Proposing a constitutional amendment establishing the Texas Redistricting Commission to redistrict the United States House of Representatives and the Texas Legislature.

The text as introduced · 582 words

90R300 JRJ-D

By: Zaffirini
S.J.R. No. 8

A JOINT RESOLUTION

proposing a constitutional amendment establishing the Texas

Redistricting Commission to redistrict the United States House of

Representatives and the Texas Legislature.

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 members of the United States House of

Representatives elected from this state, the Texas House of

Representatives, and the Texas Senate. Districts for those

legislative bodies may not be established or changed except as

provided by this section.

(b) The legislature shall provide by general law for the

composition and operation of the Texas Redistricting Commission.

(c) This section takes effect January 1, 2030. 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28 of this article is repealed.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 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, 2030, 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, 2031.

SECTION 3. This proposed constitutional amendment shall be

submitted to the voters at an election to be held November 2, 2027.

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 United States

House of Representatives and the Texas Legislature."