By McClendon H.R. No. 922
76R15802 SMC-F
R E S O L U T I O N
1-1 WHEREAS, This resolution expresses the will of the House of
1-2 Representatives of the 76th Texas Legislature and the people of the
1-3 State of Texas concerning the conduct of the next census and
1-4 requests that the federal government deliver to the states the most
1-5 accurate population figures that can be made available for use in
1-6 performing intrastate redistricting; and
1-7 WHEREAS, A complete and accurate count of all persons in the
1-8 United States of America is vital to the interests of the people of
1-9 the State of Texas; and
1-10 WHEREAS, Past censuses have been significantly inaccurate
1-11 despite the good faith efforts of the United States Census Bureau
1-12 and its personnel; and
1-13 WHEREAS, The United States government asked the National
1-14 Academy of Sciences to devise a method for conducting the 2000
1-15 census that would be more accurate, and the national academy has
1-16 done so; and
1-17 WHEREAS, The last federal decennial census conducted in 1990
1-18 was the first census that was less accurate than its predecessor;
1-19 and
1-20 WHEREAS, Recent federal decennial censuses, including the
1-21 1990 census, significantly undercounted millions of Americans and
1-22 overcounted millions of others; and
1-23 WHEREAS, The United States Census Bureau has reported that
1-24 the 1990 census undercounted 8.4 million persons and overcounted
2-1 4.4 million others; and
2-2 WHEREAS, Out of the net four million undercount in the 1990
2-3 census, more than half were children; and
2-4 WHEREAS, The undercount has had a disproportionate impact on
2-5 the African American, Hispanic, Asian American, and Native American
2-6 populations; and
2-7 WHEREAS, The 1990 census was recognized as not living up to
2-8 American goals of fairness and equality due to the racial
2-9 differential; and
2-10 WHEREAS, The United States Census Bureau has initiated plans
2-11 to conduct the 2000 federal decennial census using methods that
2-12 will produce a more accurate count of the nation's population; and
2-13 WHEREAS, The United States Supreme Court has rendered a
2-14 decision that the Census Act enacted by the congress prohibits the
2-15 use of sampling procedures to adjust the census for the purpose of
2-16 allocating congressional representatives among the states, but the
2-17 court's decision recognized that the Census Act requires sampling
2-18 procedures for other non-reapportionment purposes; and
2-19 WHEREAS, Intrastate redistricting and the allocation of
2-20 federal funds are two such non-reapportionment purposes; and
2-21 WHEREAS, The use of traditional methods in conducting the
2-22 census affected state finances because many federal grant programs
2-23 use census data to calculate allocations of funds to the states;
2-24 and
2-25 WHEREAS, An undercount in the 2000 census similar in
2-26 proportion to the undercount in the 1990 census would miss 563,332
2-27 Texans and cost the state $2.18 billion in federal funds; and
3-1 WHEREAS, The use of modern scientific procedures will result
3-2 in a more accurate count of the population and thus a greater
3-3 allotment of federal grant funds distributed to the State of Texas
3-4 than if traditional, inaccurate procedures are used to conduct the
3-5 2000 census; and
3-6 WHEREAS, The traditional methods of conducting the census not
3-7 only will be less accurate than the scientific modern methods
3-8 developed by the National Academy of Sciences, but also will be
3-9 less accurate than the scientific modern method regardless of the
3-10 amount of funds congress allocates to conduct the 2000 census using
3-11 such traditional methods; now, therefore, be it
3-12 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 76th Texas
3-13 Legislature hereby respectfully request the federal government to
3-14 take immediate and appropriate steps to ensure that modern
3-15 scientific procedures be employed in conducting the 2000 census so
3-16 that the most accurate population figures will be provided to the
3-17 states as the official federal decennial census; and, be it further
3-18 RESOLVED, That the house of representatives respectfully
3-19 request the federal government to use modern scientific techniques
3-20 to determine the official decennial United States census population
3-21 and report those census population figures to the states in such
3-22 manner and in such form that the population data can be used by the
3-23 states for performing intrastate redistricting; and, be it further
3-24 RESOLVED, That the house of representatives respectfully
3-25 request the federal government to use the modern scientific
3-26 techniques to determine the official decennial United States census
3-27 population so that the states and other local jurisdictions will
4-1 receive the appropriate and accurate amount of federal dollars to
4-2 which they are entitled; and, be it further
4-3 RESOLVED, That the chief clerk of the Texas House of
4-4 Representatives forward official copies of this resolution to the
4-5 director of the Bureau of the Census, to the president of the
4-6 United States, to the speaker of the house of representatives and
4-7 the president of the senate of the United States Congress, and to
4-8 all the members of the Texas delegation to the congress with the
4-9 request that this resolution be officially entered in the
4-10 Congressional Record as a memorial to the Congress of the United
4-11 States of America.