Texas 2021 - 87th 1st C.S.

Texas House Bill HCR3 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	87S10184 JRI-D
2	2	By: Reynolds H.C.R. No. 3
3	3
4	4
5	5	CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
6	6	WHEREAS, The history of the United States has been tarnished
7	7	by discriminatory policies that suppress minority voting rights and
8	8	threaten the foundation of our democracy; and
9	9	WHEREAS, On March 7, 1965, civil rights activists the
10	10	Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and John Lewis led a peaceful
11	11	march against voting inequality and were met with extreme violence;
12	12	this event prompted a public outcry and inspired Congress to pass
13	13	the Voting Rights Act later that year; the bipartisan legislation
14	14	allowed direct federal oversight and protections of election
15	15	processes to prevent states from suppressing minority voters; and
16	16	WHEREAS, In 2013, a landmark Supreme Court decision weakened
17	17	the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by ending the preclearance process,
18	18	which required jurisdictions with a history of voting
19	19	discrimination to submit changes to voting policies for federal
20	20	approval before implementing them; this limited the federal
21	21	government's ability to deter voter suppression, and North Carolina
22	22	and Texas immediately passed voting changes that were previously
23	23	rejected for preclearance; these laws remained during several
24	24	elections before federal courts later determined that they were
25	25	discriminatory; moreover, restrictive voting measures proliferated
26	26	after the 2020 election, and as of June 21, 2021, 17 states enacted
27	27	28 new laws that suppress access to the vote; and
28	28	WHEREAS, U.S. Representatives Terri Sewell and John Lewis
29	29	coauthored the Voting Rights Advancement Act, which was renamed in
30	30	honor of Congressman Lewis after his passing; this bill would
31	31	restore the protections of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 while
32	32	updating the coverage criteria to reflect current conditions and
33	33	apply to all states; furthermore, the bill focuses the preclearance
34	34	process on a set of discriminatory measures, requires reasonable
35	35	public notice for voting changes, and allows the Attorney General
36	36	to request the presence of federal observers in places at risk of
37	37	racial discrimination in voting; and
38	38	WHEREAS, Congressman John Lewis dedicated his life to
39	39	protecting Americans' right to vote, and Congress should pass his
40	40	legislation to prevent voter suppression and uphold our nation's
41	41	core value of equality; now, therefore, be it
42	42	RESOLVED, That the 87th Legislature of the State of Texas,
43	43	1st Called Session, hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the
44	44	United States to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act;
45	45	and, be it further
46	46	RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
47	47	copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to
48	48	the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of
49	49	Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the
50	50	members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that
51	51	this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a
52	52	memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.