).
208	208	SECTION 2. This Act takes effect January 1, 2017.