Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2294 Compare Versions

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1	1	88R1327 BEF-D
2	2	By: Talarico H.B. No. 2294
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	judicial districts, state legislative districts, State Board of
9	9	Education districts, and congressional districts.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Title 3, Government Code, is amended by adding
12	12	Subtitle D to read as follows:
13	13	SUBTITLE D. REDISTRICTING
14	14	CHAPTER 331. PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT
15	15	SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
16	16	Sec. 331.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
17	17	(1) "Council" means the Texas Legislative Council.
18	18	(2) "Redistricting plan" means a bill that establishes
19	19	or modifies the boundaries of districts for the election of judges,
20	20	members of the Texas Senate, members of the Texas House of
21	21	Representatives, members of the State Board of Education, or
22	22	members of the United States House of Representatives who are
23	23	elected from this state. The term includes a substitute for or
24	24	other amendment to a bill.
25	25	(3) "Website" means the Internet website established
26	26	under Subchapter B.
27	27	SUBCHAPTER B. REDISTRICTING WEBSITE
28	28	Sec. 331.051. ESTABLISHMENT OF WEBSITE. (a) As soon as
29	29	practicable after a federal decennial census is taken but not later
30	30	than February 1 of the year following the year in which that census
31	31	is taken, the council shall establish an Internet website that
32	32	provides the public with information about the legislature's
33	33	redistricting activities based on that census.
34	34	(b) The website must be limited to the subject of
35	35	redistricting.
36	36	Sec. 331.052. CONTENT OF WEBSITE. (a) The council shall:
37	37	(1) continuously update the website to provide advance
38	38	notice of public hearings, committee meetings, and legislative
39	39	debates on redistricting plans;
40	40	(2) provide on the website the most recent available
41	41	information regarding voting age population, voter registration,
42	42	and election returns for election precincts and census tracts in
43	43	this state, including detailed maps depicting that information;
44	44	(3) allow individuals to submit through the website
45	45	comments on any redistricting plan being considered by the
46	46	legislature and questions, comments, and other information
47	47	regarding the legislature's redistricting activities; and
48	48	(4) include on the website any other information
49	49	required under this chapter.
50	50	(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), the council shall
51	51	ensure that any comment submitted to the website by a member of the
52	52	public regarding a redistricting plan or otherwise related to
53	53	redistricting is publicly available on the website not later than
54	54	72 hours after submission.
55	55	(c) The council may exclude from the website obscene,
56	56	threatening, harassing, or similarly offensive comments and
57	57	comments unrelated to redistricting. The council shall provide
58	58	copies of those comments to adult members of the public on request.
59	59	Sec. 331.053. DURATION OF WEBSITE. The council shall
60	60	ensure that the information required to be included on the website
61	61	relating to the legislature's redistricting activities based on a
62	62	federal decennial census remains accessible to the public on that
63	63	website until the website relating to the legislature's
64	64	redistricting activities based on the next federal decennial census
65	65	is established.
66	66	SUBCHAPTER C. REQUIREMENTS FOR LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEES
67	67	CONSIDERING REDISTRICTING LEGISLATION
68	68	Sec. 331.101. REDISTRICTING CRITERIA AND PROCEDURES.
69	69	Before considering any redistricting plan, the standing committees
70	70	of the senate and the house of representatives with primary
71	71	jurisdiction over redistricting shall solicit input from members of
72	72	the public regarding the legislature's criteria and procedures for
73	73	considering redistricting plans by:
74	74	(1) holding the public hearings required by Section
75	75	331.102; and
76	76	(2) posting those criteria and procedures on the
77	77	website.
78	78	Sec. 331.102. COMMITTEE HEARINGS ON REDISTRICTING CRITERIA
79	79	AND PROCEDURES. (a) Before considering a redistricting plan, the
80	80	standing committees of the senate and the house of representatives
81	81	with primary jurisdiction over redistricting shall each hold at
82	82	least 10 public hearings to consider redistricting criteria and
83	83	procedures during the year before the final data from a federal
84	84	decennial census is published and at least 5 public hearings to
85	85	consider those criteria and procedures after that data is
86	86	published. The committees may hold the hearings jointly or
87	87	separately.
88	88	(b) The committees shall hold each hearing in a different
89	89	congressional district in this state, including one hearing in the
90	90	congressional district with the greatest change in population since
91	91	the previous congressional apportionment. The committees shall
92	92	consider holding other hearings in congressional districts that
93	93	have experienced large changes in population.
94	94	(c) The committees shall provide public notice at least
95	95	seven days before each hearing. The notice must include the time
96	96	and location of the hearing and notice that members of the public
97	97	may provide comments on the criteria and procedures the committees
98	98	will use to consider redistricting plans and on other issues
99	99	related to redistricting.
100	100	(d) The committees shall allow individuals at remote
101	101	locations throughout the state to view and provide public testimony
102	102	at the hearings by videoconference.
103	103	(e) A committee shall post on the website a transcript of or
104	104	link to a video recording of each hearing not later than the seventh
105	105	day after conclusion of the hearing.
106	106	Sec. 331.103. REDISTRICTING PLAN PROPOSED BY COMMITTEE.
107	107	(a) A committee of the senate shall post the information required
108	108	by this section at least five days before reporting from the
109	109	committee a redistricting plan originating in the senate. A
110	110	committee of the house of representatives shall post the
111	111	information required by this section at least five days before
112	112	reporting from the committee a redistricting plan originating in
113	113	the house.
114	114	(b) A committee shall post on the website:
115	115	(1) a map showing each district in the redistricting
116	116	plan reported from the committee;
117	117	(2) the total population and voting age population of
118	118	each district in the redistricting plan reported from the
119	119	committee, including a breakdown of those populations by race and
120	120	by membership in language minority groups;
121	121	(3) all data and other factual information, in written
122	122	or electronic form, in the possession of a member, delegation, or
123	123	caucus of the legislature that is:
124	124	(A) relevant to the redistricting plan reported
125	125	from the committee or another version of that plan; and
126	126	(B) in any way descriptive of a population
127	127	residing in a geographic area included in the plan;
128	128	(4) all factual information relevant to the
129	129	redistricting plan reported from the committee or another version
130	130	of that plan that is known by or obtained from a consulting expert,
131	131	attorney, or representative of an attorney, including any facts
132	132	determined through an analysis or test performed by a consulting
133	133	expert or attorney, but not including information that is
134	134	exclusively the mental impression, opinion, conclusion, or legal
135	135	theory of a consulting expert or attorney;
136	136	(5) all opinions, mental impressions, and conclusions
137	137	of an attorney or consulting expert retained by a member,
138	138	delegation, or caucus of the legislature that:
139	139	(A) are relevant to the redistricting plan
140	140	reported from the committee or another version of that plan; and
141	141	(B) have been disclosed to:
142	142	(i) an employee of the legislature, other
143	143	than an employee of a person who retained the attorney or consulting
144	144	expert; or
145	145	(ii) a member of the legislature who did not
146	146	retain the attorney or consulting expert or who is not a member of
147	147	the delegation or caucus that retained the attorney or consulting
148	148	expert;
149	149	(6) a statement explaining the committee's reasons for
150	150	proposing adoption of the redistricting plan reported from the
151	151	committee and reasons why the proposed adoption will best serve the
152	152	public interest;
153	153	(7) any dissenting statement provided by a member of
154	154	the committee who does not approve the redistricting plan reported
155	155	from the committee; and
156	156	(8) notice that members of the public may submit
157	157	comments regarding the redistricting plan reported from the
158	158	committee through the website, at a public hearing, or by any other
159	159	available means.
160	160	(c) A committee shall post on the website a machine-readable
161	161	file containing the information described by Subsections (b)(1) and
162	162	(2).
163	163	(d) Any information required to be posted under Subsection
164	164	(b) that originates in an electronic form, including a shapefile or
165	165	equivalency file, must be posted in:
166	166	(1) the original electronic form; and
167	167	(2) a form that is reasonably usable by and accessible
168	168	to the general public.
169	169	(e) A new or amended version of a redistricting plan adopted
170	170	by a committee is subject to the requirements of Subsection (a),
171	171	regardless of whether the committee complied with those
172	172	requirements with respect to an earlier version of the plan, unless
173	173	the committee determines that compliance with those requirements is
174	174	likely to prevent adoption of the plan before the end of the
175	175	legislative session.
176	176	Sec. 331.104. HEARINGS ON PLANS PROPOSED BY COMMITTEE. (a)
177	177	A committee of the senate shall hold at least two public hearings on
178	178	a redistricting plan after an affirmative vote to report the
179	179	redistricting plan from the committee and before the redistricting
180	180	plan is considered by the full senate.
181	181	(b) A committee of the house of representatives shall hold
182	182	at least two public hearings on a redistricting plan after an
183	183	affirmative vote to report the redistricting plan from the
184	184	committee and before the redistricting plan is considered by the
185	185	full house.
186	186	(c) Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, a
187	187	committee shall hold each hearing in a different congressional
188	188	district in this state, including one hearing in the congressional
189	189	district with the greatest change in population since the previous
190	190	decennial congressional apportionment. If the committee is unable
191	191	to hold hearings throughout the state, the committee shall allow
192	192	public participation in the hearings from various congressional
193	193	districts throughout this state by videoconference.
194	194	(d) A committee shall provide public notice at least five
195	195	days before each hearing. The notice must include the time and
196	196	location of the hearing, notice that members of the public may
197	197	attend the hearing and provide comments on the redistricting plan,
198	198	and notice that members of the committee will be available at the
199	199	hearing to explain the reasons why adoption of the plan will best
200	200	serve the public interest.
201	201	(e) A committee shall allow individuals at remote locations
202	202	throughout the state to view and provide public testimony at the
203	203	hearings by videoconference.
204	204	(f) A committee shall post on the website a transcript of or
205	205	link to a video recording of each hearing not later than 48 hours
206	206	after conclusion of the hearing.
207	207	SUBCHAPTER D. REDISTRICTING PLAN ENACTED BY LEGISLATURE
208	208	Sec. 331.151. INFORMATION REGARDING ENACTED REDISTRICTING
209	209	PLAN. Not later than the seventh day after the date the legislature
210	210	passes a bill enacting a redistricting plan, the council shall post
211	211	on the website and, if practicable, publish in newspapers of
212	212	general circulation throughout the state:
213	213	(1) a map showing each district in the plan;
214	214	(2) for each district in the plan:
215	215	(A) the total population and voting age
216	216	population of the district, including a breakdown of those
217	217	populations by race and by membership in language minority groups;
218	218	and
219	219	(B) the number of registered voters in the
220	220	district including, to the extent available, a breakdown of that
221	221	number by political party affiliation, race, and membership in
222	222	language minority groups;
223	223	(3) statements by the president of the senate and the
224	224	speaker of the house of representatives explaining the
225	225	legislature's reasons for adopting the plan and reasons why
226	226	adoption of the plan will best serve the public interest; and
227	227	(4) any dissenting statement provided by a member of
228	228	the legislature who did not approve the plan.
229	229	SECTION 2. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this
230	230	section, Chapter 331, Government Code, as added by this Act,
231	231	applies only to a regular or special session of the legislature that
232	232	begins on or after the effective date of this Act.
233	233	(b) The provision of Section 331.102(a), Government Code,
234	234	as added by this Act, that requires the standing committees of the
235	235	senate and the house of representatives with primary jurisdiction
236	236	over redistricting to each hold at least 10 public hearings to
237	237	consider redistricting criteria and procedures during the year
238	238	before the final data from a federal decennial census is published
239	239	applies beginning January 1, 2030.
240	240	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.