88R3873 JRJ-D

By: Anchía H.J.R. No. 83

A JOINT RESOLUTION

proposing a constitutional amendment establishing the Texas Redistricting Commission to redistrict the Texas Legislature and Texas congressional districts and revising procedures for redistricting.

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Article III, Texas Constitution, is amended by adding Section 28a to read as follows:

Sec. 28a. (a) The Texas Redistricting Commission exercises the legislative authority of this state to adopt redistricting plans for the election of the Texas House of Representatives, the Texas Senate, and the members of the United States House of Representatives elected from this state. Districts for those legislative bodies may not be established or changed except as provided by this section.

(b) The commission consists of seven members selected as follows:

(1) one member appointed by the member of the Texas Senate with the most seniority, as defined by senate rules;

(2) one member appointed by the member of the Texas Senate with the most seniority, as defined by senate rules, who is of a different political party than the member described by Subdivision (1) of this subsection;

(3) one member appointed by the member of the Texas House of Representatives with the most seniority, as defined by house rules;

(4) one member appointed by the member of the Texas House of Representatives with the most seniority, as defined by house rules, who is of a different political party than the member described by Subdivision (3) of this subsection;

(5) one member appointed by an affirmative vote of not fewer than three of the members of the commission selected under Subdivisions (1) through (4) of this subsection; and

(6) two members appointed by the member appointed under Subdivision (5) of this subsection who must be retired federal judges appointed to the federal bench by presidents of different political parties.

(c) The members of the commission shall appoint one of the members to serve as presiding officer by an affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the commission.

(d) Each member of the commission must be a resident of this state and have relevant skills and abilities, including analytical skills, the capacity for impartiality, and an appreciation for the diverse demographics and geography of the state. A person is not eligible to serve on the commission if the person:

(1) holds an elective or appointive public office, other than the office of retired federal judge if the member is appointed under Subsection (b)(6) of this section or an office on the governing body of a school district;

(2) holds an office in a political party;

(3) is employed by:

(A) an elected or appointed public official;

(B) a candidate for the legislature or the United States Congress; or

(C) an entity whose principal purpose is to support or oppose a candidate described by Paragraph (B) of this subdivision;

(4) has served in a position described by Subdivision (1), (2), or (3) of this subsection within the three years preceding the date the person is appointed to the commission;

(5) is required by law to register with the Texas Ethics Commission on account of the person's communications with state officers to influence legislation or administrative action, or was required to register in that capacity in the three years preceding the date the person was appointed to the commission; or

(6) is related to an elected or appointed public official within the second degree by consanguinity, as determined under general law governing consanguinity.

(e) The full term of a member of the commission is a 10-year term that begins on February 1 of the year ending in 1 in which the initial appointment to the position is required to be made and expires on January 31 of the next year ending in 1. A vacancy on the commission is filled in the same manner as provided by this section for the original appointment.

(f) A member of the commission may not be a candidate in an election for the Texas Senate or Texas House of Representatives before the third anniversary of the date the commission adopts a redistricting plan or modification of a plan for that body during the person's service on the commission.

(g) A member of the Texas House of Representatives, the Texas Senate, or the United States House of Representatives may not have contact, directly or indirectly, with a redistricting commission member or with redistricting commission staff, with respect to redistricting, except by testimony in a public hearing. Redistricting commission members may not engage in any discussions, directly or indirectly, regarding redistricting or the work of the redistricting commission with members of the Texas House of Representatives, the Texas Senate, or the United States House of Representatives, except during a public hearing or by written communication given to the entire commission. If a redistricting commission member engages in a prohibited discussion or violates state law regarding public meetings, the commission may, by majority vote, remove the member from the commission.

(h) A redistricting plan or modification of a redistricting plan is adopted by a vote of not fewer than five members of the commission.

(i) The members of the commission appointed under Subsections (b)(1) through (4) of this section shall be appointed not earlier than January 25 or later than January 31 of each year ending in 1. The member appointed under Subsection (b)(5) of this section shall be appointed not later than the 15th day after the commission convenes under Subsection (k) of this section. The members appointed under Subsection (b)(6) of this section shall be appointed not later than the 15th day after the date of an appointment under Subsection (b)(5) of this section.

(j) As soon as practicable after the commission convenes, all members of the commission must attend training provided by a legislative agency that has provided redistricting services to the legislature. The training must include:

(1) information on the demographics and geography of the state;

(2) the responsibilities of the commission;

(3) information on the redistricting process; and

(4) redistricting software training.

(k) The commission shall convene on the first business day after January 31 of each year ending in 1 and shall adopt a redistricting plan for the Texas Senate, the Texas House of Representatives, and the members of the United States House of Representatives elected from this state not later than July 1 of that year, unless the federal decennial census is delivered to the appropriate officials of this state after May 1 of that year, in which event the commission shall adopt those redistricting plans not later than the 90th day after the date the census is delivered.

(l) The commission shall reconvene to modify a redistricting plan if the plan becomes unenforceable by order of a court or by action of any other appropriate authority. In modifying a redistricting plan, the commission must comply with all applicable standards imposed by this section, other provisions of this constitution, and laws enacted under this section but is not limited to modifications necessary to correct legal deficiencies.

(m) In a redistricting plan or modification of a plan adopted under this section, the commission shall consider the following criteria, giving priority to each criterion in the order listed:

(1) districts must be drawn in accordance with the federal constitution and all applicable federal laws, including the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Section 10101 et seq.);

(2) in addition to the requirements of federal law, districts must be drawn in a manner that does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, or membership in a language minority group by ensuring the voting strength of racial, ethnic, and language minorities in the districts is not diluted in a manner that deprives minority voters of an equal opportunity to elect a candidate of their choice;

(3) each district must be composed of contiguous territory, and for purposes of this subdivision territory that is adjoining only at a point is not considered contiguous;

(4) to the extent reasonable, district boundaries may not divide a community of interest other than a community based on a relationship with a political party or candidate for public office;

(5) to the extent reasonable, district boundaries must coincide with the boundaries of political subdivisions of the state and divide the smallest number of counties, municipalities, and school districts possible;

(6) each congressional district must contain a population as nearly equal as possible to the population of any other district in the plan; and

(7) in a redistricting plan for the Texas Senate or Texas House of Representatives, the overall range of population deviation from the district with the largest population to the district with the smallest population may not exceed 2.5 percent.

(n) If a political subdivision must be divided, the commission shall give preference to dividing a more populous political subdivision before a less populous one. This subsection does not apply to a boundary drawn along a county line that divides a municipality.

(o) The commission may not draw a redistricting plan purposely to favor or discriminate against a political party or any other group.

(p) The commission shall provide a process by which the public may comment on a proposed redistricting plan or proposed modification of a plan. The commission shall consider those comments in the adoption or modification of a redistricting plan.

(q) For a reasonable period before the commission considers a redistricting plan, including a modification of a redistricting plan, the commission shall make available to the public:

(1) a report that identifies for each district in the plan:

(A) boundaries;

(B) population;

(C) racial and ethnic composition;

(D) compactness measure;

(E) divided governmental units; and

(F) political performance indexes; and

(2) the total number of:

(A) governmental units of each type that are divided;

(B) politically balanced districts; and

(C) districts anticipated to lean toward each political party.

(r) The legislature shall enact laws consistent with this section to implement this section. The laws may include additional qualifications for commission members and additional standards applicable to redistricting plans.

(s) The legislature shall appropriate money or otherwise provide the commission with sufficient facilities and personnel to enable the commission to carry out its duties.

(t) This section takes effect January 1, 2031. On that date, the Legislative Redistricting Board is abolished and Section 28 of this article is repealed. The Texas Redistricting Commission shall convene for the first time on the first business day after January 31, 2031. This subsection expires January 1, 2032.

SECTION 2. Section 7a, Article V, Texas Constitution, is amended by amending Subsections (e) and (i) and adding Subsection (j) to read as follows:

(e) Unless the legislature enacts a statewide reapportionment of the judicial districts following each federal decennial census, the board shall convene not later than the first Monday of June of the third year following the year in which the federal decennial census is taken to make a statewide reapportionment of the districts. The board shall complete its work on the reapportionment and file its order with the secretary of state not later than August 31 of the same year. If the Judicial Districts Board fails to make a statewide apportionment by that date, the Texas [Legislative] Redistricting Commission [Board] established by Section 28a, Article III, [Section 28,] of this constitution shall convene on September 1 of the same year to make a statewide reapportionment of the judicial districts not later than the 90th [150th] day after the final day for the Judicial Districts Board to make the reapportionment.

(i) The legislature, the Judicial Districts Board, or the Texas [Legislative] Redistricting Commission [Board] may not redistrict the judicial districts to provide for any judicial district smaller in size than an entire county except as provided by this section. Judicial districts smaller in size than the entire county may be created subsequent to a general election where a majority of the persons voting on the proposition adopt the proposition "to allow the division of ____________ County into judicial districts composed of parts of ____________ County." No redistricting plan may be proposed or adopted by the legislature, the Judicial Districts Board, or the Texas [Legislative] Redistricting Commission [Board] in anticipation of a future action by the voters of any county.

(j) Until January 1, 2031, a reference in this section to the Texas Redistricting Commission means the Legislative Redistricting Board established under Section 28, Article III, of this constitution. This subsection expires January 1, 2031.

SECTION 3. This proposed constitutional amendment shall be submitted to the voters at an election to be held November 7, 2023. The ballot shall be printed to permit voting for or against the following proposition: "The constitutional amendment establishing the Texas Redistricting Commission to redistrict the Texas Legislature and Texas congressional districts and revising procedures for redistricting."