## ?l3msAmRNEy GENERAL

GERALD C.

## MANN *----- 11. -
,
Honorable Reuhen E. Senterfitt, Chairman Congressional and Legislative Districts Committee House of Representatives Austin, Texans
Dear Mr. Centerfitt: Opinion No. O-4899
Re: Authority of theLegislature to redistrict the State into-representative districts.
We acknowledge receipt of your letter, asking for an opinion from this department, as follows:

"Severalbills have been before the Committee on Congressional and Legislative Districts, redistricting the State in so far as the House of Representatives is concerned. A point of order has been raised that any such bill is unconstitutional.

"According to the following Section of the Constitution,has the Legislature, at this session, the power to redistrict the State into RepresentativeDistricts?
"Art. 3, Section 28. REAPPORTIONMENTAT EACH CENSUS. .TheLegislature shall, at its first session after the publication of each United States decennial census, apportion the State into Senatorial and Representative districts, agreeably to the provisions of Set's 25 and 26 of this Article; and until the next decennial census,when the first apportionment shallbe made by the Legislature, the State shall be, and it is hereby divided into Senatorial and Representative districts as prgvided by an Ordinance of the Convention of that subject.

We 'construe

your request to Involve the constitutionalpower of the Legislature~toredistrict the State into Representativedistricts, wlthout at the same 'timeredistrlcting'the'state into. Senatorialdistricts. The answer to your inquiry requires a constructionof Section 28, Article III, of the Constitution, quoted by you.

This Sectionmakes it thee duty of the,,Le publication of each United States decennial census into Senatorial and RepPsentative districts. It t&efore contemplates that the ~gis1atur.e will redis,trictthe State at such times, not Only as to Representativedistricts but also as to Senatorial districts. The mandat is applicable,alike to.b+?th Representative a.& Senatorial.redistricting.‘, -* ,.

Honorable Reuben E. Senterfitt = Rage 2 o-4899

It is not contemplated,however, (if It could be) that the redistricting for both the Senatorial and the Representativedistricts shouldbe embodied in one bill. Thismight itselfbe violative of Article III, Section 35, of the Constitution,forbidding any bill to containmore than one subject,which shall be expressed in its title. This has long been the legislative constructionof the Constitution,as, witness the present Senatorial districtswere defined by H.B. No. 8, General Laws, 37th Legislature (1921)page 230,while the present Representative districtswere defined by H.B. No. I of the same session. (Laws 1921, p. 264)

See, also: Sub. H.B. No. 6, 7, 9, 25 and 22d Leg. (1892), 29, 1st.

Laws of Tex. C.S., 3?, 1st. C.S., 22d Leg. (1892)vol. X, p. 412; sub. H.~B.6 7, 9, 25 and Laws of Texas,Vol. X, p. 414; Sub. H.B. No. 7, 27th Leg. (1901) 1st. C.S. p. 9, and Free Conf. Corn.Sub. for H.B. No. 4, Ibid p. 12.

Earlier, however, thematter of redistricting the State as to both Senators and Representativeswas accomplishedby a singlebill. See Chap. XII, 17th Leg. C.S. (1832) Laws of Texas, vol. Ix, p. 269; Chap. 45, 8th Leg. (18601Laws of Texas Vol. IV, p. 1402; Chap. IV, 4th

(1853)Laws of Texas Vol. 111: p. 1289; and Chap. XLIV, 3d Leg. of Texas, Vol. III,p. 478. If we shouldbe wrong in our intimation that the redistricting as to Senatorial and Representativedistricts could not be accomplished by one bill, nevertheless,we think it clear that it may be done by separatebills, and this of necessity,we think,would be valid as to each such redistrictingbill unaffectedby the other. There is no constitution forbidding such separate redistricting,or, in other words,,redistricting as to onepurpose alone. There is nothing incongruous,or that is incompatible with any law in such redist%icting for one purpose only. The Legislaturemight well find that the present Senatorial districtswere fair, reasonable and adequate,whereas thee present apportionmentwith respect to Representative districtswas not satisfactory,or vice versa.

The Legislaturemay pass any bill that is not clearly -- beyond a reasonable doubt -- forbiddenby the Constitution. Your inquiry does not present such a situation. The measurementioned by you would be a valid exercise of the Legislativepower.

The not inpoint for and may possibly

"So opinion of this department, of date July 18, 1921,while the precise questionyou propound, isyet interesting, be helpful. It is there said: that the situation is simply this: the

__ purpose,.intent and splrit of the Constitutionwould not be complied with by passing an apportionment act at this time with a proviso that It shallnot take effect until a certain time In 1924;but as there is no power to compel the Legislature to enact a law at a particular time or to enact one at all, and there being no inhibition against the passage of laws to take effect in the future, it ca~nnot be said that an act reapportioning the State into senatoria,l districts effective some time in 1924 would be invalid. The apportionmentnow existingwould continue to exist-L

_Honorable Reuben E. Senterfitt - Page 3 o-4899

until a reapportionment ismade, and as above shown, the new apportionment is not made until the reapportionment act takes effect." General 1920-22,p. 188. -- OpinionsAttorney

It was further said: I'* * * * * since the Legislature did not apportion the.Sfate~lnto senatorialdistricts at the Regular Session of the Thirty-seventhLegislature it is still authorized and In duty aboundto do so at this time."
We trust that what we have said sufficiently answers your inquiry Very truly yours ATTORNEY G-m OF TEXAS
By s/Ocie Speer Ocie Speer Assistant
OS-MR-WC

APPROVED MARCH 6, 1943 s/ Gerald C. Mann ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
Approved Opinion CommitteeBy s/BWB Chairman