Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas House Bill HB369 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	85R2552 JRJ-D
2	2	By: Howard H.B. No. 369
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the reapportionment of state legislative,
8	8	congressional, and judicial districts and the creation, function,
9	9	and duties of the Texas Redistricting Commission.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Subtitle A, Title 3, Government Code, is amended
12	12	by adding Chapter 307 to read as follows:
13	13	CHAPTER 307. TEXAS REDISTRICTING COMMISSION
14	14	Sec. 307.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
15	15	(1) "Commission" means the Texas Redistricting
16	16	Commission established by Section 28a, Article III, Texas
17	17	Constitution.
18	18	(2) "Plan" means a redistricting plan for the Texas
19	19	Senate, Texas House of Representatives, or Texas congressional
20	20	districts adopted as provided by Section 28a, Article III, Texas
21	21	Constitution, and this chapter.
22	22	Sec. 307.002. OATH. Before serving on the commission, each
23	23	person appointed shall take and subscribe to the constitutional
24	24	oath of office.
25	25	Sec. 307.003. ELIGIBILITY. The eligibility of a person to
26	26	serve on the commission is as prescribed by Section 28a, Article
27	27	III, Texas Constitution.
28	28	Sec. 307.004. PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES. A member of the
29	29	commission may not:
30	30	(1) campaign for elective office while a member of the
31	31	commission;
32	32	(2) actively participate in or contribute to the
33	33	political campaign of a candidate for a state or federal elective
34	34	office while a member of the commission;
35	35	(3) serve as or be a candidate to be a member of the
36	36	Texas Legislature before the third anniversary of the date the
37	37	commission adopted a redistricting plan for that body during the
38	38	member's service on the commission; or
39	39	(4) perform an activity for which a person is required
40	40	to register under Section 305.003.
41	41	Sec. 307.005. OPERATION OF COMMISSION. (a) The
42	42	legislature shall appropriate sufficient money for the
43	43	compensation and payment of the expenses of the commission members
44	44	and any staff employed by the commission.
45	45	(b) The commission shall be provided access to statistical
46	46	or other information compiled by the state or its political
47	47	subdivisions as necessary for the commission's reapportionment
48	48	duties.
49	49	(c) The Texas Legislative Council, under the direction of
50	50	the commission, shall provide the technical staff and clerical
51	51	services that the commission needs to prepare its plans.
52	52	Sec. 307.006. DUTIES. The commission shall:
53	53	(1) adopt rules to carry out the constitutional duties
54	54	of the commission and to administer this chapter; and
55	55	(2) act as the legislature's recipient of the official
56	56	census data and maps from the United States Census Bureau pursuant
57	57	to the federal decennial census.
58	58	Sec. 307.007. REDISTRICTING PLAN; FORM. (a) For each plan
59	59	or modification of a plan adopted by the commission, the commission
60	60	shall prepare and publish a report that includes:
61	61	(1) for each district in the plan, the total
62	62	population and the percentage deviation from the average district
63	63	population;
64	64	(2) an explanation of the criteria used in developing
65	65	the plan, with a justification of any population deviation in a
66	66	district from the average district population;
67	67	(3) a map or maps of all the districts; and
68	68	(4) the estimated cost to be incurred by the counties
69	69	for changes in county election precinct boundaries required to
70	70	conform to the districts adopted by the commission.
71	71	(b) The commission shall make a copy of a report prepared
72	72	under this section available to the public.
73	73	Sec. 307.008. REDISTRICTING PLAN STANDARDS. (a) A plan
74	74	adopted by the commission must conform to the standards provided by
75	75	Sections 25, 26, and 28a, Article III, Texas Constitution.
76	76	(b) In developing a plan, the commission may not consider:
77	77	(1) the potential effects of the districts on
78	78	incumbents or potential candidates for office;
79	79	(2) the residence of any elected official or potential
80	80	candidate for office;
81	81	(3) any information involving the past political
82	82	performance of a specific geographic area, except as necessary to
83	83	comply with federal law; and
84	84	(4) data concerning party affiliation or voting
85	85	history, except as necessary to comply with federal law.
86	86	Sec. 307.009. HEARINGS. (a) After proposing an initial
87	87	plan or subsequent modification for each body for which the
88	88	commission is required to adopt a plan, the commission shall hold
89	89	public hearings in not fewer than four different geographic regions
90	90	to consider each plan or modification.
91	91	(b) The commission shall provide public notice of a hearing
92	92	not less than 14 days before the date of the hearing.
93	93	(c) After reviewing all information received at each
94	94	hearing, the commission shall make all necessary revisions of the
95	95	initial plan or modification before final adoption of a plan or
96	96	modification of a plan.
97	97	Sec. 307.010. DISCLOSURE OF DATA REQUIRED. The commission
98	98	shall make all plans submitted to the commission, including the
99	99	commission's initial plans and all subsequent modifications,
100	100	hearing transcripts, minutes of meetings, maps, narrative
101	101	descriptions of proposed districts, and other data used by the
102	102	commission available to the public through the use of an Internet
103	103	website and other appropriate means.
104	104	Sec. 307.011. SUBMISSION OF PLAN. On adoption of a plan or
105	105	modification of a plan by the commission, the commission shall
106	106	submit the plan or modification to the governor, the secretary of
107	107	state, and the presiding officer of each house of the legislature.
108	108	Sec. 307.012. CESSATION OF OPERATIONS. (a) Following the
109	109	initial adoption of all plans that the commission is required to
110	110	adopt, the commission shall take all necessary steps to conclude
111	111	its business and suspend operations until the commission reconvenes
112	112	as provided by Section 28a, Article III, or Section 7a, Article V,
113	113	Texas Constitution, if it does reconvene.
114	114	(b) The commission shall prepare a financial statement
115	115	disclosing all expenditures made by the commission. The official
116	116	record of the commission must contain all relevant information
117	117	developed by the commission in carrying out its duties, including
118	118	maps, data, minutes of meetings, written communications, and other
119	119	information.
120	120	(c) After the commission suspends operations, the secretary
121	121	of state becomes the custodian of its official records for purposes
122	122	of election administration. Any unexpended money from an
123	123	appropriation to the commission reverts to the general revenue
124	124	fund.
125	125	Sec. 307.013. CHALLENGES TO PLAN. After a plan or
126	126	modification of a plan is adopted by the commission, any person
127	127	aggrieved by the plan may file a petition with the supreme court
128	128	challenging the plan.
129	129	Sec. 307.014. RECONVENING OF COMMISSION FOR
130	130	REAPPORTIONMENT OF JUDICIAL DISTRICTS. (a) If the Judicial
131	131	Districts Board fails to make a statewide reapportionment of
132	132	judicial districts under Subchapter F, Chapter 24, unless the
133	133	commission is already reconvened, the commission shall reconvene on
134	134	September 1 of the year provided by Section 7a(e), Article V, Texas
135	135	Constitution, to make the statewide reapportionment as required by
136	136	Section 24.946(a).
137	137	(b) The commission shall complete the reapportionment of
138	138	judicial districts as soon as possible within the time provided by
139	139	Section 7a(e), Article V, Texas Constitution.
140	140	(c) The commission's reapportionment of judicial districts
141	141	becomes effective as provided by Sections 24.948 and 24.949.
142	142	(d) Following the effective date of a reapportionment of
143	143	judicial districts, the commission shall take all necessary steps
144	144	to conclude its business and suspend operations in accordance with
145	145	Section 307.012. The commission shall suspend operations after the
146	146	90th day after the September 1 on which the commission's authority
147	147	to adopt a reapportionment plan for the judicial districts begins,
148	148	unless the supreme court grants the commission additional time to
149	149	conduct its activities.
150	150	SECTION 2. Section 24.945(e), Government Code, is amended
151	151	to read as follows:
152	152	(e) The legislature, the Judicial Districts Board, or the
153	153	Texas [Legislative] Redistricting Commission [Board] may not
154	154	redistrict the judicial districts to provide for any judicial
155	155	district smaller in size than an entire county except as provided by
156	156	this subsection. Judicial districts smaller in size than the
157	157	entire county may be created subsequent to a general election in
158	158	which a majority of the persons voting on the proposition adopt the
159	159	proposition "to allow the division of ____________________ County
160	160	into judicial districts composed of parts of ____________________
161	161	County." A redistricting plan may not be proposed or adopted by the
162	162	legislature, the Judicial Districts Board, or the Texas
163	163	[Legislative] Redistricting Commission [Board] in anticipation of
164	164	a future action by the voters of any county.
165	165	SECTION 3. Section 24.946(a), Government Code, is amended
166	166	to read as follows:
167	167	(a) The board shall meet in accordance with its own rules.
168	168	The board shall meet at least once in each interim between regular
169	169	sessions of the legislature and shall exercise its reapportionment
170	170	powers only in the interims between regular legislative sessions.
171	171	Meetings of the board shall be subject to the provisions of Chapter
172	172	551, except as otherwise provided by this subchapter. A
173	173	reapportionment may not be ordered in the interim immediately
174	174	following a regular session of the legislature in which a valid and
175	175	subsisting statewide reapportionment of judicial districts is
176	176	enacted by the legislature. Unless the legislature enacts a
177	177	statewide reapportionment of the judicial districts following each
178	178	federal decennial census, the board shall convene not later than
179	179	the first Monday of June of the third year following the year in
180	180	which the federal decennial census is taken to make a statewide
181	181	reapportionment of the districts. The board shall complete its
182	182	work on the reapportionment and file its order with the secretary of
183	183	state not later than August 31 of the same year. If the Judicial
184	184	Districts Board fails to make a statewide apportionment by that
185	185	date, the Texas [Legislative] Redistricting Commission [Board]
186	186	established by Article III, Section 28a [28], of the Texas
187	187	Constitution shall make a statewide reapportionment of the judicial
188	188	districts not later than the 90th [150th] day after the final day
189	189	for the Judicial Districts Board to make the reapportionment, and
190	190	that apportionment takes effect as provided by Sections 24.948 and
191	191	24.949.
192	192	SECTION 4. Section 2058.002(a), Government Code, is amended
193	193	to read as follows:
194	194	(a) The legislature or the Texas [Legislative]
195	195	Redistricting Commission [Board] under Article III, Section 28a
196	196	[28], of the Texas Constitution may officially recognize or act on a
197	197	federal decennial census before September 1 of the year after the
198	198	calendar year during which the census was taken.
199	199	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect January 1, 2021, but only
200	200	if the constitutional amendment proposed by the 85th Legislature,
201	201	Regular Session, 2017, establishing the Texas Redistricting
202	202	Commission to redistrict the Texas Legislature and Texas
203	203	congressional districts and revising procedures for redistricting
204	204	is approved by the voters. If that proposed constitutional
205	205	amendment is not approved by the voters, this Act has no effect.