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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the composition of districts for the election of |
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members of the Texas House of Representatives. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. The purpose of this Act is to fulfill the |
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legislature's duty under Section 28, Article III, Texas |
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Constitution, to redraw the districts for the election of the |
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members of the Texas House of Representatives in compliance with |
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the United States and Texas Constitutions and applicable federal |
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law following the publication of the 2020 federal decennial census. |
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SECTION 2. The districts from which the members of the Texas |
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House of Representatives are elected are the districts as provided |
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by law and used for the election of the members of the House of |
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Representatives of the 87th Legislature except as those districts |
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are changed by Section 3 of this Act. |
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SECTION 3. (a) San Augustine County is transferred from |
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House District 57 to House District 11. |
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(b) Hood County is transferred from House District 60 to |
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House District 59. |
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(c) Sherman County is transferred from House District 87 to |
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House District 86. |
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(d) Bexar County Precinct 4137 is transferred from House |
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District 119 to House District 118. |
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SECTION 4. 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 5. It is the intent of the legislature that if any |
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county, tract, block group, block, or other geographic area has |
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erroneously been left out of this Act, a court reviewing this Act |
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should include that area in the appropriate district in accordance |
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with the intent of the legislature, using any available evidence of |
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that intent, including evidence such as that used by the Supreme |
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Court of Texas in Smith v. Patterson, 111 Tex. 535, 242 S.W. 749 |
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(1922). |
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SECTION 6. (a) This Act supersedes all previous enactments |
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or orders adopting districts for the Texas House of |
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Representatives. All previous acts of the legislature adopting |
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districts for the Texas House of Representatives are repealed. |
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(b) Chapter 2 (S.B. 3), Acts of the 83rd Legislature, 1st |
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Called Session, 2013 (Article 195a-13, Vernon's Texas Civil |
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Statutes), is repealed. |
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SECTION 7. The districts established in this Act apply to |
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the election of the members of the Texas House of Representatives |
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beginning with the primary and general elections in 2022 for |
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members of the 88th Legislature. This Act does not affect the |
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membership or districts of the House of Representatives of the 87th |
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Texas Legislature. |
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SECTION 8. 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 September 1, 2021. |