By Wentworth S.J.R. No. 5
77R2478 JSA-D
A JOINT RESOLUTION
1-1 proposing a constitutional amendment establishing the Texas
1-2 Redistricting Commission to determine legislative and congressional
1-3 districts and revising the constitutional redistricting provisions.
1-4 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Article III, Texas Constitution, is amended by
1-6 adding Section 28a to read as follows:
1-7 Sec. 28a. (a) The Texas Redistricting Commission exercises
1-8 the legislative authority of this state to adopt redistricting
1-9 plans for the election of the Texas House of Representatives, Texas
1-10 Senate, and the members of the United States House of
1-11 Representatives elected from this state. Districts for those
1-12 legislative bodies may not be established or changed except as
1-13 provided by this section.
1-14 (b) The commission consists of nine members selected as
1-15 follows:
1-16 (1) two members appointed by a majority vote of the
1-17 members of the Texas House of Representatives belonging to the
1-18 political party with the most members in the house of
1-19 representatives;
1-20 (2) two members appointed by a majority vote of the
1-21 members of the Texas House of Representatives belonging to the
1-22 political party with the second highest number of members in the
1-23 house of representatives;
1-24 (3) two members appointed by a majority vote of the
2-1 members of the Texas Senate belonging to the political party with
2-2 the most members in the senate;
2-3 (4) two members appointed by a majority vote of the
2-4 members of the Texas Senate belonging to the political party with
2-5 the second highest number of members in the senate; and
2-6 (5) one member appointed by an affirmative vote of not
2-7 less than five of the members of the commission selected under
2-8 Subdivisions (1) through (4) of this subsection.
2-9 (c) The member appointed under Subsection (b)(5) of this
2-10 section is a nonvoting member and serves as presiding officer of
2-11 the commission.
2-12 (d) Each member of the commission must be a resident of this
2-13 state. A person is not eligible to serve on the commission if the
2-14 person:
2-15 (1) is an elected public officer;
2-16 (2) holds an office in a political party other than
2-17 membership on a precinct committee; or
2-18 (3) has served in a position described by Subdivision
2-19 (1) or (2) of this subsection within the two years preceding the
2-20 date the person is appointed to the commission.
2-21 (e) The full term of a member of the commission is a 10-year
2-22 term that begins on February 1 of the year ending in one in which
2-23 the initial appointment to the position is required to be made and
2-24 expires on January 31 of the next year ending in one. A vacancy on
2-25 the commission is filled in the same manner as provided by this
2-26 section for the original appointment. The supreme court fills a
2-27 vacancy only if the initial appointing authority fails to fill the
3-1 vacancy on or before the 20th day after the date the vacancy
3-2 occurs. The members of the Texas House of Representatives or Texas
3-3 Senate authorized to appoint a member of the commission may convene
3-4 as necessary to make an appointment or fill a vacancy.
3-5 (f) A member of the commission may not be a candidate in an
3-6 election for the Texas Senate or Texas House of Representatives
3-7 before the second anniversary of the last date the commission
3-8 adopted a plan or modification of a plan for that body during the
3-9 person's service on the commission.
3-10 (g) A redistricting plan or modification of a redistricting
3-11 plan is adopted by a vote of not less than five members of the
3-12 commission.
3-13 (h) The members of the commission appointed under
3-14 Subsections (b)(1) through (4) of this section shall be appointed
3-15 not earlier than January 25 or later than January 31 of each year
3-16 ending in one. The member appointed under Subsection (b)(5) of
3-17 this section shall be appointed not later than the 30th day after
3-18 the commission convenes under Subsection (i) of this section. If a
3-19 member is not appointed in the time provided by this subsection,
3-20 the supreme court shall make the appointment before the sixth day
3-21 after the last date on which the initial appointing authority could
3-22 have made the appointment.
3-23 (i) The commission shall convene on the first business day
3-24 after January 31 of each year ending in one and shall adopt a
3-25 redistricting plan for the Texas Senate, Texas House of
3-26 Representatives, and the members of the United States House of
3-27 Representatives elected from this state not later than July 1 of
4-1 that year, unless the federal decennial census is delivered to the
4-2 appropriate officials of this state after May 1 of that year, in
4-3 which event the commission shall adopt those redistricting plans
4-4 not later than the 90th day after the date the census is delivered.
4-5 (j) If the commission does not adopt a plan within the time
4-6 required by Subsection (i) of this section, the commission's
4-7 authority to adopt a plan is suspended and the supreme court shall
4-8 adopt a plan for the applicable legislative body not later than
4-9 September 1 of the year in which the census is delivered, or the
4-10 60th day after the last date by which the commission is directed to
4-11 adopt a plan under Subsection (i) of this section, whichever date
4-12 is later.
4-13 (k) The commission may reconvene on the motion of at least
4-14 four of its voting members at any time after the adoption of the
4-15 initial state senate, state house, or congressional redistricting
4-16 plan to modify that plan if the plan becomes unenforceable by order
4-17 of a court or by action of any other appropriate authority or is
4-18 subject to legal challenge in a court proceeding. In modifying a
4-19 redistricting plan, the commission must comply with all applicable
4-20 standards imposed by this section, other provisions of this
4-21 constitution, and laws enacted under this section but is not
4-22 limited to modifications necessary to correct legal deficiencies.
4-23 (l) The commission may reconvene to adopt a redistricting
4-24 plan if the supreme court does not adopt a plan for the applicable
4-25 body in the time provided by Subsection (j) of this section, if the
4-26 supreme court is required to adopt a plan for that body because the
4-27 commission did not adopt an initial plan for that body as required
5-1 by Subsection (i) of this section.
5-2 (m) In a redistricting plan or modification of a plan
5-3 adopted under this section:
5-4 (1) each district must contain a population, excluding
5-5 nonresident military personnel, as nearly equal as practicable to
5-6 the population of any other district in the plan; and
5-7 (2) to the extent reasonable, each district must
5-8 contain contiguous territory, be compact and convenient, and be
5-9 separated from adjoining districts by natural geographic barriers,
5-10 artificial barriers, or political subdivision boundaries.
5-11 (n) The commission or supreme court may not draw a
5-12 redistricting plan purposely to favor or discriminate against any
5-13 political party or group.
5-14 (o) The legislature shall enact laws consistent with this
5-15 section to implement this section. The laws may include additional
5-16 qualifications for commission members and additional standards
5-17 applicable to redistricting plans.
5-18 (p) The legislature shall appropriate money to enable the
5-19 commission to carry out its duties.
5-20 (q) The supreme court has original jurisdiction to hear and
5-21 decide cases involving congressional or state legislative
5-22 redistricting, including a case involving a redistricting plan
5-23 adopted by the supreme court under this section. A member of the
5-24 court is not disqualified from participating in a redistricting
5-25 case because the member has participated or may participate in the
5-26 adoption of a redistricting plan, but may recuse himself or herself
5-27 from the case. This subsection supersedes any other law, including
6-1 an applicable code of judicial conduct, with regard to conflicts of
6-2 interest by a member of the court.
6-3 (r) This section takes effect January 1, 2011. On that
6-4 date, the Legislative Redistricting Board is abolished and Section
6-5 28 of this article is repealed. The Texas Redistricting Commission
6-6 shall convene for the first time on the first business day after
6-7 January 31, 2011. The commission may not exercise any power under
6-8 this section before that date. This subsection expires January 1,
6-9 2012.
6-10 SECTION 2. Section 7a, Article V, Texas Constitution, is
6-11 amended by amending Subsections (e) and (i) and adding Subsection
6-12 (j) to read as follows:
6-13 (e) Unless the legislature enacts a statewide
6-14 reapportionment of the judicial districts following each federal
6-15 decennial census, the board shall convene not later than the first
6-16 Monday of June of the third year following the year in which the
6-17 federal decennial census is taken to make a statewide
6-18 reapportionment of the districts. The board shall complete its
6-19 work on the reapportionment and file its order with the secretary
6-20 of state not later than August 31 of the same year. If the
6-21 Judicial Districts Board fails to make a statewide apportionment by
6-22 that date, the Texas [Legislative] Redistricting Commission [Board]
6-23 established by Article III, Section 28a [28], of this constitution
6-24 shall convene on September 1 of the same year to make a statewide
6-25 reapportionment of the judicial districts not later than the 90th
6-26 [150th] day after the final day for the Judicial Districts Board to
6-27 make the reapportionment.
7-1 (i) The legislature, the Judicial Districts Board, or the
7-2 Texas [Legislative] Redistricting Commission [Board] may not
7-3 redistrict the judicial districts to provide for any judicial
7-4 district smaller in size than an entire county except as provided
7-5 by this section. Judicial districts smaller in size than the
7-6 entire county may be created subsequent to a general election where
7-7 a majority of the persons voting on the proposition adopt the
7-8 proposition "to allow the division of ____________ County into
7-9 judicial districts composed of parts of ____________ County." No
7-10 redistricting plan may be proposed or adopted by the legislature,
7-11 the Judicial Districts Board, or the Texas [Legislative]
7-12 Redistricting Commission [Board] in anticipation of a future action
7-13 by the voters of any county.
7-14 (j) Until January 1, 2011, a reference in this section to
7-15 the Texas Redistricting Commission means the Legislative
7-16 Redistricting Board established under Section 28, Article III, of
7-17 this constitution. This subsection expires January 1, 2011.
7-18 SECTION 3. This proposed constitutional amendment shall be
7-19 submitted to the voters at an election to be held November 6, 2001.
7-20 The ballot shall be printed to permit voting for or against the
7-21 following proposition: "The constitutional amendment establishing
7-22 the Texas Redistricting Commission after the federal census for the
7-23 year 2010 to redistrict the Texas Legislature and Texas
7-24 congressional districts, and revising the redistricting provisions
7-25 of the Texas Constitution."