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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the composition of the congressional districts for the |
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State of Texas. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. The districts from which the members of the |
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United States House of Representatives from the State of Texas are |
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elected are the districts as provided by law and used for the |
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election of the members of the United States House of |
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Representatives at the 2010 general election except as those |
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districts are changed by Section 2 of this Act. |
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SECTION 2. (a) The portion of Congressional District 4 |
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located in Cass County tract 950100, block 4015, is transferred to |
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Congressional District 1. |
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(b) The portion of Congressional District 11 located in |
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Nolan County tract 950100, block 2272, is transferred to |
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Congressional District 19. |
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(c) The portion of Congressional District 26 located in |
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Cooke County is transferred to Congressional District 13. |
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SECTION 3. In this Act, "tract," "block group," and "block" |
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mean the geographic areas identified by those terms on the 2010 |
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Census TIGER/Line Shapefiles, prepared by the federal Bureau of the |
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Census for the Twenty-third Decennial Census of the United States, |
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enumerated as of April 1, 2010. |
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SECTION 4. It is the intention of the Texas Legislature |
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that, if any county, tract, block group, block, or other geographic |
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area has erroneously been left out of this Act, a court reviewing |
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this Act should include that area in the appropriate district in |
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accordance with the intent of the legislature, using any available |
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evidence of that intent, including evidence such as that used by the |
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Supreme Court of Texas in Smith v. Patterson, 111 Tex. 535, 242 S.W. |
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749 (1922). |
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SECTION 5. (a) This Act supersedes all previous enactments |
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or orders adopting congressional districts for the State of Texas. |
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(b) Chapter 2 (H.B. 3), Acts of the 78th Legislature, 3rd |
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Called Session, 2003 (Article 197i, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), |
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is repealed. |
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SECTION 6. The districts set out in Section 2 of this Act |
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apply to the election of the members of the United States House of |
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Representatives from Texas beginning with the primary and general |
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elections in 2012 for members of the 113th Congress. This Act does |
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not affect the membership or congressional districts of the 112th |
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Congress. |
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SECTION 7. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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Act takes effect on the 91st day after the last day of the |
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legislative session. |