84R5447 JRJ-D
	By: Anchia	H.J.R. No. 122

	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 less 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 sufficient facilities and personnel to
	enable the commission to carry out its duties.
	(t)  This section takes effect January 1, 2021. 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, 2021. This subsection expires January 1, 2022.
	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 Article III, Section 28a [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, 2021, a reference in this section to
	the Texas Redistricting Commission means the Legislative
	Redistricting Board established under Article III, Section 28, of
	this constitution. This subsection expires January 1, 2021.
	SECTION 3.  This proposed constitutional amendment shall be
	submitted to the voters at an election to be held November 3, 2015.
	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."