Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas House Bill HJR74 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	85R4043 JRJ-D
2	2	By: Anchia H.J.R. No. 74
3	3
4	4
5	5	A JOINT RESOLUTION
6	6	proposing a constitutional amendment establishing the Texas
7	7	Redistricting Commission to redistrict the Texas Legislature and
8	8	Texas congressional districts and revising procedures for
9	9	redistricting.
10	10	BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Article III, Texas Constitution, is amended by
12	12	adding Section 28a to read as follows:
13	13	Sec. 28a. (a) The Texas Redistricting Commission exercises
14	14	the legislative authority of this state to adopt redistricting
15	15	plans for the election of the Texas House of Representatives, the
16	16	Texas Senate, and the members of the United States House of
17	17	Representatives elected from this state. Districts for those
18	18	legislative bodies may not be established or changed except as
19	19	provided by this section.
20	20	(b) The commission consists of seven members selected as
21	21	follows:
22	22	(1) one member appointed by the member of the Texas
23	23	Senate with the most seniority, as defined by senate rules;
24	24	(2) one member appointed by the member of the Texas
25	25	Senate with the most seniority, as defined by senate rules, who is
26	26	of a different political party than the member described by
27	27	Subdivision (1) of this subsection;
28	28	(3) one member appointed by the member of the Texas
29	29	House of Representatives with the most seniority, as defined by
30	30	house rules;
31	31	(4) one member appointed by the member of the Texas
32	32	House of Representatives with the most seniority, as defined by
33	33	house rules, who is of a different political party than the member
34	34	described by Subdivision (3) of this subsection;
35	35	(5) one member appointed by an affirmative vote of not
36	36	fewer than three of the members of the commission selected under
37	37	Subdivisions (1) through (4) of this subsection; and
38	38	(6) two members appointed by the member appointed
39	39	under Subdivision (5) of this subsection who must be retired
40	40	federal judges appointed to the federal bench by presidents of
41	41	different political parties.
42	42	(c) The members of the commission shall appoint one of the
43	43	members to serve as presiding officer by an affirmative vote of a
44	44	majority of the members of the commission.
45	45	(d) Each member of the commission must be a resident of this
46	46	state and have relevant skills and abilities, including analytical
47	47	skills, the capacity for impartiality, and an appreciation for the
48	48	diverse demographics and geography of the state. A person is not
49	49	eligible to serve on the commission if the person:
50	50	(1) holds an elective or appointive public office,
51	51	other than the office of retired federal judge if the member is
52	52	appointed under Subsection (b)(6) of this section or an office on
53	53	the governing body of a school district;
54	54	(2) holds an office in a political party;
55	55	(3) is employed by:
56	56	(A) an elected or appointed public official;
57	57	(B) a candidate for the legislature or the United
58	58	States Congress; or
59	59	(C) an entity whose principal purpose is to
60	60	support or oppose a candidate described by Paragraph (B) of this
61	61	subdivision;
62	62	(4) has served in a position described by Subdivision
63	63	(1), (2), or (3) of this subsection within the three years preceding
64	64	the date the person is appointed to the commission;
65	65	(5) is required by law to register with the Texas
66	66	Ethics Commission on account of the person's communications with
67	67	state officers to influence legislation or administrative action,
68	68	or was required to register in that capacity in the three years
69	69	preceding the date the person was appointed to the commission; or
70	70	(6) is related to an elected or appointed public
71	71	official within the second degree by consanguinity, as determined
72	72	under general law governing consanguinity.
73	73	(e) The full term of a member of the commission is a 10-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 1. A vacancy on the
77	77	commission is filled in the same manner as provided by this section
78	78	for the original appointment.
79	79	(f) A member of the commission may not be a candidate in an
80	80	election for the Texas Senate or Texas House of Representatives
81	81	before the third anniversary of the date the commission adopts a
82	82	redistricting plan or modification of a plan for that body during
83	83	the person's service on the commission.
84	84	(g) A member of the Texas House of Representatives, the
85	85	Texas Senate, or the United States House of Representatives may not
86	86	have contact, directly or indirectly, with a redistricting
87	87	commission member or with redistricting commission staff, with
88	88	respect to redistricting, except by testimony in a public hearing.
89	89	Redistricting commission members may not engage in any discussions,
90	90	directly or indirectly, regarding redistricting or the work of the
91	91	redistricting commission with members of the Texas House of
92	92	Representatives, the Texas Senate, or the United States House of
93	93	Representatives, except during a public hearing or by written
94	94	communication given to the entire commission. If a redistricting
95	95	commission member engages in a prohibited discussion or violates
96	96	state law regarding public meetings, the commission may, by
97	97	majority vote, remove the member from the commission.
98	98	(h) A redistricting plan or modification of a redistricting
99	99	plan is adopted by a vote of not less than five members of the
100	100	commission.
101	101	(i) The members of the commission appointed under
102	102	Subsections (b)(1) through (4) of this section shall be appointed
103	103	not earlier than January 25 or later than January 31 of each year
104	104	ending in 1. The member appointed under Subsection (b)(5) of this
105	105	section shall be appointed not later than the 15th day after the
106	106	commission convenes under Subsection (k) of this section. The
107	107	members appointed under Subsection (b)(6) of this section shall be
108	108	appointed not later than the 15th day after the date of an
109	109	appointment under Subsection (b)(5) of this section.
110	110	(j) As soon as practicable after the commission convenes,
111	111	all members of the commission must attend training provided by a
112	112	legislative agency that has provided redistricting services to the
113	113	legislature. The training must include:
114	114	(1) information on the demographics and geography of
115	115	the state;
116	116	(2) the responsibilities of the commission;
117	117	(3) information on the redistricting process; and
118	118	(4) redistricting software training.
119	119	(k) 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 Texas Senate, the Texas House of
122	122	Representatives, and the members of the United States House of
123	123	Representatives elected from this state not later than July 1 of
124	124	that year, unless the federal decennial census is delivered to the
125	125	appropriate officials of this state after May 1 of that year, in
126	126	which event the commission shall adopt those redistricting plans
127	127	not later than the 90th day after the date the census is delivered.
128	128	(l) The commission shall reconvene to modify a
129	129	redistricting plan if the plan becomes unenforceable by order of a
130	130	court or by action of any other appropriate authority. In modifying
131	131	a redistricting plan, the commission must comply with all
132	132	applicable standards imposed by this section, other provisions of
133	133	this constitution, and laws enacted under this section but is not
134	134	limited to modifications necessary to correct legal deficiencies.
135	135	(m) In a redistricting plan or modification of a plan
136	136	adopted under this section, the commission shall consider the
137	137	following criteria, giving priority to each criterion in the order
138	138	listed:
139	139	(1) districts must be drawn in accordance with the
140	140	federal constitution and all applicable federal laws, including the
141	141	federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Section 10101 et seq.);
142	142	(2) in addition to the requirements of federal law,
143	143	districts must be drawn in a manner that does not discriminate on
144	144	the basis of race, color, or membership in a language minority group
145	145	by ensuring the voting strength of racial, ethnic, and language
146	146	minorities in the districts is not diluted in a manner that deprives
147	147	minority voters of an equal opportunity to elect a candidate of
148	148	their choice;
149	149	(3) each district must be composed of contiguous
150	150	territory, and for purposes of this subdivision territory that is
151	151	adjoining only at a point is not considered contiguous;
152	152	(4) to the extent reasonable, district boundaries may
153	153	not divide a community of interest other than a community based on a
154	154	relationship with a political party or candidate for public office;
155	155	(5) to the extent reasonable, district boundaries must
156	156	coincide with the boundaries of political subdivisions of the state
157	157	and divide the smallest number of counties, municipalities, and
158	158	school districts possible;
159	159	(6) each congressional district must contain a
160	160	population as nearly equal as possible to the population of any
161	161	other district in the plan; and
162	162	(7) in a redistricting plan for the Texas Senate or
163	163	Texas House of Representatives the overall range of population
164	164	deviation from the district with the largest population to the
165	165	district with the smallest population may not exceed 2.5 percent.
166	166	(n) If a political subdivision must be divided, the
167	167	commission shall give preference to dividing a more populous
168	168	political subdivision before a less populous one. This subsection
169	169	does not apply to a boundary drawn along a county line that divides
170	170	a municipality.
171	171	(o) The commission may not draw a redistricting plan
172	172	purposely to favor or discriminate against a political party or any
173	173	other group.
174	174	(p) The commission shall provide a process by which the
175	175	public may comment on a proposed redistricting plan or proposed
176	176	modification of a plan. The commission shall consider those
177	177	comments in the adoption or modification of a redistricting plan.
178	178	(q) For a reasonable period before the commission considers
179	179	a redistricting plan, including a modification of a redistricting
180	180	plan, the commission shall make available to the public:
181	181	(1) a report that identifies for each district in the
182	182	plan:
183	183	(A) boundaries;
184	184	(B) population;
185	185	(C) racial and ethnic composition;
186	186	(D) compactness measure;
187	187	(E) divided governmental units; and
188	188	(F) political performance indexes; and
189	189	(2) the total number of:
190	190	(A) governmental units of each type that are
191	191	divided;
192	192	(B) politically balanced districts; and
193	193	(C) districts anticipated to lean toward each
194	194	political party.
195	195	(r) The legislature shall enact laws consistent with this
196	196	section to implement this section. The laws may include additional
197	197	qualifications for commission members and additional standards
198	198	applicable to redistricting plans.
199	199	(s) The legislature shall appropriate money or otherwise
200	200	provide the commission sufficient facilities and personnel to
201	201	enable the commission to carry out its duties.
202	202	(t) This section takes effect January 1, 2021. On that
203	203	date, the Legislative Redistricting Board is abolished and Section
204	204	28 of this article is repealed. The Texas Redistricting Commission
205	205	shall convene for the first time on the first business day after
206	206	January 31, 2021. This subsection expires January 1, 2022.
207	207	SECTION 2. Section 7a, Article V, Texas Constitution, is
208	208	amended by amending Subsections (e) and (i) and adding Subsection
209	209	(j) to read as follows:
210	210	(e) Unless the legislature enacts a statewide
211	211	reapportionment of the judicial districts following each federal
212	212	decennial census, the board shall convene not later than the first
213	213	Monday of June of the third year following the year in which the
214	214	federal decennial census is taken to make a statewide
215	215	reapportionment of the districts. The board shall complete its
216	216	work on the reapportionment and file its order with the secretary of
217	217	state not later than August 31 of the same year. If the Judicial
218	218	Districts Board fails to make a statewide apportionment by that
219	219	date, the Texas [Legislative] Redistricting Commission [Board]
220	220	established by Article III, Section 28a [28], of this constitution
221	221	shall convene on September 1 of the same year to make a statewide
222	222	reapportionment of the judicial districts not later than the 90th
223	223	[150th] day after the final day for the Judicial Districts Board to
224	224	make the reapportionment.
225	225	(i) The legislature, the Judicial Districts Board, or the
226	226	Texas [Legislative] Redistricting Commission [Board] may not
227	227	redistrict the judicial districts to provide for any judicial
228	228	district smaller in size than an entire county except as provided by
229	229	this section. Judicial districts smaller in size than the entire
230	230	county may be created subsequent to a general election where a
231	231	majority of the persons voting on the proposition adopt the
232	232	proposition "to allow the division of ____________ County into
233	233	judicial districts composed of parts of ____________ County." No
234	234	redistricting plan may be proposed or adopted by the legislature,
235	235	the Judicial Districts Board, or the Texas [Legislative]
236	236	Redistricting Commission [Board] in anticipation of a future action
237	237	by the voters of any county.
238	238	(j) Until January 1, 2021, a reference in this section to
239	239	the Texas Redistricting Commission means the Legislative
240	240	Redistricting Board established under Article III, Section 28, of
241	241	this constitution. This subsection expires January 1, 2021.
242	242	SECTION 3. This proposed constitutional amendment shall be
243	243	submitted to the voters at an election to be held November 7, 2017.
244	244	The ballot shall be printed to permit voting for or against the
245	245	following proposition: "The constitutional amendment establishing
246	246	the Texas Redistricting Commission to redistrict the Texas
247	247	Legislature and Texas congressional districts and revising
248	248	procedures for redistricting."