Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB731 Compare Versions

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1	1	88R2141 BEF-F
2	2	By: Howard H.B. No. 731
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the reapportionment of state legislative,
8	8	congressional, and judicial districts and the functions and duties
9	9	of the independent redistricting commission.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Subtitle A, Title 3, Government Code, is amended
12	12	by adding Chapter 307 to read as follows:
13	13	CHAPTER 307. INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING COMMISSION
14	14	Sec. 307.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
15	15	(1) "Commission" means the independent redistricting
16	16	commission established under Article XVIII, Texas Constitution.
17	17	(2) "Redistricting plan" has the meaning assigned by
18	18	Section 1, Article XVIII, Texas Constitution.
19	19	Sec. 307.002. OATH. Before serving on the commission, each
20	20	person appointed shall take and subscribe to the constitutional
21	21	oath of office.
22	22	Sec. 307.003. ELIGIBILITY. The eligibility of a person to
23	23	serve on the commission is as prescribed by Article XVIII, Texas
24	24	Constitution.
25	25	Sec. 307.004. OPERATION OF COMMISSION. (a) The
26	26	legislature shall appropriate sufficient money for the
27	27	compensation and payment of the expenses of the commission members
28	28	and any staff employed by the commission.
29	29	(b) The commission shall be provided access to statistical
30	30	or other information compiled by the state or its political
31	31	subdivisions as necessary for the commission's duties.
32	32	(c) The Texas Legislative Council shall provide technical
33	33	staff and clerical services at the commission's request.
34	34	Sec. 307.005. DUTIES. The commission shall:
35	35	(1) adopt rules to carry out the constitutional duties
36	36	of the commission and to administer this chapter; and
37	37	(2) act as the legislature's recipient of the official
38	38	census and geographic data from the United States Census Bureau
39	39	pursuant to the federal decennial census.
40	40	Sec. 307.006. REDISTRICTING PLAN; FORM. The commission
41	41	shall include with each report under Section 49(2), Article XVIII,
42	42	Texas Constitution:
43	43	(1) for each district in the redistricting plan, the
44	44	total population and the percentage deviation from the average
45	45	district population;
46	46	(2) an explanation of the criteria used in developing
47	47	the redistricting plan with a justification of any population
48	48	deviation in a district from the average district population;
49	49	(3) a map or maps of all the districts; and
50	50	(4) the estimated cost to be incurred by the counties
51	51	for changes in county election precinct boundaries required to
52	52	conform to the districts adopted by the commission.
53	53	Sec. 307.007. REDISTRICTING PLAN STANDARDS. (a) A
54	54	redistricting plan adopted by the commission must conform to the
55	55	standards provided by Article XVIII, Texas Constitution.
56	56	(b) In developing a redistricting plan, the commission may
57	57	not consider:
58	58	(1) the potential effects of the districts on
59	59	incumbents or potential candidates for office;
60	60	(2) the residence of any elected official or potential
61	61	candidate for office;
62	62	(3) any information involving the past political
63	63	performance of a specific geographic area, except as necessary to
64	64	comply with federal law or Article XVIII, Texas Constitution; and
65	65	(4) data concerning party affiliation or voting
66	66	history, except as necessary to comply with federal law or Article
67	67	XVIII, Texas Constitution.
68	68	Sec. 307.008. DISCLOSURE OF DATA REQUIRED. The commission
69	69	shall make all redistricting plans submitted to the commission,
70	70	including the commission's preliminary redistricting plans,
71	71	hearing transcripts, minutes of meetings, maps, narrative
72	72	descriptions of proposed districts, and other data used by the
73	73	commission available to the public through the commission's
74	74	Internet website and other appropriate means.
75	75	Sec. 307.009. SUBMISSION OF PLAN. On adoption of a
76	76	preliminary or final redistricting plan by the commission, the
77	77	commission shall submit the redistricting plan to the governor, the
78	78	secretary of state, and the presiding officer of each house of the
79	79	legislature.
80	80	Sec. 307.010. OPERATIONS AFTER ADOPTION OF REDISTRICTING
81	81	PLANS. (a) Following the adoption of all redistricting plans that
82	82	the commission is required to adopt, the commission shall reduce or
83	83	suspend its staff, contractors, and operations to the extent
84	84	practicable.
85	85	(b) The commission shall prepare a financial statement
86	86	disclosing all expenditures made by the commission. The official
87	87	record of the commission must contain all relevant information
88	88	developed by the commission in carrying out its duties, including
89	89	maps, data, minutes of meetings, written communications, and other
90	90	information.
91	91	(c) The secretary of state shall preserve the commission's
92	92	records as provided by Section 16, Article XVIII, Texas
93	93	Constitution.
94	94	(d) Any unexpended money from an appropriation to the
95	95	commission reverts to the general revenue fund.
96	96	Sec. 307.011. CHALLENGES TO REDISTRICTING PLAN. After a
97	97	final redistricting plan is adopted by the commission, any person
98	98	aggrieved by the plan may file a petition with the supreme court
99	99	challenging the plan.
100	100	Sec. 307.012. CONVENING OF COMMISSION FOR REAPPORTIONMENT
101	101	OF JUDICIAL DISTRICTS. (a) If the Judicial Districts Board fails
102	102	to make a statewide reapportionment of judicial districts under
103	103	Subchapter F, Chapter 24, the commission shall convene on September
104	104	1 of the year provided by Section 7a(e), Article V, Texas
105	105	Constitution, to make the statewide reapportionment as required by
106	106	Section 24.946(a).
107	107	(b) The commission shall complete the reapportionment of
108	108	judicial districts as soon as possible within the time provided by
109	109	Section 7a(e), Article V, Texas Constitution.
110	110	(c) The commission's reapportionment of judicial districts
111	111	becomes effective as provided by Sections 24.948 and 24.949.
112	112	(d) Following the effective date of a reapportionment of
113	113	judicial districts, the commission shall reduce or suspend its
114	114	operations to the extent practicable.
115	115	SECTION 2. Section 42.032, Election Code, is amended to
116	116	read as follows:
117	117	Sec. 42.032. REDISTRICTING: BOUNDARY CHANGES. If changes in
118	118	county election precinct boundaries are necessary to give effect to
119	119	a redistricting plan under Article XVIII, [III, Section 28, of the]
120	120	Texas Constitution, each commissioners court shall order the
121	121	changes before October 1 of the year in which the redistricting is
122	122	done.
123	123	SECTION 3. Section 24.945(e), Government Code, is amended
124	124	to read as follows:
125	125	(e) The legislature, the Judicial Districts Board, or the
126	126	independent redistricting commission [Legislative Redistricting
127	127	Board] may not redistrict the judicial districts to provide for any
128	128	judicial district smaller in size than an entire county except as
129	129	provided by this subsection. Judicial districts smaller in size
130	130	than the entire county may be created subsequent to a general
131	131	election in which a majority of the persons voting on the
132	132	proposition adopt the proposition "to allow the division of
133	133	____________________ County into judicial districts composed of
134	134	parts of ____________________ County." A redistricting plan may
135	135	not be proposed or adopted by the legislature, the Judicial
136	136	Districts Board, or the independent redistricting commission
137	137	[Legislative Redistricting Board] in anticipation of a future
138	138	action by the voters of any county.
139	139	SECTION 4. Section 24.946(a), Government Code, is amended
140	140	to read as follows:
141	141	(a) The board shall meet in accordance with its own rules.
142	142	The board shall meet at least once in each interim between regular
143	143	sessions of the legislature and shall exercise its reapportionment
144	144	powers only in the interims between regular legislative sessions.
145	145	Meetings of the board shall be subject to the provisions of Chapter
146	146	551, except as otherwise provided by this subchapter. A
147	147	reapportionment may not be ordered in the interim immediately
148	148	following a regular session of the legislature in which a valid and
149	149	subsisting statewide reapportionment of judicial districts is
150	150	enacted by the legislature. Unless the legislature enacts a
151	151	statewide reapportionment of the judicial districts following each
152	152	federal decennial census, the board shall convene not later than
153	153	the first Monday of June of the third year following the year in
154	154	which the federal decennial census is taken to make a statewide
155	155	reapportionment of the districts. The board shall complete its
156	156	work on the reapportionment and file its order with the secretary of
157	157	state not later than August 31 of the same year. If the Judicial
158	158	Districts Board fails to make a statewide apportionment by that
159	159	date, the independent redistricting commission [Legislative
160	160	Redistricting Board] established under [by] Article XVIII, [III,
161	161	Section 28, of the] Texas Constitution, shall make a statewide
162	162	reapportionment of the judicial districts not later than the 90th
163	163	[150th] day after the final day for the Judicial Districts Board to
164	164	make the reapportionment, and that apportionment takes effect as
165	165	provided by Sections 24.948 and 24.949.
166	166	SECTION 5. Section 2058.002(a), Government Code, is amended
167	167	to read as follows:
168	168	(a) The legislature or the independent redistricting
169	169	commission established [Legislative Redistricting Board] under
170	170	Article XVIII, [III, Section 28, of the] Texas Constitution, may
171	171	officially recognize or act on a federal decennial census before
172	172	September 1 of the year after the calendar year during which the
173	173	census was taken.
174	174	SECTION 6. This Act takes effect January 1, 2029, but only
175	175	if the constitutional amendment proposed by the 88th Legislature,
176	176	Regular Session, 2023, establishing an independent redistricting
177	177	commission to establish districts for the election of the members
178	178	of the United States House of Representatives elected from this
179	179	state, the Texas Senate, and the Texas House of Representatives is
180	180	approved by the voters. If that proposed constitutional amendment
181	181	is not approved by the voters, this Act has no effect.