| 1 | 1 | | By: Zaffirini S.J.R. No. 9 |
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| 2 | 2 | | |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION |
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| 5 | 5 | | proposing a constitutional amendment establishing the Texas |
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| 6 | 6 | | Redistricting Commission to redistrict the United States House of |
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| 7 | 7 | | Representatives and the Texas Legislature. |
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| 8 | 8 | | BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 9 | 9 | | SECTION 1. Article III, Texas Constitution, is amended by |
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| 10 | 10 | | adding Section 28a to read as follows: |
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| 11 | 11 | | Sec. 28a. (a) The Texas Redistricting Commission exercises |
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| 12 | 12 | | the legislative authority of this state to adopt redistricting |
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| 13 | 13 | | plans for the election of members of the United States House of |
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| 14 | 14 | | Representatives elected from this state, the Texas House of |
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| 15 | 15 | | Representatives, and the Texas Senate. Districts for those |
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| 16 | 16 | | legislative bodies may not be established or changed except as |
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| 17 | 17 | | provided by this section. |
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| 18 | 18 | | (b) The legislature shall provide by general law for the |
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| 19 | 19 | | composition and operation of the Texas Redistricting Commission. |
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| 20 | 20 | | (c) This section takes effect January 1, 2030. On that |
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| 21 | 21 | | date, the Legislative Redistricting Board is abolished and Section |
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| 22 | 22 | | 28 of this article is repealed. The Texas Redistricting Commission |
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| 23 | 23 | | shall convene for the first time on the first business day after |
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| 24 | 24 | | January 31, 2031. This subsection expires January 1, 2032. |
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| 25 | 25 | | SECTION 2. Section 7a, Article V, Texas Constitution, is |
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| 26 | 26 | | amended by amending Subsections (e) and (i) and adding Subsection |
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| 27 | 27 | | (j) to read as follows: |
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| 28 | 28 | | (e) Unless the legislature enacts a statewide |
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| 29 | 29 | | reapportionment of the judicial districts following each federal |
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| 30 | 30 | | decennial census, the board shall convene not later than the first |
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| 31 | 31 | | Monday of June of the third year following the year in which the |
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| 32 | 32 | | federal decennial census is taken to make a statewide |
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| 33 | 33 | | reapportionment of the districts. The board shall complete its |
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| 34 | 34 | | work on the reapportionment and file its order with the secretary of |
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| 35 | 35 | | state not later than August 31 of the same year. If the Judicial |
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| 36 | 36 | | Districts Board fails to make a statewide apportionment by that |
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| 37 | 37 | | date, the Texas [Legislative] Redistricting Commission [Board] |
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| 38 | 38 | | established by Article III, Section 28a [28], of this constitution |
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| 39 | 39 | | shall convene on September 1 of the same year to make a statewide |
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| 40 | 40 | | reapportionment of the judicial districts not later than the 90th |
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| 41 | 41 | | [150th] day after the final day for the Judicial Districts Board to |
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| 42 | 42 | | make the reapportionment. |
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| 43 | 43 | | (i) The legislature, the Judicial Districts Board, or the |
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| 44 | 44 | | Texas [Legislative] Redistricting Commission [Board] may not |
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| 45 | 45 | | redistrict the judicial districts to provide for any judicial |
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| 46 | 46 | | district smaller in size than an entire county except as provided by |
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| 47 | 47 | | this section. Judicial districts smaller in size than the entire |
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| 48 | 48 | | county may be created subsequent to a general election where a |
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| 49 | 49 | | majority of the persons voting on the proposition adopt the |
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| 50 | 50 | | proposition "to allow the division of _______________ County into |
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| 51 | 51 | | judicial districts composed of parts of _______________ County." |
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| 52 | 52 | | No redistricting plan may be proposed or adopted by the |
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| 53 | 53 | | legislature, the Judicial Districts Board, or the Texas |
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| 54 | 54 | | [Legislative] Redistricting Commission [Board] in anticipation of |
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| 55 | 55 | | a future action by the voters of any county. |
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| 56 | 56 | | (j) Until January 1, 2030, a reference in this section to |
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| 57 | 57 | | the Texas Redistricting Commission means the Legislative |
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| 58 | 58 | | Redistricting Board established under Article III, Section 28, of |
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| 59 | 59 | | this constitution. This subsection expires January 1, 2031. |
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| 60 | 60 | | SECTION 3. This proposed constitutional amendment shall be |
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| 61 | 61 | | submitted to the voters at an election to be held November 2, 2021. |
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| 62 | 62 | | The ballot shall be printed to permit voting for or against the |
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| 63 | 63 | | following proposition: "The constitutional amendment |
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| 64 | 64 | | establishing the Texas Redistricting Commission to redistrict the |
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| 65 | 65 | | United States House of Representatives and the Texas Legislature." |
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