Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas House Bill HB3112 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	87R5000 BEF-D
2	2	By: González of Dallas H.B. No. 3112
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to procedures for public involvement in redistricting of
8	8	state legislative districts and congressional districts.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Title 3, Government Code, is amended by adding
11	11	Subtitle D to read as follows:
12	12	SUBTITLE D. REDISTRICTING
13	13	CHAPTER 331. PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT
14	14	SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
15	15	Sec. 331.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
16	16	(1) "Council" means the Texas Legislative Council.
17	17	(2) "Redistricting plan" means a bill that establishes
18	18	or modifies the boundaries of districts for the election of members
19	19	of the Texas Senate, the Texas House of Representatives, or the
20	20	United States House of Representatives who are elected from this
21	21	state. The term includes a substitute for or other amendment to a
22	22	bill.
23	23	(3) "Website" means an Internet website established
24	24	under Subchapter B.
25	25	SUBCHAPTER B. REDISTRICTING WEBSITE
26	26	Sec. 331.051. ESTABLISHMENT OF WEBSITE. (a) As soon as
27	27	practicable after a federal decennial census is taken but not later
28	28	than February 1 of the year following the year in which that census
29	29	is taken, the council shall establish an Internet website that
30	30	provides the public with information about the legislature's
31	31	redistricting activities based on that census.
32	32	(b) The website must be limited to the subject of
33	33	redistricting.
34	34	Sec. 331.052. CONTENT OF WEBSITE. (a) The council shall:
35	35	(1) continuously update the website to provide advance
36	36	notice of public hearings, committee meetings, and legislative
37	37	debates on redistricting plans;
38	38	(2) provide on the website the most recent available
39	39	information regarding voting age population, voter registration,
40	40	and election returns for election precincts and census tracts in
41	41	this state, including detailed maps depicting that information;
42	42	(3) allow individuals to submit through the website
43	43	comments on any redistricting plan being considered by the
44	44	legislature and questions, comments, and other information
45	45	regarding the legislature's redistricting activities; and
46	46	(4) include on the website any other information
47	47	required under this chapter.
48	48	(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), the council shall
49	49	ensure that any comment submitted to the website by a member of the
50	50	public regarding a redistricting plan or otherwise related to
51	51	redistricting is publicly available on the website not later than
52	52	72 hours after submission.
53	53	(c) The council may exclude from the website obscene,
54	54	threatening, harassing, or similarly offensive comments and
55	55	comments unrelated to redistricting. The council shall provide
56	56	copies of those comments to adult members of the public on request.
57	57	Sec. 331.053. DURATION OF WEBSITE. The council shall
58	58	ensure that the information required to be included on the website
59	59	relating to the legislature's redistricting activities based on a
60	60	federal decennial census remains accessible to the public on that
61	61	website until the website relating to the legislature's
62	62	redistricting activities based on the next federal decennial census
63	63	is established.
64	64	SUBCHAPTER C. REQUIREMENTS FOR LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEES
65	65	CONSIDERING REDISTRICTING LEGISLATION
66	66	Sec. 331.101. REDISTRICTING CRITERIA AND PROCEDURES.
67	67	Before considering any redistricting plan, the standing committees
68	68	of the senate and the house of representatives with primary
69	69	jurisdiction over redistricting shall solicit input from members of
70	70	the public regarding the legislature's criteria and procedures for
71	71	considering redistricting plans by:
72	72	(1) holding the public hearings required by Section
73	73	331.102; and
74	74	(2) posting those criteria and procedures on the
75	75	website.
76	76	Sec. 331.102. COMMITTEE HEARINGS ON REDISTRICTING CRITERIA
77	77	AND PROCEDURES. (a) Before considering a redistricting plan, the
78	78	standing committees of the senate and the house of representatives
79	79	with primary jurisdiction over redistricting shall each hold at
80	80	least 10 public hearings to consider redistricting criteria and
81	81	procedures during the year before the final data from a federal
82	82	decennial census is published and at least five public hearings to
83	83	consider those criteria and procedures after that data is
84	84	published. The committees may hold the hearings jointly or
85	85	separately.
86	86	(b) The committees shall hold each hearing in a different
87	87	congressional district in this state, including one hearing in the
88	88	congressional district with the greatest change in population since
89	89	the previous congressional apportionment. The committees shall
90	90	consider holding other hearings in congressional districts that
91	91	have experienced large changes in population.
92	92	(c) The committees shall provide public notice at least
93	93	seven days before each hearing. The notice must include the time
94	94	and location of the hearing and notice that members of the public
95	95	may provide comments on the criteria and procedures the committees
96	96	will use to consider redistricting plans and on other issues
97	97	related to redistricting.
98	98	(d) The committees shall allow individuals at remote
99	99	locations throughout the state to view and provide public testimony
100	100	at the hearings by videoconference.
101	101	(e) A committee shall post on the website a transcript of or
102	102	link to a video recording of each hearing not later than the seventh
103	103	day after conclusion of the hearing.
104	104	Sec. 331.103. REDISTRICTING PLAN PROPOSED BY COMMITTEE.
105	105	(a) A committee of the senate shall post the information required
106	106	by this section at least 72 hours before reporting from the
107	107	committee a redistricting plan originating in the senate. A
108	108	committee of the house of representatives shall post the
109	109	information required by this section at least 72 hours before
110	110	reporting from the committee a redistricting plan originating in
111	111	the house.
112	112	(b) A committee shall post on the website:
113	113	(1) a map showing each district in the redistricting
114	114	plan reported from the committee;
115	115	(2) the total population and voting age population of
116	116	each district in the redistricting plan reported from the
117	117	committee, including a breakdown of those populations by race and
118	118	by membership in language minority groups;
119	119	(3) all data and other factual information, in written
120	120	or electronic form, in the possession of a member, delegation, or
121	121	caucus of the legislature that is:
122	122	(A) relevant to the redistricting plan reported
123	123	from the committee or another version of that plan; and
124	124	(B) in any way descriptive of a population
125	125	residing in a geographic area included in the plan;
126	126	(4) all factual information relevant to the
127	127	redistricting plan reported from the committee or another version
128	128	of that plan that is known by or obtained from a consulting expert,
129	129	attorney, or representative of an attorney, including any facts
130	130	determined through an analysis or test performed by a consulting
131	131	expert or attorney, but not including information that is
132	132	exclusively the mental impression, opinion, conclusion, or legal
133	133	theory of a consulting expert or attorney;
134	134	(5) all opinions, mental impressions, and conclusions
135	135	of an attorney or consulting expert retained by a member,
136	136	delegation, or caucus of the legislature that:
137	137	(A) are relevant to the redistricting plan
138	138	reported from the committee or another version of that plan; and
139	139	(B) have been disclosed to:
140	140	(i) an employee of the legislature, other
141	141	than an employee of a person who retained the attorney or consulting
142	142	expert; or
143	143	(ii) a member of the legislature who did not
144	144	retain the attorney or consulting expert or who is not a member of
145	145	the delegation or caucus that retained the attorney or consulting
146	146	expert;
147	147	(6) a statement explaining the committee's reasons for
148	148	proposing adoption of the redistricting plan reported from the
149	149	committee and reasons why the proposed adoption will best serve the
150	150	public interest;
151	151	(7) any dissenting statement provided by a member of
152	152	the committee who does not approve the redistricting plan reported
153	153	from the committee; and
154	154	(8) notice that members of the public may submit
155	155	comments regarding the redistricting plan reported from the
156	156	committee through the website, at a public hearing, or by any other
157	157	available means.
158	158	(c) A committee shall post on the website a machine-readable
159	159	file containing the information described by Subsections (b)(1) and
160	160	(2).
161	161	(d) Any information required to be posted under Subsection
162	162	(b) that originates in an electronic form, including a shapefile or
163	163	equivalency file, must be posted in:
164	164	(1) the original electronic form; and
165	165	(2) a form that is reasonably usable by and accessible
166	166	to the general public.
167	167	(e) A new or amended version of a redistricting plan is
168	168	subject to the requirements of Subsection (a), regardless of
169	169	whether the committee complied with those requirements with respect
170	170	to an earlier version of the plan, unless the committee determines
171	171	that compliance with those requirements is likely to prevent
172	172	adoption of the plan before the end of the legislative session.
173	173	Sec. 331.104. HEARINGS ON PLANS PROPOSED BY COMMITTEE. (a)
174	174	A committee of the senate shall hold at least two public hearings on
175	175	a redistricting plan after an affirmative vote to report the
176	176	redistricting plan from the committee and before the redistricting
177	177	plan is considered by the full senate.
178	178	(b) A committee of the house of representatives shall hold
179	179	at least two public hearings on a redistricting plan after an
180	180	affirmative vote to report the redistricting plan from the
181	181	committee and before the redistricting plan is considered by the
182	182	full house.
183	183	(c) Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, a
184	184	committee shall hold each hearing in a different congressional
185	185	district in this state, including one hearing in the congressional
186	186	district with the greatest change in population since the previous
187	187	decennial congressional apportionment. If the committee is unable
188	188	to hold hearings throughout the state, the committee shall allow
189	189	public participation in the hearings from various congressional
190	190	districts throughout this state by videoconference.
191	191	(d) A committee shall provide public notice at least 72
192	192	hours before each hearing. The notice must include the time and
193	193	location of the hearing, notice that members of the public may
194	194	attend the hearing and provide comments on the redistricting plan,
195	195	and notice that members of the committee will be available at the
196	196	hearing to explain the reasons why adoption of the plan will best
197	197	serve the public interest.
198	198	(e) A committee shall allow individuals at remote locations
199	199	throughout the state to view and provide public testimony at the
200	200	hearings by videoconference.
201	201	(f) A committee shall post on the website a transcript of or
202	202	link to a video recording of each hearing not later than 48 hours
203	203	after conclusion of the hearing.
204	204	SUBCHAPTER D. REDISTRICTING PLAN ENACTED BY LEGISLATURE
205	205	Sec. 331.151. INFORMATION REGARDING ENACTED REDISTRICTING
206	206	PLAN. Not later than the seventh day after the day the legislature
207	207	passes a bill enacting a redistricting plan, the council shall post
208	208	on the website and, if practicable, publish in newspapers of
209	209	general circulation throughout the state:
210	210	(1) a map showing each district in the plan;
211	211	(2) for each district in the plan:
212	212	(A) the total population and voting age
213	213	population of the district, including a breakdown of those
214	214	populations by race and by membership in language minority groups;
215	215	and
216	216	(B) the number of registered voters in the
217	217	district including, to the extent available, a breakdown of that
218	218	number by political party affiliation, race, and membership in
219	219	language minority groups;
220	220	(3) statements by the president of the senate and the
221	221	speaker of the house of representatives explaining the
222	222	legislature's reasons for adopting the plan and reasons why
223	223	adoption of the plan will best serve the public interest; and
224	224	(4) any dissenting statement provided by a member of
225	225	the legislature who did not approve the plan.
226	226	SECTION 2. Chapter 331, Government Code, as added by this
227	227	Act, applies only to a regular or special session of the legislature
228	228	that begins on or after the effective date of this Act.
229	229	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.