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SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION
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proposing a constitutional amendment establishing the Texas |
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Redistricting Commission to redistrict the United States House of |
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Representatives and the Texas Legislature. |
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BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Article III, Texas Constitution, is amended by |
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adding Section 28a to read as follows: |
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Sec. 28a. (a) The Texas Redistricting Commission exercises |
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the legislative authority of this state to adopt redistricting |
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plans for the election of members of the United States House of |
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Representatives elected from this state, the Texas House of |
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Representatives, and the Texas Senate. Districts for those |
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legislative bodies may not be established or changed except as |
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provided by this section. |
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(b) The legislature shall provide by general law for the |
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composition and operation of the Texas Redistricting Commission. |
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(c) This section takes effect January 1, 2030. On that |
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date, the Legislative Redistricting Board is abolished and Section |
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28 of this article is repealed. The Texas Redistricting Commission |
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shall convene for the first time on the first business day after |
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January 31, 2031. This subsection expires January 1, 2032. |
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SECTION 2. Section 7a, Article V, Texas Constitution, is |
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amended by amending Subsections (e) and (i) and adding Subsection |
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(j) to read as follows: |
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(e) Unless the legislature enacts a statewide |
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reapportionment of the judicial districts following each federal |
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decennial census, the board shall convene not later than the first |
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Monday of June of the third year following the year in which the |
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federal decennial census is taken to make a statewide |
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reapportionment of the districts. The board shall complete its |
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work on the reapportionment and file its order with the secretary of |
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state not later than August 31 of the same year. If the Judicial |
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Districts Board fails to make a statewide apportionment by that |
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date, the Texas [Legislative] Redistricting Commission [Board] |
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established by Article III, Section 28a [28], of this constitution |
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shall convene on September 1 of the same year to make a statewide |
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reapportionment of the judicial districts not later than the 90th |
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[150th] day after the final day for the Judicial Districts Board to |
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make the reapportionment. |
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(i) The legislature, the Judicial Districts Board, or the |
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Texas [Legislative] Redistricting Commission [Board] may not |
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redistrict the judicial districts to provide for any judicial |
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district smaller in size than an entire county except as provided by |
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this section. Judicial districts smaller in size than the entire |
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county may be created subsequent to a general election where a |
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majority of the persons voting on the proposition adopt the |
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proposition "to allow the division of _______________ County into |
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judicial districts composed of parts of _______________ County." |
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No redistricting plan may be proposed or adopted by the |
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legislature, the Judicial Districts Board, or the Texas |
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[Legislative] Redistricting Commission [Board] in anticipation of |
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a future action by the voters of any county. |
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(j) Until January 1, 2030, a reference in this section to |
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the Texas Redistricting Commission means the Legislative |
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Redistricting Board established under Article III, Section 28, of |
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this constitution. This subsection expires January 1, 2031. |
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SECTION 3. This proposed constitutional amendment shall be |
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submitted to the voters at an election to be held November 2, 2021. |
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The ballot shall be printed to permit voting for or against the |
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following proposition: "The constitutional amendment |
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establishing the Texas Redistricting Commission to redistrict the |
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United States House of Representatives and the Texas Legislature." |