Texas SJR 43: Proposing a constitutional amendment establishing the Texas Redistricting Commission and providing redistricting procedures for state legislative, state judicial, and congressional districts.

Bill Text

By:AAWest, Johnson S.J.R.ANo.A43
A JOINT RESOLUTION
proposing a constitutional amendment establishing the Texas
Redistricting Commission and providing redistricting procedures
for state legislative, state judicial, and congressional
districts.
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTIONA1.AASection 28, Article III, Texas Constitution, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec.A28.AA(a)AAIn this section:
(1)AA"Commission" means the Texas Redistricting
Commission.
(2)AA"Majority party" means the political party with
the most members among the combined membership of the Texas Senate
and the Texas House of Representatives.
(3)AA"Minority party" means the political party with
the second highest number of members among the combined membership
of the Texas Senate and the Texas House of Representatives.
(b)AAFollowing [The Legislature shall, at its first regular
session after] the publication of each United States decennial
census, [apportion] the state shall be apportioned into senatorial
and representative districts, agreeable to the provisions of
Sections 25 and 26 of this article [Article]. The legislature and
the Texas Redistricting Commission exercise the legislative
authority of this state to adopt redistricting plans for the
election of the Texas House of Representatives, the Texas Senate,
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and the members of the United States House of Representatives
elected from this state in the manner provided by this section and
Section 28a of this article. Districts for those legislative
bodies may not be established or changed except as provided by this
section and Section 28a of this article.
(c)AAThe commission consists of the following seven members:
(1)AAthe governor;
(2)AAthe comptroller;
(3)AAthe secretary of state;
(4)AAone member appointed by the speaker of the Texas
House of Representatives;
(5)AAone member appointed by majority vote of the party
caucus for the political party with the most members in the Texas
House of Representatives of which the speaker of the Texas House of
Representatives is not a member;
(6)AAone member appointed by the president of the Texas
Senate; and
(7)AAone member appointed by majority vote of the party
caucus for the political party with the most members in the Texas
Senate of which the president of the Texas Senate is not a member.
(d)AAAn appointed member of the commission may not be a
current member of Congress.
(e)AATwo members of the commission serve as co-chairs. One
co-chair is selected by majority vote of the members of the Texas
Senate and the Texas House of Representatives who belong to the
majority party and one co-chair is selected by majority vote of the
members of the Texas Senate and the Texas House of Representatives
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who belong to the minority party.
(f)AAExcept as otherwise provided by this section or Section
28a of this article, a simple majority vote of the commission
members is required for any action by the commission.
(g)AAExcept as provided by Subsection (h) of this section, a
majority vote of the members of the commission, including at least
one member of the commission who belongs to the majority party and
at least one member of the commission who belongs to the minority
party, is required to:
(1)AAadopt rules of the commission;
(2)AAhire staff for the commission; or
(3)AAexpend commission funds.
(h)AAIf the commission is unable to agree, by the vote
required under Subsection (g) of this section, on the manner in
which commission funds should be expended, each co-chair has the
authority to expend one-half of the funds appropriated to the
commission.
(i)AAThe affirmative vote of four members of the commission,
including at least two members of the commission who belong to the
majority party and two members of the commission who belong to the
minority party, is required to adopt any redistricting plan for the
Texas Senate or the Texas House of Representatives.
(j)AAFor purposes of this section and Section 28a of this
article:
(1)AAthe governor is considered to belong to the
governor’s political party;
(2)AAthe comptroller is considered to belong to the
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comptroller’s political party;
(3)AAthe secretary of state is considered to belong to
the political party to which the governor who appointed the
secretary of state belongs;
(4)AAa member of the commission appointed by the
president of the Texas Senate or the speaker of the Texas House of
Representatives is considered to belong to the political party to
which the person making the appointment belongs; and
(5)AAa member of the commission selected by vote of a
political party caucus is considered to belong to that political
party.
(k)AAAt the first meeting of the commission, which the
governor may convene following the publication of each Unite