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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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relating to the composition of the districts for the election of |
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members of the United States House of Representatives from 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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ARTICLE I |
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SECTION 1. (a) The members of the United States House of |
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Representatives from the State of Texas are elected from the |
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districts described by Article II of this Act. |
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(b) One member is elected from each district established by |
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this Act. |
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ARTICLE II |
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SECTION 1. The districts for members of the United States |
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House of Representatives from the State of Texas are as described by |
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PLANC2308 on the redistricting computer system operated by the |
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Texas Legislative Council. |
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ARTICLE III |
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SECTION 1. In this Act, "tract," "block group," and "block" |
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mean the geographic areas identified by those terms on the 2020 |
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Census TIGER/Line Shapefiles, prepared by the federal Bureau of the |
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Census for the Twenty-fourth Decennial Census of the United States, |
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enumerated as of April 1, 2020. |
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SECTION 2. 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 3. (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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All previous acts of the legislature adopting congressional |
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districts for the State of Texas are repealed. |
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(b) Chapter 7 (S.B. 6), Acts of the 87th Legislature, 3rd |
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Called Session, 2021, is repealed. |
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SECTION 4. The districts described by Article II 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 the State of Texas beginning with the primary |
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and general elections in 2026 for members of the 120th Congress. |
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This Act does not affect the membership or congressional districts |
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of the 119th Congress. |
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SECTION 5. 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. |