Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB3031 Compare Versions

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

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1	1	89R9424 BEF-F
2	2	By: Howard H.B. No. 3031
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7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the reapportionment of state legislative,
10	10	congressional, and judicial districts and the functions and duties
11	11	of the independent redistricting commission.
12	12	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
13	13	SECTION 1. Subtitle A, Title 3, Government Code, is amended
14	14	by adding Chapter 307 to read as follows:
15	15	CHAPTER 307. INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING COMMISSION
16	16	Sec. 307.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
17	17	(1) "Commission" means the independent redistricting
18	18	commission established under Article XVIII, Texas Constitution.
19	19	(2) "Redistricting plan" has the meaning assigned by
20	20	Section 1, Article XVIII, Texas Constitution.
21	21	Sec. 307.002. OATH. Before serving on the commission, each
22	22	person appointed shall take and subscribe to the constitutional
23	23	oath of office.
24	24	Sec. 307.003. ELIGIBILITY. The eligibility of a person to
25	25	serve on the commission is as prescribed by Article XVIII, Texas
26	26	Constitution.
27	27	Sec. 307.004. OPERATION OF COMMISSION. (a) The
28	28	legislature shall appropriate sufficient money for the
29	29	compensation and payment of the expenses of the commission members
30	30	and any staff employed by the commission.
31	31	(b) The commission shall be provided access to statistical
32	32	or other information compiled by the state or its political
33	33	subdivisions as necessary for the commission's duties.
34	34	(c) The Texas Legislative Council shall provide technical
35	35	staff and clerical services at the commission's request.
36	36	Sec. 307.005. DUTIES. The commission shall:
37	37	(1) adopt rules to carry out the constitutional duties
38	38	of the commission and to administer this chapter; and
39	39	(2) act as the legislature's recipient of the official
40	40	census and geographic data from the United States Census Bureau
41	41	pursuant to the federal decennial census.
42	42	Sec. 307.006. REDISTRICTING PLAN; FORM. The commission
43	43	shall include with each report under Section 49(2), Article XVIII,
44	44	Texas Constitution:
45	45	(1) for each district in the redistricting plan, the
46	46	total population and the percentage deviation from the average
47	47	district population;
48	48	(2) an explanation of the criteria used in developing
49	49	the redistricting plan with a justification of any population
50	50	deviation in a district from the average district population;
51	51	(3) a map or maps of all the districts; and
52	52	(4) the estimated cost to be incurred by the counties
53	53	for changes in county election precinct boundaries required to
54	54	conform to the districts adopted by the commission.
55	55	Sec. 307.007. REDISTRICTING PLAN STANDARDS. (a) A
56	56	redistricting plan adopted by the commission must conform to the
57	57	standards provided by Article XVIII, Texas Constitution.
58	58	(b) In developing a redistricting plan, the commission may
59	59	not consider:
60	60	(1) the potential effects of the districts on
61	61	incumbents or potential candidates for office;
62	62	(2) the residence of any elected official or potential
63	63	candidate for office;
64	64	(3) any information involving the past political
65	65	performance of a specific geographic area, except as necessary to
66	66	comply with federal law or Article XVIII, Texas Constitution; and
67	67	(4) data concerning party affiliation or voting
68	68	history, except as necessary to comply with federal law or Article
69	69	XVIII, Texas Constitution.
70	70	Sec. 307.008. DISCLOSURE OF DATA REQUIRED. The commission
71	71	shall make all redistricting plans submitted to the commission,
72	72	including the commission's preliminary redistricting plans,
73	73	hearing transcripts, minutes of meetings, maps, narrative
74	74	descriptions of proposed districts, and other data used by the
75	75	commission available to the public through the commission's
76	76	Internet website and other appropriate means.
77	77	Sec. 307.009. SUBMISSION OF PLAN. On adoption of a
78	78	preliminary or final redistricting plan by the commission, the
79	79	commission shall submit the redistricting plan to the governor, the
80	80	secretary of state, and the presiding officer of each house of the
81	81	legislature.
82	82	Sec. 307.010. OPERATIONS AFTER ADOPTION OF REDISTRICTING
83	83	PLANS. (a) Following the adoption of all redistricting plans that
84	84	the commission is required to adopt, the commission shall reduce or
85	85	suspend its staff, contractors, and operations to the extent
86	86	practicable.
87	87	(b) The commission shall prepare a financial statement
88	88	disclosing all expenditures made by the commission. The official
89	89	record of the commission must contain all relevant information
90	90	developed by the commission in carrying out its duties, including
91	91	maps, data, minutes of meetings, written communications, and other
92	92	information.
93	93	(c) The secretary of state shall preserve the commission's
94	94	records as provided by Section 16, Article XVIII, Texas
95	95	Constitution.
96	96	(d) Any unexpended money from an appropriation to the
97	97	commission reverts to the general revenue fund.
98	98	Sec. 307.011. CHALLENGES TO REDISTRICTING PLAN. After a
99	99	final redistricting plan is adopted by the commission, any person
100	100	aggrieved by the plan may file a petition with the supreme court
101	101	challenging the plan.
102	102	Sec. 307.012. CONVENING OF COMMISSION FOR REAPPORTIONMENT
103	103	OF JUDICIAL DISTRICTS. (a) If the Judicial Districts Board fails
104	104	to make a statewide reapportionment of judicial districts under
105	105	Subchapter F, Chapter 24, the commission shall convene on September
106	106	1 of the year provided by Section 7a(e), Article V, Texas
107	107	Constitution, to make the statewide reapportionment as required by
108	108	Section 24.946(a).
109	109	(b) The commission shall complete the reapportionment of
110	110	judicial districts as soon as possible within the time provided by
111	111	Section 7a(e), Article V, Texas Constitution.
112	112	(c) The commission's reapportionment of judicial districts
113	113	becomes effective as provided by Sections 24.948 and 24.949.
114	114	(d) Following the effective date of a reapportionment of
115	115	judicial districts, the commission shall reduce or suspend its
116	116	operations to the extent practicable.
117	117	SECTION 2. Section 42.032, Election Code, is amended to
118	118	read as follows:
119	119	Sec. 42.032. REDISTRICTING: BOUNDARY CHANGES. If changes in
120	120	county election precinct boundaries are necessary to give effect to
121	121	a redistricting plan under Article XVIII, [III, Section 28, of the]
122	122	Texas Constitution, each commissioners court shall order the
123	123	changes before October 1 of the year in which the redistricting is
124	124	done.
125	125	SECTION 3. Section 24.945(e), Government Code, is amended
126	126	to read as follows:
127	127	(e) The legislature, the Judicial Districts Board, or the
128	128	independent redistricting commission [Legislative Redistricting
129	129	Board] may not redistrict the judicial districts to provide for any
130	130	judicial district smaller in size than an entire county except as
131	131	provided by this subsection. Judicial districts smaller in size
132	132	than the entire county may be created subsequent to a general
133	133	election in which a majority of the persons voting on the
134	134	proposition adopt the proposition "to allow the division of
135	135	____________________ County into judicial districts composed of
136	136	parts of ____________________ County." A redistricting plan may
137	137	not be proposed or adopted by the legislature, the Judicial
138	138	Districts Board, or the independent redistricting commission
139	139	[Legislative Redistricting Board] in anticipation of a future
140	140	action by the voters of any county.
141	141	SECTION 4. Section 24.946(a), Government Code, is amended
142	142	to read as follows:
143	143	(a) The board shall meet in accordance with its own rules.
144	144	The board shall meet at least once in each interim between regular
145	145	sessions of the legislature and shall exercise its reapportionment
146	146	powers only in the interims between regular legislative sessions.
147	147	Meetings of the board shall be subject to the provisions of Chapter
148	148	551, except as otherwise provided by this subchapter. A
149	149	reapportionment may not be ordered in the interim immediately
150	150	following a regular session of the legislature in which a valid and
151	151	subsisting statewide reapportionment of judicial districts is
152	152	enacted by the legislature. Unless the legislature enacts a
153	153	statewide reapportionment of the judicial districts following each
154	154	federal decennial census, the board shall convene not later than
155	155	the first Monday of June of the third year following the year in
156	156	which the federal decennial census is taken to make a statewide
157	157	reapportionment of the districts. The board shall complete its
158	158	work on the reapportionment and file its order with the secretary of
159	159	state not later than August 31 of the same year. If the Judicial
160	160	Districts Board fails to make a statewide apportionment by that
161	161	date, the independent redistricting commission [Legislative
162	162	Redistricting Board] established under [by] Article XVIII, [III,
163	163	Section 28, of the] Texas Constitution, shall make a statewide
164	164	reapportionment of the judicial districts not later than the 90th
165	165	[150th] day after the final day for the Judicial Districts Board to
166	166	make the reapportionment, and that apportionment takes effect as
167	167	provided by Sections 24.948 and 24.949.
168	168	SECTION 5. Section 2058.002(a), Government Code, is amended
169	169	to read as follows:
170	170	(a) The legislature or the independent redistricting
171	171	commission established [Legislative Redistricting Board] under
172	172	Article XVIII, [III, Section 28, of the] Texas Constitution, may
173	173	officially recognize or act on a federal decennial census before
174	174	September 1 of the year after the calendar year during which the
175	175	census was taken.
176	176	SECTION 6. This Act takes effect January 1, 2029, but only
177	177	if the constitutional amendment proposed by the 89th Legislature,
178	178	Regular Session, 2025, establishing an independent redistricting
179	179	commission to establish districts for the election of the members
180	180	of the United States House of Representatives elected from this
181	181	state, the Texas Senate, and the Texas House of Representatives is
182	182	approved by the voters. If that proposed constitutional amendment
183	183	is not approved by the voters, this Act has no effect.