Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HJR123 Compare Versions

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1	1	89R946 CMO-D
2	2	By: Howard H.J.R. No. 123
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7	7	A JOINT RESOLUTION
8	8	proposing a constitutional amendment establishing an independent
9	9	redistricting commission to establish districts for the election of
10	10	the members of the United States House of Representatives elected
11	11	from this state, the Texas Senate, and the Texas House of
12	12	Representatives.
13	13	BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
14	14	SECTION 1. Article III, Texas Constitution, is amended by
15	15	adding Section 28a to read as follows:
16	16	Sec. 28a. The independent redistricting commission
17	17	established under Article XVIII of this constitution exercises the
18	18	legislative authority of this state to adopt redistricting plans
19	19	for the election of members of the United States House of
20	20	Representatives elected from this state, the Texas House of
21	21	Representatives, and the Texas Senate. Districts for those
22	22	legislative bodies may not be established or changed except as
23	23	provided by that article.
24	24	SECTION 2. Sections 7a(e) and (i), Article V, Texas
25	25	Constitution, are amended to read as follows:
26	26	(e) Unless the legislature enacts a statewide
27	27	reapportionment of the judicial districts following each federal
28	28	decennial census, the board shall convene not later than the first
29	29	Monday of June of the third year following the year in which the
30	30	federal decennial census is taken to make a statewide
31	31	reapportionment of the districts. The board shall complete its
32	32	work on the reapportionment and file its order with the secretary of
33	33	state not later than August 31 of the same year. If the Judicial
34	34	Districts Board fails to make a statewide apportionment by that
35	35	date, the independent redistricting commission [Legislative
36	36	Redistricting Board] established under [by] Article XVIII [III,
37	37	Section 28,] of this constitution shall convene on September 1 of
38	38	the same year to make a statewide reapportionment of the judicial
39	39	districts not later than the 90th [150th] day after the final day
40	40	for the Judicial Districts Board to make the reapportionment.
41	41	(i) The legislature, the Judicial Districts Board, or the
42	42	independent redistricting commission [Legislative Redistricting
43	43	Board] may not redistrict the judicial districts to provide for any
44	44	judicial district smaller in size than an entire county except as
45	45	provided by this section. Judicial districts smaller in size than
46	46	the entire county may be created subsequent to a general election
47	47	where a majority of the persons voting on the proposition adopt the
48	48	proposition "to allow the division of ____________ County into
49	49	judicial districts composed of parts of ____________ County." No
50	50	redistricting plan may be proposed or adopted by the legislature,
51	51	the Judicial Districts Board, or the independent redistricting
52	52	commission [Legislative Redistricting Board] in anticipation of a
53	53	future action by the voters of any county.
54	54	SECTION 3. The Texas Constitution is amended by adding
55	55	Article XVIII to read as follows:
56	56	ARTICLE XVIII. INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING COMMISSION
57	57	SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
58	58	Sec. 1. DEFINITIONS. In this article:
59	59	(1) "Commission" means the independent redistricting
60	60	commission established under this article.
61	61	(2) "Nonpartisan agency" means the agency designated
62	62	or established under Part 1, Subchapter E, of this article.
63	63	(3) "Redistricting plan" means a plan that establishes
64	64	the boundaries of districts used for the election of the members of,
65	65	as applicable:
66	66	(A) the United States House of Representatives
67	67	elected from this state;
68	68	(B) the Texas Senate; or
69	69	(C) the Texas House of Representatives.
70	70	(4) "Select committee" means the committee appointed
71	71	under Part 2, Subchapter E, of this article.
72	72	(5) "Selection pool" means the approved selection pool
73	73	under Part 2, Subchapter C, of this article.
74	74	SUBCHAPTER B. COMMISSION
75	75	PART 1. APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS
76	76	Sec. 2. APPOINTMENT. (a) The nonpartisan agency shall
77	77	establish an independent redistricting commission for this state
78	78	consisting of 15 members appointed under this section.
79	79	(b) Not later than October 1 of a year ending in the numeral
80	80	zero, the nonpartisan agency shall, at a public meeting held at
81	81	least 15 days after notice of the meeting is given to the public,
82	82	appoint the following six commission members:
83	83	(1) two members chosen at random from the majority
84	84	category of the selection pool;
85	85	(2) two members chosen at random from the minority
86	86	category of the selection pool; and
87	87	(3) two members chosen at random from the independent
88	88	category of the selection pool.
89	89	(c) Not later than November 15 of a year ending in the
90	90	numeral zero, the commission members appointed under Subsection (b)
91	91	of this section shall, at a public meeting held at least 15 days
92	92	after notice of the meeting is given to the public, appoint the
93	93	following nine commission members:
94	94	(1) three members selected from the majority category
95	95	of the selection pool;
96	96	(2) three members selected from the minority category
97	97	of the selection pool; and
98	98	(3) three members selected from the independent
99	99	category of the selection pool.
100	100	Sec. 3. RULES FOR APPOINTMENT OF CERTAIN MEMBERS. (a) The
101	101	appointment of a commission member under Section 2(c) or 5(b) of
102	102	this article and the selection of an alternate member under Section
103	103	4(b) of this article requires the affirmative vote of at least four
104	104	of the members appointed under Section 2(b) of this article,
105	105	including at least one member chosen from each category of the
106	106	selection pool.
107	107	(b) In appointing commission members under Section 2(c) or
108	108	5(b) of this article and selecting alternate members under Section
109	109	4(b) of this article, the commission members appointed under
110	110	Section 2(b) of this article shall ensure that the membership of the
111	111	commission:
112	112	(1) is representative of the demographic groups,
113	113	including racial, ethnic, economic, and gender groups, and
114	114	geographic regions of this state; and
115	115	(2) provides racial, ethnic, and language minorities
116	116	protected under the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Section
117	117	10301 et seq.) with a meaningful opportunity to participate in the
118	118	development of this state's redistricting plans.
119	119	Sec. 4. DESIGNATION OF ALTERNATE MEMBERS. (a) When the
120	120	nonpartisan agency appoints commission members under Section 2(b)
121	121	of this article, the agency shall choose at random two other
122	122	individuals from each category of the selection pool to serve as
123	123	alternate members.
124	124	(b) When the commission members appointed under Section
125	125	2(b) of this article appoint the remaining commission members under
126	126	Section 2(c) of this article, the members appointed under Section
127	127	2(b) shall select two other individuals from each category of the
128	128	selection pool to serve as alternate members.
129	129	Sec. 5. APPOINTMENT OF ALTERNATE MEMBERS TO FILL VACANCIES.
130	130	(a) If a commission member appointed under Section 2(b) of this
131	131	article vacates the member's position, the nonpartisan agency shall
132	132	choose at random one of the alternate members under Section 4(a) of
133	133	this article to fill the vacancy from the same category of the
134	134	selection pool as the vacating member. The agency shall also choose
135	135	at random another individual from the same category of the
136	136	selection pool to replace the alternate member.
137	137	(b) If a member appointed under Section 2(c) of this article
138	138	vacates the member's position, the members appointed under Section
139	139	2(b) of this article shall select one of the alternate members under
140	140	Section 4(b) of this article to fill the vacancy from the same
141	141	category of the selection pool as the vacating member. The members
142	142	appointed under Section 2(b) shall also select another individual
143	143	from the same category of the selection pool to replace the
144	144	alternate member.
145	145	Sec. 6. REMOVAL OF COMMISSION MEMBER. A commission member
146	146	may be removed by a majority vote of the remaining commission
147	147	members if it is shown by a preponderance of the evidence that the
148	148	person is not eligible to serve on the commission under Part 1,
149	149	Subchapter C, of this article.
150	150	PART 2. PROCEDURES FOR CONDUCTING COMMISSION BUSINESS
151	151	Sec. 7. CHAIR. The commission members shall select by
152	152	majority vote one member who was appointed from the independent
153	153	category of the selection pool to serve as chair of the commission.
154	154	The commission may not take any action to develop a redistricting
155	155	plan for this state under Subchapter D of this article before the
156	156	appointment of the chair.
157	157	Sec. 8. VOTE REQUIRED FOR CERTAIN ACTIONS. The commission
158	158	may not publish and disseminate any preliminary or final
159	159	redistricting plan, or take any other action, without the approval
160	160	of at least:
161	161	(1) a majority of the members of the commission; and
162	162	(2) one commission member from each category of the
163	163	selection pool.
164	164	Sec. 9. QUORUM. A majority of the members of the commission
165	165	constitutes a quorum.
166	166	PART 3. STAFF; CONTRACTORS
167	167	Sec. 10. COMMISSION STAFF. The commission shall appoint
168	168	and set the pay of technical experts, legal counsel, consultants,
169	169	and other staff the commission considers appropriate, subject to
170	170	general law. The application process must be public and all
171	171	application materials must be made available for public inspection.
172	172	Sec. 11. CONTRACTORS. The commission may enter into
173	173	contracts with vendors as the commission considers appropriate,
174	174	subject to general law. A contract must be approved by a majority
175	175	vote of the commission members, including at least one member from
176	176	each category of the selection pool.
177	177	Sec. 12. REPORTS REGARDING POLITICAL EXPENDITURES. (a) In
178	178	this section, "expenditure for political activity" means a
179	179	disbursement for:
180	180	(1) an independent expenditure, as defined by Section
181	181	301(17) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C.
182	182	Section 30101(17));
183	183	(2) an electioneering communication, as defined by
184	184	Section 304(f)(3) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52
185	185	U.S.C. Section 30104(f)(3)), or any other public communication, as
186	186	defined by Section 301(22) of that Act (52 U.S.C. Section
187	187	30101(22)), that would be an electioneering communication if it
188	188	were a broadcast, cable, or satellite communication; or
189	189	(3) any dues or other payments to a trade association
190	190	or organization exempt from tax under Section 501(a) of the
191	191	Internal Revenue Code of 1986 by reason of being listed under
192	192	Section 501(c) of that code that are, or could reasonably be
193	193	anticipated to be, used or transferred to another association or
194	194	organization for a use described by Section 501(c)(1), (2), or (3)
195	195	of that code.
196	196	(b) Each individual who applies for a position as an
197	197	employee of the commission and each vendor who applies for a
198	198	contract with the commission shall, at the time of application,
199	199	file with the commission a report summarizing:
200	200	(1) any expenditure for political activity made by the
201	201	individual or vendor during the 10 most recent calendar years; and
202	202	(2) any income received by the individual or vendor
203	203	during the 10 most recent calendar years that is attributable to an
204	204	expenditure for political activity.
205	205	(c) Each employee or vendor of the commission shall, not
206	206	later than the first anniversary of becoming an employee or vendor,
207	207	file with the commission a report summarizing the expenditures and
208	208	income described by Subsection (b) of this section during the 10
209	209	most recent calendar years. The employee or vendor shall file a
210	210	subsequent report for each year during any part of which the person
211	211	serves as an employee or a vendor.
212	212	Sec. 13. GOAL OF IMPARTIALITY. The commission shall take
213	213	appropriate steps to ensure that any staff appointed under this
214	214	part and any vendor with whom the commission enters into a contract
215	215	under this part will work in an impartial manner. The commission
216	216	may require an applicant for a staff position or contract to provide
217	217	information on the person's history of political activity beyond
218	218	the information required in the reports under Section 12 of this
219	219	article, including donations to candidates, political committees,
220	220	and political parties.
221	221	Sec. 14. DISQUALIFICATION; WAIVER. (a) The commission may
222	222	not appoint an individual as an employee or enter into a contract
223	223	with a vendor if the individual or vendor would be disqualified from
224	224	serving as a commission member under Section 18 of this article.
225	225	(b) The commission may by unanimous vote of its members
226	226	waive the application of Subsection (a) of this section to an
227	227	individual or a vendor after receiving and reviewing the person's
228	228	report under Section 12 of this article.
229	229	PART 4. TERMINATION OF COMMISSION
230	230	Sec. 15. TERMINATION. The terms of commission members
231	231	expire on the earlier of:
232	232	(1) June 14 of the year ending in the numeral zero
233	233	following appointment; or
234	234	(2) the day on which the nonpartisan agency submits a
235	235	selection pool to the select committee under Section 21 of this
236	236	article.
237	237	Sec. 16. PRESERVATION OF RECORDS. The legislature shall
238	238	ensure that the records of the commission are retained in an
239	239	appropriate state archive that allows this state to respond to any
240	240	civil action brought with respect to congressional redistricting in
241	241	this state.
242	242	SUBCHAPTER C. ESTABLISHMENT OF SELECTION POOL
243	243	PART 1. CRITERIA FOR ELIGIBILITY
244	244	Sec. 17. ELIGIBILITY. An individual is eligible to serve as
245	245	a commission member if:
246	246	(1) on the date of appointment, the individual is
247	247	registered to vote in elections for federal office held in this
248	248	state;
249	249	(2) during the three years preceding the date of
250	250	appointment, the individual has been affiliated with only one
251	251	political party or has not been affiliated with any political
252	252	party; and
253	253	(3) the individual submits to the nonpartisan agency,
254	254	at a time and in a form required by the agency, an application for
255	255	inclusion in the selection pool under this subchapter and includes
256	256	with the application a written statement, with an attestation under
257	257	penalty of perjury, containing the following information and
258	258	assurances:
259	259	(A) the individual's full current name, all of
260	260	the individual's former names, and the individual's contact
261	261	information including electronic mail address, residence address,
262	262	mailing address, and telephone numbers;
263	263	(B) the individual's race, ethnicity, gender,
264	264	age, date of birth, and household income for the most recent taxable
265	265	year;
266	266	(C) the political party with which the individual
267	267	is affiliated, if any;
268	268	(D) the reasons the individual desires to serve
269	269	as a member of the commission, the individual's qualifications, and
270	270	information relevant to the individual's ability to be fair and
271	271	impartial including:
272	272	(i) any involvement with, or financial
273	273	support of, a professional, social, political, religious, or
274	274	community organization or cause; and
275	275	(ii) the individual's employment and
276	276	educational history;
277	277	(E) an assurance that the individual will commit
278	278	to carrying out the individual's duties under this article in an
279	279	honest, independent, and impartial fashion and upholding public
280	280	confidence in the integrity of the redistricting process; and
281	281	(F) an assurance that, during the covered periods
282	282	described by Section 19 of this article, the individual has not
283	283	taken and will not take any action that would disqualify the
284	284	individual from serving as a commission member under Section 18 of
285	285	this article.
286	286	Sec. 18. DISQUALIFICATIONS. An individual is not eligible
287	287	to serve as a commission member if, during any of the covered
288	288	periods described by Section 19 of this article:
289	289	(1) the individual or, in the case of the covered
290	290	periods described by Sections 19(1) and (2) of this article, an
291	291	immediate family member of the individual holds public office or is
292	292	a candidate for election to public office;
293	293	(2) the individual or, in the case of the covered
294	294	periods described by Sections 19(1) and (2) of this article, an
295	295	immediate family member of the individual serves as an officer of a
296	296	political party or as an officer, employee, or paid consultant of a
297	297	campaign committee of a candidate for public office or of any
298	298	political action committee, as determined under general law;
299	299	(3) the individual or, in the case of the covered
300	300	periods described by Sections 19(1) and (2) of this article, an
301	301	immediate family member of the individual holds a position as a
302	302	registered lobbyist under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995
303	303	(2 U.S.C. Section 1601 et seq.) or an equivalent state or local law;
304	304	(4) the individual or, in the case of the covered
305	305	periods described by Sections 19(1) and (2) of this article, an
306	306	immediate family member of the individual is an employee of an
307	307	elected public official, a contractor with this state, or a donor to
308	308	the campaign of any candidate for public office or to any political
309	309	action committee, other than a donor who, during any covered
310	310	period, gives an aggregate amount of $1,000 or less to the campaigns
311	311	of all candidates for all public offices and to all political action
312	312	committees;
313	313	(5) the individual paid a civil penalty or criminal
314	314	fine or was sentenced to a term of imprisonment for violating any
315	315	provision of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C.
316	316	Section 30101 et seq.); or
317	317	(6) the individual or, in the case of the covered
318	318	periods described by Sections 19(1) and (2) of this article, an
319	319	immediate family member of the individual is an agent of a foreign
320	320	principal under the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938
321	321	(22 U.S.C. Section 611 et seq.).
322	322	Sec. 19. COVERED PERIODS. In this part, "covered period"
323	323	means, with respect to the appointment of a commission member:
324	324	(1) the 10-year period preceding the date of the
325	325	member's appointment;
326	326	(2) the period beginning on the date of the
327	327	individual's appointment and ending on August 14 of the next year
328	328	ending in the numeral one; and
329	329	(3) the 10-year period beginning on the day after the
330	330	last day of the period described by Subdivision (2) of this section.
331	331	Sec. 20. IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBER. In this part, "immediate
332	332	family member" means, with respect to an individual, a father,
333	333	stepfather, mother, stepmother, son, stepson, daughter,
334	334	stepdaughter, brother, stepbrother, sister, stepsister, husband,
335	335	wife, father-in-law, or mother-in-law.
336	336	PART 2. DEVELOPMENT AND SUBMISSION OF SELECTION POOL
337	337	Sec. 21. SELECTION POOL. Not later than June 15 of each
338	338	year ending in the numeral zero, the nonpartisan agency shall
339	339	develop and submit to the select committee a selection pool of 36
340	340	individuals who are eligible to serve as commission members. The
341	341	selection pool must include:
342	342	(1) a majority category with 12 individuals who are
343	343	affiliated with the political party whose candidate for the highest
344	344	federal office on the ballot in the most recent statewide general
345	345	election received the highest number of votes;
346	346	(2) a minority category with 12 individuals who are
347	347	affiliated with the political party whose candidate for the highest
348	348	federal office on the ballot in the most recent statewide general
349	349	election received the second highest number of votes; and
350	350	(3) an independent category with 12 individuals who
351	351	are not affiliated with either political party described by
352	352	Subdivisions (1) and (2) of this section.
353	353	Sec. 22. FACTORS CONSIDERED IN DEVELOPING POOL. In
354	354	selecting individuals for the selection pool under this part, the
355	355	nonpartisan agency shall:
356	356	(1) ensure that the pool:
357	357	(A) is representative of the demographic groups,
358	358	including racial, ethnic, economic, and gender groups, and
359	359	geographic regions of this state; and
360	360	(B) includes applicants who would allow racial,
361	361	ethnic, and language minorities protected under the Voting Rights
362	362	Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Section 10301 et seq.) a meaningful
363	363	opportunity to participate in the development of this state's
364	364	redistricting plans; and
365	365	(2) take into consideration the analytical skills of
366	366	the individuals selected in relevant fields, including mapping,
367	367	data management, law, community outreach, demography, and the
368	368	geography of this state, and their ability to work on an impartial
369	369	basis.
370	370	Sec. 23. INTERVIEWS OF APPLICANTS. To assist the
371	371	nonpartisan agency in developing the selection pool under this
372	372	part, the nonpartisan agency shall conduct interviews of applicants
373	373	under oath. If an individual is included in a selection pool
374	374	developed under this part, all of the interviews of the individual
375	375	shall be transcribed and the transcriptions made available on the
376	376	nonpartisan agency's public Internet website at the same time the
377	377	report under Section 26 of this article is released.
378	378	Sec. 24. POLITICAL PARTY AFFILIATION OF SELECTION POOL
379	379	MEMBERS. For purposes of this subchapter, an individual is
380	380	considered to be affiliated with a political party only if the
381	381	nonpartisan agency is able to verify, to the greatest extent
382	382	possible, the information the individual provides in the
383	383	application submitted under Section 17(3) of this article,
384	384	including by considering additional information provided by other
385	385	persons with knowledge of the individual's history of political
386	386	activity.
387	387	Sec. 25. ENCOURAGING APPLICATIONS FOR POOL. The
388	388	nonpartisan agency shall take steps necessary to ensure that
389	389	residents of the state across various geographic regions and
390	390	demographic groups are aware of the opportunity to serve as
391	391	commission members, including publicizing the role of the
392	392	commission and using newspapers, broadcast media, online sources,
393	393	and ethnic media, to encourage individuals to apply for inclusion
394	394	in the selection pool developed under this part.
395	395	Sec. 26. REPORT ON ESTABLISHMENT OF POOL. At the time the
396	396	nonpartisan agency submits the selection pool to the select
397	397	committee under Section 21 of this article, the nonpartisan agency
398	398	shall publish and post on the agency's public Internet website a
399	399	report describing the process by which the pool was developed,
400	400	including a description of how the individuals in the pool meet the
401	401	eligibility criteria of Part 1 of this subchapter and how the pool
402	402	reflects the factors the agency is required to take into
403	403	consideration under Section 22 of this article.
404	404	Sec. 27. PUBLIC COMMENT ON POOL. During the 14 days after
405	405	the nonpartisan agency publishes the report under Section 26 of
406	406	this article, the agency shall accept comments from the public on
407	407	the individuals included in the selection pool. The agency shall
408	408	post all comments on the agency's public Internet website as soon as
409	409	practicable after receipt and shall transmit them to the select
410	410	committee at the end of the comment period.
411	411	Sec. 28. ACTION BY SELECT COMMITTEE. (a) The select
412	412	committee shall, 15 to 21 days after receiving the selection pool
413	413	from the nonpartisan agency under Section 21 of this article:
414	414	(1) approve the pool as submitted by the nonpartisan
415	415	agency, in which case the pool becomes the approved selection pool
416	416	for purposes of Section 2 of this article; or
417	417	(2) reject the pool, in which case the nonpartisan
418	418	agency shall develop and submit a new selection pool as provided by
419	419	Part 3 of this subchapter.
420	420	(b) If the select committee fails to approve or reject the
421	421	pool by the deadline provided by Subsection (a) of this section, the
422	422	pool is considered rejected under Subsection (a)(2) of this
423	423	section.
424	424	PART 3. REPLACEMENT SELECTION POOL
425	425	Sec. 29. REPLACEMENT POOL. If the select committee rejects
426	426	the selection pool submitted by the nonpartisan agency under Part 2
427	427	of this subchapter, the nonpartisan agency shall, not later than 14
428	428	days after the rejection, develop and submit to the select
429	429	committee a replacement selection pool in the same manner provided
430	430	for the development and submission of the selection pool under
431	431	Sections 21 through 27 of this article. The replacement pool
432	432	submitted under this section may include individuals who were
433	433	included in the rejected selection pool submitted under Part 2 of
434	434	this subchapter if at least one individual in the replacement pool
435	435	was not included in the rejected pool.
436	436	Sec. 30. ACTION BY SELECT COMMITTEE. (a) Not later than 21
437	437	days after receiving the replacement selection pool from the
438	438	nonpartisan agency under Section 29 of this article, the select
439	439	committee shall:
440	440	(1) approve the pool as submitted by the nonpartisan
441	441	agency, in which case the pool becomes the approved selection pool
442	442	for purposes of Section 2 of this article; or
443	443	(2) reject the pool, in which case the nonpartisan
444	444	agency shall develop and submit a second replacement selection pool
445	445	as provided by Part 4 of this subchapter.
446	446	(b) If the select committee fails to approve or reject the
447	447	pool by the deadline provided by Subsection (a) of this section, the
448	448	pool is considered rejected under Subsection (a)(2) of this
449	449	section.
450	450	PART 4. SECOND REPLACEMENT SELECTION POOL
451	451	Sec. 31. SECOND REPLACEMENT POOL. If the select committee
452	452	rejects the replacement selection pool submitted by the nonpartisan
453	453	agency under Part 3 of this subchapter, the nonpartisan agency
454	454	shall, not later than 14 days after the rejection, develop and
455	455	submit to the select committee a second replacement selection pool,
456	456	in the same manner provided for the development and submission of
457	457	the selection pool under Sections 21 through 27 of this article.
458	458	The second replacement selection pool submitted under this section
459	459	may include individuals who were included in the rejected selection
460	460	pool under Part 2 of this subchapter or the rejected replacement
461	461	selection pool under Part 3 of this subchapter if at least one
462	462	individual in the second replacement pool was not included in
463	463	either rejected pool.
464	464	Sec. 32. ACTION BY SELECT COMMITTEE. (a) On the 14th or
465	465	15th day after receiving the second replacement selection pool from
466	466	the nonpartisan agency under Section 31 of this article, the select
467	467	committee shall:
468	468	(1) approve the pool as submitted by the nonpartisan
469	469	agency, in which case the pool becomes the approved selection pool
470	470	for purposes of Section 2 of this article; or
471	471	(2) reject the pool.
472	472	(b) If the select committee fails to approve or reject the
473	473	pool by the deadline provided by Subsection (a) of this section, the
474	474	pool is considered rejected under Subsection (a)(2) of this
475	475	section.
476	476	(c) If the select committee rejects the second replacement
477	477	pool under Section 31 of this article, this state shall petition:
478	478	(1) a federal court to order a remedial redistricting
479	479	plan for the election of members of congress; and
480	480	(2) a state or federal court to order a remedial
481	481	redistricting plan for the election of members of the Texas Senate
482	482	and Texas House of Representatives.
483	483	SUBCHAPTER D. CRITERIA FOR REDISTRICTING PLAN; PUBLIC NOTICE AND
484	484	INPUT
485	485	PART 1. DEVELOPMENT OF REDISTRICTING PLAN
486	486	Sec. 33. CRITERIA. (a) In this section, "community of
487	487	interest" means an area with recognized similarities of interests,
488	488	including ethnic, racial, economic, tribal, social, cultural,
489	489	geographic, or historic identities. The term may, in certain
490	490	circumstances, include political subdivisions such as counties,
491	491	municipalities, tribal lands and reservations, or school
492	492	districts. The term does not include common relationships with
493	493	political parties or political candidates.
494	494	(b) A redistricting plan shall establish single-member
495	495	districts using the following criteria in the following order of
496	496	priority:
497	497	(1) districts shall comply with the United States
498	498	Constitution, including the requirement that districts equalize
499	499	total population;
500	500	(2) districts shall comply with the Voting Rights Act
501	501	of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Section 10301 et seq.) and all applicable federal
502	502	laws;
503	503	(3) districts for the election of members of the Texas
504	504	Senate or Texas House of Representatives shall comply with all
505	505	applicable laws of this state;
506	506	(4) districts shall provide racial, ethnic, and
507	507	language minorities with an equal opportunity to participate in the
508	508	political process and to elect candidates of choice and may not
509	509	dilute or diminish their ability to elect candidates of choice
510	510	whether alone or in coalition with others; and
511	511	(5) districts shall respect communities of interest,
512	512	neighborhoods, and political subdivisions to the extent
513	513	practicable and after compliance with the requirements of
514	514	Subdivisions (1) through (4).
515	515	Sec. 34. NO FAVORING OR DISFAVORING OF POLITICAL PARTIES.
516	516	(a) A redistricting plan may not, when considered on a statewide
517	517	basis, unfairly favor or disfavor any political party.
518	518	(b) For purposes of Subsection (a) of this section, the
519	519	determination of whether a redistricting plan has the effect of
520	520	unfairly favoring or disfavoring a political party shall be based
521	521	on the totality of circumstances, including whether the plan
522	522	results in durable partisan bias as determined by scientifically
523	523	accepted measures of partisan fairness and whether there are
524	524	alternative plans that would have complied with the requirements of
525	525	law and resulted in less durable levels of partisan bias.
526	526	Notwithstanding this subsection, a redistricting plan may not be
527	527	found to be in violation of Subsection (a) of this section because
528	528	of application of the criteria provided by Sections 33(b)(1), (2),
529	529	(3), and (4) of this article.
530	530	Sec. 35. FACTORS PROHIBITED FROM CONSIDERATION. In
531	531	developing a redistricting plan, the commission may not take into
532	532	consideration any of the following factors, except to the extent
533	533	necessary to comply with the criteria provided by Sections
534	534	33(b)(1), (2), (3), and (4) and Section 34 of this article and to
535	535	enable the redistricting plan to be measured against the external
536	536	metrics described by Section 51 of this article:
537	537	(1) the residence of any member of the United States
538	538	House of Representatives, the Texas Senate, or the Texas House of
539	539	Representatives or a candidate for one of those offices; or
540	540	(2) the political party affiliation or voting history
541	541	of the population of a district.
542	542	PART 2. PUBLIC NOTICE AND INPUT
543	543	Sec. 36. USE OF OPEN AND TRANSPARENT PROCESS. The
544	544	independent redistricting commission shall hold each of its
545	545	meetings in public, shall solicit and take into consideration
546	546	comments from the public, including proposed maps, throughout the
547	547	process of developing a redistricting plan, and shall carry out its
548	548	duties in an open and transparent manner that provides for the
549	549	widest public dissemination reasonably possible of its proposed and
550	550	final redistricting plans.
551	551	Sec. 37. WEBSITE. (a) The commission shall maintain a
552	552	public Internet website that is not affiliated with or maintained
553	553	by the office of any elected official and that includes the
554	554	following features:
555	555	(1) general information on the commission, its role in
556	556	the redistricting process, and its members, including contact
557	557	information;
558	558	(2) an updated schedule of commission hearings and
559	559	activities, including deadlines for the submission of comments;
560	560	(3) all preliminary redistricting plans developed by
561	561	the commission under Part 3 of this subchapter, each final
562	562	redistricting plan developed under Part 4 of this subchapter, and
563	563	the written evaluation under Part 5 of this subchapter;
564	564	(4) all comments received from the public on the
565	565	commission's activities, including any proposed maps submitted
566	566	under Section 36 of this article;
567	567	(5) livestreaming of commission hearings and an
568	568	archive of previous meetings, including any documents considered at
569	569	any meeting, which the commission shall post not later than 24
570	570	hours after the conclusion of the meeting;
571	571	(6) access in an easily usable format to the
572	572	demographic and other data used by the commission to develop and
573	573	analyze the proposed redistricting plans, together with access to
574	574	any software used to draw maps of proposed districts and any reports
575	575	analyzing and evaluating any redistricting maps;
576	576	(7) a method by which members of the public may submit
577	577	comments and proposed maps directly to the commission;
578	578	(8) all records of the commission, including all
579	579	communications to or from members, employees, and contractors
580	580	regarding the work of the commission;
581	581	(9) a list of all contractors receiving payment from
582	582	the commission, together with the annual disclosures submitted by
583	583	the contractors under Section 12 of this article; and
584	584	(10) a list of the names of all individuals who
585	585	submitted applications to serve on the commission, together with
586	586	the applications submitted by individuals included in any selection
587	587	pool, except that the commission may redact from applications any
588	588	financial or other personally sensitive information.
589	589	(b) The commission shall ensure that all information posted
590	590	and maintained on the website under this section, including
591	591	information and proposed maps submitted by the public, be
592	592	maintained in an easily searchable format.
593	593	(c) The commission shall ensure that the website under this
594	594	section is operational, in at least a preliminary format, not later
595	595	than January 1 of the year ending in the numeral one.
596	596	Sec. 38. PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD. The commission shall
597	597	solicit, accept, and consider comments from the public with respect
598	598	to its duties, activities, and procedures at any time during the
599	599	period:
600	600	(1) beginning January 1 of the year ending in the
601	601	numeral one; and
602	602	(2) ending seven days before the date of the meeting at
603	603	which the commission votes on approving the final redistricting
604	604	plans for enactment into law under Section 48 of this article.
605	605	Sec. 39. MEETINGS AND HEARINGS IN VARIOUS GEOGRAPHIC
606	606	LOCATIONS. To the greatest extent practicable, the commission
607	607	shall hold its meetings and hearings in various geographic regions
608	608	and locations throughout this state.
609	609	Sec. 40. MULTIPLE LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL NOTICES.
610	610	The commission shall make each notice that is required to be posted
611	611	and published under this subchapter available in any language in
612	612	which this state, or any jurisdiction in this state, is required to
613	613	provide election materials under Section 203, Voting Rights Act of
614	614	1965 (52 U.S.C. Section 10503).
615	615	PART 3. DEVELOPMENT AND PUBLICATION OF PRELIMINARY REDISTRICTING
616	616	PLAN
617	617	Sec. 41. PRELIMINARY PLAN. Before developing and
618	618	publishing a final redistricting plan under Part 4 of this
619	619	subchapter, the commission shall develop and publish a preliminary
620	620	version of the plan.
621	621	Sec. 42. HEARINGS AND COMMENT BEFORE DEVELOPMENT. (a)
622	622	Before developing a preliminary redistricting plan under this part,
623	623	the commission shall hold at least three public hearings at which
624	624	members of the public may provide input and comments regarding the
625	625	potential contents of redistricting plans for this state and the
626	626	process by which the commission will develop each preliminary plan
627	627	under this part.
628	628	(b) At least 14 days before the date of each hearing held
629	629	under this section, the commission shall post notices of the
630	630	hearing on the website maintained under Section 37 of this article
631	631	and shall provide for the publication of notices in newspapers of
632	632	general circulation throughout this state. Each notice must specify
633	633	the date, time, and location of the hearing.
634	634	(c) Any member of the public may submit maps or portions of
635	635	maps for consideration by the commission. Each map shall be made
636	636	publicly available on the commission's Internet website and open to
637	637	comment as provided by Section 37(a) of this article.
638	638	Sec. 43. PUBLICATION OF PRELIMINARY PLAN. (a) The
639	639	commission shall post each preliminary redistricting plan
640	640	developed under this part, together with a report that includes the
641	641	commission's responses to any public comments received under
642	642	Section 38 of this article, on the website maintained under Section
643	643	37 of this article and shall provide for the publication of each
644	644	plan in newspapers of general circulation throughout this state.
645	645	(b) At least 14 days before the date the commission posts
646	646	and publishes the preliminary plans under this section, the
647	647	commission shall notify the public through the website maintained
648	648	under Section 37 of this article, as well as through publication of
649	649	notice in newspapers of general circulation throughout this state,
650	650	of the pending publication of the plans.
651	651	Sec. 44. PUBLIC COMMENT AFTER PUBLICATION. The commission
652	652	shall accept and consider comments from the public, including
653	653	through the website maintained under Section 37 of this article,
654	654	with respect to the preliminary redistricting plan published under
655	655	Section 43 of this article, including proposed revisions to maps,
656	656	for at least 30 days after the date on which the plan is published.
657	657	Sec. 45. HEARINGS AFTER PUBLICATION. (a) After posting and
658	658	publishing the preliminary redistricting plans under Section 43 of
659	659	this article, the commission shall hold at least three public
660	660	hearings in different geographic areas of this state at which
661	661	members of the public may provide input and comments regarding each
662	662	preliminary plan.
663	663	(b) At least 14 days before the date of each hearing held
664	664	under this section, the commission shall post notices of the
665	665	hearing on the website maintained under Section 37 of this article
666	666	and shall provide for the publication of notices in newspapers of
667	667	general circulation throughout this state. Each notice must
668	668	specify the date, time, and location of the hearing.
669	669	Sec. 46. MULTIPLE PRELIMINARY PLANS. At the option of the
670	670	commission, after developing and publishing preliminary
671	671	redistricting plans under this part, the commission may develop and
672	672	publish subsequent preliminary redistricting plans. The process
673	673	for the development and publication of each subsequent plan must
674	674	meet the requirements of this part for the development and
675	675	publication of the first preliminary redistricting plan.
676	676	PART 4. PROCESS FOR ENACTMENT OF FINAL REDISTRICTING PLAN
677	677	Sec. 47. FINAL PLAN. After taking into consideration
678	678	comments from the public on any preliminary redistricting plan
679	679	developed and published under Part 3 of this subchapter, the
680	680	commission shall develop and publish final redistricting plans.
681	681	Sec. 48. MEETING; FINAL VOTE. Not later than the deadline
682	682	provided by Section 52 of this article, the commission shall hold a
683	683	public hearing at which the members of the commission shall vote on
684	684	approving each final redistricting plan for enactment into law.
685	685	Sec. 49. PUBLICATION OF PLAN AND MATERIALS. At least 14
686	686	days before the date of the meeting under Section 48 of this
687	687	article, the commission shall provide the following information to
688	688	the public through the website maintained under Section 37 of this
689	689	article, as well as through newspapers of general circulation
690	690	throughout this state:
691	691	(1) each final redistricting plan, including all
692	692	relevant maps;
693	693	(2) a report by the commission to accompany each plan
694	694	that provides the background for the plan and the commission's
695	695	reasons for selecting the plan as the final redistricting plan,
696	696	including responses to the public comments received on any
697	697	preliminary redistricting plan developed and published under Part 3
698	698	of this subchapter; and
699	699	(3) any dissenting or additional views with respect to
700	700	each plan by individual members of the commission.
701	701	Sec. 50. ENACTMENT. A final redistricting plan developed
702	702	and published under this part becomes law on the 45th day after:
703	703	(1) the final plan is approved by a majority of the
704	704	whole membership of the commission; and
705	705	(2) at least one commission member from each category
706	706	of the selection pool approves the final plan.
707	707	PART 5. WRITTEN EVALUATION OF PLAN AGAINST EXTERNAL METRICS
708	708	Sec. 51. WRITTEN EVALUATION. The commission shall include
709	709	with each redistricting plan developed and published under this
710	710	subchapter a written evaluation that measures each plan against
711	711	external metrics that cover the criteria provided by Section 33 of
712	712	this article, including the impact of the plan on the ability of
713	713	communities of color to elect candidates of choice, measures of
714	714	partisan fairness using multiple accepted methodologies, and the
715	715	degree to which the plan preserves or divides communities of
716	716	interest.
717	717	PART 6. TIMING
718	718	Sec. 52. PERIOD FOR DEVELOPMENT OF PLAN. The commission may
719	719	begin its work on a redistricting plan immediately on receipt of
720	720	relevant population information from the United States Census
721	721	Bureau. The commission shall approve each final redistricting plan
722	722	each year ending in the numeral one on or before the later of:
723	723	(1) eight months after the date on which this state
724	724	receives the state apportionment notice; or
725	725	(2) October 1.
726	726	SUBCHAPTER E. ESTABLISHMENT OF RELATED ENTITIES
727	727	PART 1. NONPARTISAN LEGISLATIVE AGENCY
728	728	Sec. 53. ESTABLISHMENT. The legislature by general law
729	729	shall establish a nonpartisan agency in the legislative branch of
730	730	state government to appoint the members of the commission as
731	731	provided by Subchapter B of this article.
732	732	Sec. 54. NONPARTISANSHIP. For purposes of this part, an
733	733	agency shall be considered to be nonpartisan if under law the
734	734	agency:
735	735	(1) is required to provide services on a nonpartisan
736	736	basis;
737	737	(2) is required to maintain impartiality; and
738	738	(3) is prohibited from advocating for the adoption or
739	739	rejection of any legislative proposal.
740	740	Sec. 55. TRAINING OF COMMISSION MEMBERS. Not later than
741	741	January 15 of a year ending in the numeral one, the nonpartisan
742	742	agency shall provide commission members with initial training on
743	743	their obligations, including obligations under the Voting Rights
744	744	Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Section 10301 et seq.) and other applicable
745	745	laws.
746	746	Sec. 56. RULES. The nonpartisan agency shall adopt and
747	747	publish rules, after notice and opportunity for comment,
748	748	establishing the procedures that the agency will follow in
749	749	fulfilling its duties under this article, including the procedures
750	750	to be used in vetting the qualifications and political affiliation
751	751	of applicants and in creating the selection pools, the randomized
752	752	process to be used in selecting the initial commission members, and
753	753	the rules the agency will apply to ensure that the agency carries
754	754	out its duties under this article in a maximally transparent,
755	755	publicly accessible, and impartial manner.
756	756	Sec. 57. DESIGNATION OF EXISTING AGENCY. The legislature
757	757	by general law may designate an existing agency in the legislative
758	758	branch of government to appoint the members of the commission under
759	759	this article if the agency meets the requirements for
760	760	nonpartisanship under this part.
761	761	Sec. 58. TERMINATION OF SPECIALLY ESTABLISHED AGENCY. If
762	762	the legislature does not designate an existing agency under Section
763	763	57 of this article but instead establishes a new agency to serve as
764	764	the nonpartisan agency under this subchapter, the new agency shall
765	765	terminate on the enactment into law of all redistricting plans.
766	766	Sec. 59. PRESERVATION OF RECORDS. The legislature shall
767	767	ensure that the records of the nonpartisan agency are retained in an
768	768	appropriate state archive in a manner that enables the state to
769	769	respond to any civil action brought with respect to congressional
770	770	redistricting in the state.
771	771	Sec. 60. DEADLINE. The legislature shall meet the
772	772	requirements of this part not later than October 15 of each year
773	773	ending in the numeral nine.
774	774	PART 2. SELECT COMMITTEE ON REDISTRICTING
775	775	Sec. 61. SELECT COMMITTEE. The legislature shall appoint a
776	776	select committee on redistricting to approve or disapprove a
777	777	selection pool under Subchapter C of this article.
778	778	Sec. 62. APPOINTMENT. The select committee consists of the
779	779	following four members:
780	780	(1) one member of the senate appointed by the most
781	781	senior member of the senate who belongs to the political party with
782	782	the most members in the senate;
783	783	(2) one member of the senate appointed by the most
784	784	senior member of the senate who belongs to the political party with
785	785	the second greatest number of members in the senate;
786	786	(3) one member of the house of representatives
787	787	appointed by the most senior member of the house who belongs to the
788	788	political party with the most members in the house; and
789	789	(4) one member of the house of representatives
790	790	appointed by the most senior member of the house who belongs to the
791	791	political party with the second greatest number of members in the
792	792	house.
793	793	Sec. 63. DEADLINE. The legislature shall meet the
794	794	requirements of this part not later than January 15 of each year
795	795	ending in the numeral zero.
796	796	SECTION 4. Section 28, Article III, Texas Constitution, is
797	797	repealed.
798	798	SECTION 5. The following temporary provision is added to
799	799	the Texas Constitution:
800	800	TEMPORARY PROVISION. (a) This temporary provision applies
801	801	to the constitutional amendment proposed by the 89th Legislature,
802	802	Regular Session, 2025, establishing an independent redistricting
803	803	commission to establish districts for the election of the members
804	804	of the United States House of Representatives elected from this
805	805	state, the Texas Senate, and the Texas House of Representatives.
806	806	(b) On January 1, 2029:
807	807	(1) the amendments to Sections 7a(e) and (i), Article
808	808	V, of this constitution take effect;
809	809	(2) the repeal of Section 28, Article III, of this
810	810	constitution takes effect; and
811	811	(3) Section 28a, Article III, and Article XVIII of
812	812	this constitution take effect.
813	813	(c) This temporary provision expires January 1, 2030.
814	814	SECTION 6. This proposed constitutional amendment shall be
815	815	submitted to the voters at an election to be held November 4, 2025.
816	816	The ballot shall be printed to permit voting for or against the
817	817	proposition: "The constitutional amendment establishing an
818	818	independent redistricting commission to establish districts for
819	819	the election of the members of the United States House of
820	820	Representatives elected from this state, the Texas Senate, and the
821	821	Texas House of Representatives."