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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to establishing principles to govern redistricting plans |
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enacted by the legislature. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Subtitle B, Title 3, Government Code, is amended |
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by adding Chapter 319A to read as follows: |
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CHAPTER 319A. REDISTRICTING LEGISLATION |
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Sec. 319A.001. PRINCIPLES GOVERNING LEGISLATIVE |
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REDISTRICTING. (a) In enacting legislation adopting or modifying |
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a redistricting plan for the election of the Texas Senate, the Texas |
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House of Representatives, or the members of the United States House |
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of Representatives elected from this state, the legislature shall |
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ensure that the plan, including any modifications to the plan, |
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conforms to the following principles: |
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(1) a plan shall respect the integrity of the state's |
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basic geographic regions to the extent practicable; |
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(2) a plan shall avoid unnecessarily dividing counties |
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and municipalities in the formation of districts, and district |
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boundaries shall to the extent practicable be coterminous with the |
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boundaries of counties and municipalities, but if division of a |
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county or municipality is unavoidable, district lines must follow |
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boundaries such as rivers, mountains, state highways, or |
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residential subdivisions to the extent practicable; |
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(3) a plan shall to the extent practicable keep intact |
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communities of interest defined by social, economic, racial, |
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ethnic, cultural, industrial, commercial, and geographic |
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commonalities; |
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(4) a district shall be geographically compact and |
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composed of convenient contiguous territory; |
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(5) a plan may not be drawn with consideration to |
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partisan political effect or with intent to favor or disfavor any |
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specific person, political party, or other organization; |
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(6) a plan must comply with applicable state and |
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federal constitutional and statutory requirements, including the |
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federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Section 10101 et seq.); |
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(7) the districts in a plan must be equal in population |
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as nearly as practicable in accordance with the other principles |
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described by this subsection; and |
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(8) in addition to the requirements of federal law, |
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districts must be drawn in a manner that does not discriminate on |
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the basis of race, color, or membership in a language minority group |
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by ensuring the voting strength of racial, ethnic, and language |
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minorities in the districts is not intentionally or inadvertently |
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diluted in a manner that deprives minority voters of an equal |
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opportunity to elect a candidate of their choice. |
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(b) The principle described by Subsection (a)(2) applies to |
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a plan for the election of the Texas House of Representatives in |
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addition to the requirements of Section 26, Article III, Texas |
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Constitution. District lines shall to the extent practicable be |
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coterminous with the boundaries of counties and municipalities. |
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SECTION 2. This Act takes effect on the 91st day after the |
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last day of the legislative session. |