87S30030 TJB-D
By: Collier H.J.R. No. 3
A JOINT RESOLUTION
proposing a constitutional amendment to require the preservation of
communities of interest in the apportionment of members of the
Texas House of Representatives.
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 26, Article III, Texas Constitution, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 26. (a) The members of the House of Representatives
shall be apportioned among the several counties, according to the
number of population in each, as nearly as may be, on a ratio
obtained by dividing the population of the State, as ascertained by
the most recent United States census, by the number of members of
which the House is composed; provided, that whenever a single
county has sufficient population to be entitled to a
Representative, such county shall be formed into a separate
Representative District, and when two or more counties are required
to make up the ratio of representation, such counties shall be
contiguous to each other; and when any one county has more than
sufficient population to be entitled to one or more
Representatives, such Representative or Representatives shall be
apportioned to such county, and for any surplus of population it may
be joined in a Representative District with any other contiguous
county or counties.
(b) The apportionment of members of the House of
Representatives shall to the extent practicable keep intact
communities of interest defined by social, economic, racial,
ethnic, cultural, industrial, commercial, and geographic
commonalities.
SECTION 2. This proposed constitutional amendment shall be
submitted to the voters at an election to be held November 8, 2022.
The ballot shall be printed to permit voting for or against the
proposition: "The constitutional amendment to require the
preservation of communities of interest in the apportionment of
members of the Texas House of Representatives."