I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1102 

To require States to conduct Congressional redistricting through independent 

commissions, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 16, 2017 

Ms. LOFGREN (for herself, Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Ms. 

BROWNLEY of California, Mr. CLAY, Mr. COHEN, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. ELLISON, Ms. ESHOO, Ms. 

ESTY, Mr. FOSTER, Mr. GARAMENDI, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. HOYER, Mr. 

HUFFMAN, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. JOHNSON of 

Georgia, Ms. KAPTUR, Mrs. LAWRENCE, Ms. LEE, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Ms. 

MATSUI, Mr. NADLER, Ms. NORTON, Mr. O’ROURKE, Ms. PELOSI, Ms. 

PINGREE, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. RYAN of 

Ohio, Mr. SARBANES, Mr. SCHIFF, Ms. SHEA-PORTER, Ms. SLAUGHTER, 

Mr. SUOZZI, Mr. SWALWELL of California, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. THOMPSON

of California, Mr. VEASEY, Mr. WELCH, Mr. DELANEY, Mr. YARMUTH, 

Mr. TED LIEU of California, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, 

Mr. RASKIN, Mr. BROWN of Maryland, and Mr. NOLAN) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To require States to conduct Congressional redistricting 

through independent commissions, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

3 ‘‘Redistricting Reform Act of 2017’’. 

4 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

5 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Finding of constitutional authority. 

TITLE I—REQUIREMENTS FOR CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING 

Sec. 101. Limit on Congressional redistricting after an apportionment. 

Sec. 102. Requiring Congressional redistricting to be conducted through plan of 

independent State commission. 

TITLE II—INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING COMMISSIONS 

Sec. 201. Independent redistricting commission. 

Sec. 202. Establishment of selection pool of individuals eligible to serve as 

members of commission. 

Sec. 203. Criteria for redistricting plan by independent commission; public notice and input. 

Sec. 204. Establishment of related entities. 

TITLE III—ROLE OF COURTS IN DEVELOPMENT OF 

REDISTRICTING PLANS 

Sec. 301. Enactment of plan developed by 3-judge court. 

Sec. 302. Special rule for redistricting conducted under order of Federal court. 

TITLE IV—ADMINISTRATIVE AND MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 

Sec. 401. Payments to States for carrying out redistricting. 

Sec. 402. Civil enforcement. 

Sec. 403. State apportionment notice defined. 

Sec. 404. No effect on elections for State and local office. 

Sec. 405. Effective date. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDING OF CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY. 

7 Congress finds that it has the authority to establish 

8 the terms and conditions States must follow in carrying 

9 out Congressional redistricting after an apportionment of 

10 Members of the House of Representatives because— 

11 (1) the authority granted to Congress under ar12 ticle I, section 4 of the Constitution of the United 


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1 States gives Congress the power to enact laws gov2 erning the time, place, and manner of elections for 

3 Members of the House of Representatives; and 

4 (2) the authority granted to Congress under 

5 section 5 of the fourteenth amendment to the Con6 stitution gives Congress the power to enact laws to 

7 enforce section 2 of such amendment, which requires 

8 Representatives to be apportioned among the several 

9 States according to their number. 

10 TITLE I—REQUIREMENTS FOR 

11 CONGRESSIONAL REDIS12 TRICTING 

13 SEC. 101. LIMIT ON CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING 

14 AFTER AN APPORTIONMENT. 

15 The Act entitled ‘‘An Act for the relief of Doctor Ri16 cardo Vallejo Samala and to provide for congressional re17 districting’’, approved December 14, 1967 (2 U.S.C. 2c), 

18 is amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘A State 

19 which has been redistricted in the manner provided by law 

20 after an apportionment under section 22(a) of the Act en21 titled ‘An Act to provide for the fifteenth and subsequent 

22 decennial censuses and to provide for an apportionment 

23 of Representatives in Congress’, approved June 18, 1929 

24 (2 U.S.C. 2a), may not be redistricted again until after 

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1 tion, unless a court requires the State to conduct such 

2 subsequent redistricting to comply with the Constitution 

3 or to enforce the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 

4 10301 et seq.).’’. 

5 SEC. 102. REQUIRING CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING TO 

6 BE CONDUCTED THROUGH PLAN OF INDE7 PENDENT STATE COMMISSION. 

8 (a) USE OF PLAN REQUIRED.—Notwithstanding any 

9 other provision of law, any Congressional redistricting 

10 conducted by a State shall be conducted in accordance 

11 with— 

12 (1) the redistricting plan developed and enacted 

13 into law by the independent redistricting commission 

14 established in the State, in accordance with title II; 

15 or 

16 (2) if a plan developed by such commission is 

17 not enacted into law, the redistricting plan developed 

18 and enacted into law by a 3-judge court of the 

19 United States District Court for the District of Co20 lumbia, in accordance with section 301. 

21 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 22(c) of 

22 the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for the fifteenth and 

23 subsequent decennial censuses and to provide for an ap24 portionment of Representatives in Congress’’, approved 

25 June 18, 1929 (2 U.S.C. 2a(c)), is amended by striking 


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1 ‘‘in the manner provided by the law thereof’’ and insert2 ing: ‘‘in the manner provided by the Redistricting Reform 

3 Act of 2017’’. 

4 TITLE II—INDEPENDENT 

5 REDISTRICTING COMMISSIONS 

6 SEC. 201. INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING COMMISSION. 

7 (a) APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The nonpartisan agency es9 tablished or designated by a State under section 

10 204(a) shall establish an independent redistricting 

11 commission for the State, which shall consist of 12 

12 members appointed by the agency as follows: 

13 (A) The agency shall appoint 4 members 

14 on a random basis from the majority category 

15 of the approved selection pool (as described in 

16 section 202(b)(1)(A)). 

17 (B) The agency shall appoint 4 members 

18 on a random basis from the minority category 

19 of the approved selection pool (as described in 

20 section 202(b)(1)(B)). 

21 (C) The agency shall appoint 4 members 

22 on a random basis from the independent cat23 egory of the approved selection pool (as de24 scribed in section 202(b)(1)(C)). 


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1 (2) APPOINTMENT OF ALTERNATES TO SERVE

2 IN CASE OF VACANCIES.—At the time the agency ap3 points the members of the independent redistricting 

4 commission under paragraph (1) from each of the 

5 categories referred to in such paragraph, the agency 

6 shall, on a random basis, designate 2 other individ7 uals from such category to serve as alternate mem8 bers who may be appointed to fill vacancies in the 

9 commission in accordance with paragraph (3). 

10 (3) VACANCY.—If a vacancy occurs in the com11 mission with respect to a member who was ap12 pointed from one of the categories referred to in 

13 paragraph (1), the nonpartisan agency shall fill the 

14 vacancy by appointing, on a random basis, one of 

15 the 2 alternates from such category who was des16 ignated under paragraph (2). At the time the agency 

17 appoints an alternate to fill a vacancy under the pre18 vious sentence, the agency shall designate, on a ran19 dom basis, another individual from the same cat20 egory to serve as an alternate member, in accord21 ance with paragraph (2). 

22 (b) PROCEDURES FOR CONDUCTING COMMISSION

23 BUSINESS.— 

24 (1) CHAIR.—Members of an independent redis25 tricting commission established under this section 


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1 shall select by majority vote one member who was 

2 appointed from the independent category of the ap3 proved selection pool described in section 

4 202(b)(1)(C) to serve as chair of the commission. 

5 The commission may not take any action to develop 

6 a redistricting plan for the State under section 203 

7 until the appointment of the commission’s chair. 

8 (2) REQUIRING MAJORITY APPROVAL FOR AC9 TIONS.—The independent redistricting commission 

10 of a State may not publish and disseminate any 

11 draft or final redistricting plan, or take any other 

12 action, without the approval of at least— 

13 (A) a majority of the whole membership of 

14 the commission; and 

15 (B) at least one member of the commission 

16 appointed from each of the categories of the ap17 proved selection pool described in section 

18 202(b)(1). 

19 (3) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of 

20 the commission shall constitute a quorum. 

21 (c) STAFF; CONTRACTORS.— 

22 (1) STAFF.—The independent redistricting 

23 commission of a State may appoint and set the pay 

24 of such staff as it considers appropriate, subject to 

25 State law. 


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1 (2) CONTRACTORS.—The independent redis2 tricting commission of a State may enter into such 

3 contracts with vendors as it considers appropriate, 

4 subject to State law, except that any such contract 

5 shall be valid only if approved by the vote of a ma6 jority of the members of the commission, including 

7 at least one member appointed from each of the cat8 egories of the approved selection pool described in 

9 section 202(b)(1). 

10 (3) GOAL OF IMPARTIALITY.—The commission 

11 shall take such steps as it considers appropriate to 

12 ensure that any staff appointed under this sub13 section, and any vendor with whom the commission 

14 enters into a contract under this subsection, will 

15 work in an impartial manner, and may require any 

16 person who applies for an appointment to a staff po17 sition or for a vendor’s contract with the commission 

18 to provide information on the person’s history of po19 litical activity (including donations to candidates, po20 litical committees, and political parties) as a condi21 tion of the appointment or the contract. 

22 (d) TERMINATION.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The independent redis24 tricting commission of a State shall terminate on the 

25 earlier of— 


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1 (A) June 14 of the following year ending 

2 in the numeral zero; or 

3 (B) the day on which the nonpartisan 

4 agency established or designated by a State 

5 under section 204(a) has, in accordance with 

6 section 202(b)(1), submitted a selection pool to 

7 the Select Committee on Redistricting for the 

8 State established under section 204(b). 

9 (2) PRESERVATION OF RECORDS.—The State 

10 shall ensure that the records of the independent re11 districting commission are retained in the appro12 priate State archive in such manner as may be nec13 essary to enable the State to respond to any civil ac14 tion brought with respect to Congressional redis15 tricting in the State. 

16 SEC. 202. ESTABLISHMENT OF SELECTION POOL OF INDI17 VIDUALS ELIGIBLE TO SERVE AS MEMBERS 

18 OF COMMISSION. 

19 (a) CRITERIA FOR ELIGIBILITY.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—An individual is eligible to 

21 serve as a member of an independent redistricting 

22 commission if the individual meets each of the fol23 lowing criteria: 


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1 (A) As of the date of appointment, the in2 dividual is registered to vote in elections for 

3 Federal office held in the State. 

4 (B) During the 3-year period ending on 

5 the date of the individual’s appointment, the in6 dividual has been continuously registered to 

7 vote with the same political party, or has not 

8 been registered to vote with any political party. 

9 (C) The individual submits to the non10 partisan agency established or designated by a 

11 State under section 203, at such time and in 

12 such form as the agency may require, an appli13 cation for inclusion in the selection pool under 

14 this section, and includes with the application a 

15 written statement containing the following in16 formation and assurances: 

17 (i) A statement of the political party 

18 with which the individual is affiliated, if 

19 any. 

20 (ii) An assurance that the individual 

21 shall commit to carrying out the individ22 ual’s duties under this Act in an honest, 

23 independent, and impartial fashion, and to 

24 upholding public confidence in the integrity 

25 of the redistricting process. 


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1 (iii) An assurance that, during the 

2 covered periods described in paragraph (3), 

3 the individual has not taken and will not 

4 take any action which would disqualify the 

5 individual from serving as a member of the 

6 commission under paragraph (2). 

7 (2) DISQUALIFICATIONS.—An individual is not 

8 eligible to serve as a member of the commission if 

9 any of the following applies during any of the cov10 ered periods described in paragraph (3): 

11 (A) The individual or (in the case of the 

12 covered periods described in subparagraphs (A) 

13 and (B) of paragraph (3)) an immediate family 

14 member of the individual holds public office or 

15 is a candidate for election for public office. 

16 (B) The individual or (in the case of the 

17 covered periods described in subparagraphs (A) 

18 and (B) of paragraph (3)) an immediate family 

19 member of the individual serves as an officer of 

20 a political party or as an officer, employee, or 

21 paid consultant of a campaign committee of a 

22 candidate for public office. 

23 (C) The individual or (in the case of the 

24 covered periods described in subparagraphs (A) 

25 and (B) of paragraph (3)) an immediate family 


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1 member of the individual holds a position as a 

2 registered lobbyist under the Lobbying Disclo3 sure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) or an 

4 equivalent State or local law. 

5 (D) The individual or (in the case of the 

6 covered periods described in subparagraphs (A) 

7 and (B) of paragraph (3)) an immediate family 

8 member of the individual is an employee of an 

9 elected public official, a contractor with the leg10 islature of the State, or a donor to the cam11 paign of any candidate for public office (other 

12 than a donor who, during any of such covered 

13 periods, gives an aggregate amount of $20,000 

14 or less to the campaigns of all candidates for all 

15 public offices). 

16 (3) COVERED PERIODS DESCRIBED.—In this 

17 subsection, the term ‘‘covered period’’ means, with 

18 respect to the appointment of an individual to the 

19 commission, any of the following: 

20 (A) The 5-year period ending on the date 

21 of the individual’s appointment. 

22 (B) The period beginning on the date of 

23 the individual’s appointment and ending on Au24 gust 14 of the next year ending in the numeral 

25 one. 


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1 (C) The 5-year period beginning on the 

2 day after the last day of the period described in 

3 subparagraph (B). 

4 (4) IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBER DEFINED.—In 

5 this subsection, the term ‘‘immediate family mem6 ber’’ means, with respect to an individual, a father, 

7 stepfather, mother, stepmother, son, stepson, daugh8 ter, stepdaughter, brother, stepbrother, sister, step9 sister, husband, wife, father-in-law, or mother-in10 law. 

11 (b) DEVELOPMENT AND SUBMISSION OF SELECTION

12 POOL.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than June 15 of 

14 each year ending in the numeral zero, the non15 partisan agency established or designated by a State 

16 under section 204(a) shall develop and submit to the 

17 Select Committee on Redistricting for the State es18 tablished under section 204(b) a selection pool of 36 

19 individuals who are eligible to serve as members of 

20 the independent redistricting commission of the 

21 State under this Act, consisting of individuals in the 

22 following categories: 

23 (A) A majority category, consisting of 12 

24 individuals who are affiliated with the political 

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1 istered voters in the State who are affiliated 

2 with a political party (as determined with re3 spect to the most recent Statewide election for 

4 Federal office held in the State for which such 

5 information is available). 

6 (B) A minority category, consisting of 12 

7 individuals who are affiliated with the political 

8 party with the second largest percentage of the 

9 registered voters in the State who are affiliated 

10 with a political party (as so determined). 

11 (C) An independent category, consisting of 

12 12 individuals who are not affiliated with either 

13 of the political parties described in subpara14 graph (A) or subparagraph (B). 

15 (2) FACTORS TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT IN DEVEL16 OPING POOL.—In selecting individuals for the selec17 tion pool under this subsection, the nonpartisan 

18 agency shall— 

19 (A) to the maximum extent practicable, en20 sure that the pool reflects the representative de21 mographic groups (including races, ethnicities, 

22 and genders) and geographic regions of the 

23 State; and 

24 (B) take into consideration the analytical 

25 skills of the individuals selected in relevant 


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1 fields (including mapping, data management, 

2 law, community outreach, demography, and the 

3 geography of the State) and their ability to 

4 work on an impartial basis. 

5 (3) DETERMINATION OF POLITICAL PARTY AF6 FILIATION OF INDIVIDUALS IN SELECTION POOL.— 

7 For purposes of this section, an individual shall be 

8 considered to be affiliated with a political party on 

9 the basis of the information the individual provides 

10 in the application submitted under subsection 

11 (a)(1)(D). 

12 (4) ENCOURAGING RESIDENTS TO APPLY FOR

13 INCLUSION IN POOL.—The nonpartisan agency shall 

14 take such steps as may be necessary to ensure that 

15 residents of the State across various geographic re16 gions and demographic groups are aware of the op17 portunity to serve on the independent redistricting 

18 commission, including publicizing the role of the 

19 panel and using newspapers, broadcast media, and 

20 online sources, including ethnic media, to encourage 

21 individuals to apply for inclusion in the selection 

22 pool developed under this subsection. 

23 (5) REPORT ON ESTABLISHMENT OF SELEC24 TION POOL.—At the time the nonpartisan agency 

25 submits the selection pool to the Select Committee 


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1 on Redistricting under paragraph (1), it shall pub2 lish a report describing the process by which the 

3 pool was developed, and shall include in the report 

4 a description of how the individuals in the pool meet 

5 the eligibility criteria of subsection (a) and of how 

6 the pool reflects the factors the agency is required 

7 to take into consideration under paragraph (2). 

8 (6) ACTION BY SELECT COMMITTEE.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 14 days 

10 after receiving the selection pool from the non11 partisan agency under paragraph (1), the Select 

12 Committee on Redistricting shall— 

13 (i) approve the pool as submitted by 

14 the nonpartisan agency, in which case the 

15 pool shall be considered the approved selec16 tion pool for purposes of section 201(a)(1); 

17 or 

18 (ii) reject the pool, in which case the 

19 nonpartisan agency shall develop and sub20 mit a replacement selection pool in accord21 ance with subsection (c). 

22 (B) INACTION DEEMED REJECTION.—If 

23 the Select Committee on Redistricting fails to 

24 approve or reject the pool within the deadline 

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1 mittee shall be deemed to have rejected the pool 

2 for purposes of such subparagraph. 

3 (c) DEVELOPMENT OF REPLACEMENT SELECTION

4 POOL.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the Select Committee on 

6 Redistricting rejects the selection pool submitted by 

7 the nonpartisan agency under subsection (b), not 

8 later than 14 days after the rejection, the non9 partisan agency shall develop and submit to the Se10 lect Committee a replacement selection pool, under 

11 the same terms and conditions that applied to the 

12 development and submission of the selection pool 

13 under paragraphs (1) through (5) of subsection (b). 

14 The replacement pool submitted under this para15 graph may include individuals who were included in 

16 the rejected selection pool submitted under sub17 section (b), so long as at least one of the individuals 

18 in the replacement pool was not included in such re19 jected pool. 

20 (2) ACTION BY SELECT COMMITTEE.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 14 days 

22 after receiving the replacement selection pool 

23 from the nonpartisan agency under paragraph 

24 (1), the Select Committee on Redistricting 

25 shall— 


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1 (i) approve the pool as submitted by 

2 the nonpartisan agency, in which case the 

3 pool shall be considered the approved selec4 tion pool for purposes of section 201(a)(1); 

5 or 

6 (ii) reject the pool, in which case the 

7 nonpartisan agency shall develop and sub8 mit a second replacement selection pool in 

9 accordance with subsection (d). 

10 (B) INACTION DEEMED REJECTION.—If 

11 the Select Committee on Redistricting fails to 

12 approve or reject the pool within the deadline 

13 set forth in subparagraph (A), the Select Com14 mittee shall be deemed to have rejected the pool 

15 for purposes of such subparagraph. 

16 (d) DEVELOPMENT OF SECOND REPLACEMENT SE17 LECTION POOL.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the Select Committee on 

19 Redistricting rejects the replacement selection pool 

20 submitted by the nonpartisan agency under sub21 section (c), not later than 14 days after the rejec22 tion, the nonpartisan agency shall develop and sub23 mit to the Select Committee a second replacement 

24 selection pool, under the same terms and conditions 

25 that applied to the development and submission of 


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1 the selection pool under paragraphs (1) through (5) 

2 of subsection (b). The second replacement selection 

3 pool submitted under this paragraph may include in4 dividuals who were included in the rejected selection 

5 pool submitted under subsection (b) or the rejected 

6 replacement selection pool submitted under sub7 section (c), so long as at least one of the individuals 

8 in the replacement pool was not included in either 

9 such rejected pool. 

10 (2) ACTION BY SELECT COMMITTEE.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 14 days 

12 after receiving the second replacement selection 

13 pool from the nonpartisan agency under para14 graph (1), the Select Committee on Redis15 tricting shall— 

16 (i) approve the pool as submitted by 

17 the nonpartisan agency, in which case the 

18 pool shall be considered the approved selec19 tion pool for purposes of section 201(a)(1); 

20 or 

21 (ii) reject the pool, in which case— 

22 (I) the nonpartisan agency shall 

23 not develop or submit any other selec24 tion pool for purposes of this Act; and 


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1 (II) the United States District 

2 Court for the District of Columbia 

3 shall develop and enact the redis4 tricting plan for the State, in accord5 ance with section 301. 

6 (B) INACTION DEEMED REJECTION.—If 

7 the Select Committee on Redistricting fails to 

8 approve or reject the pool within the deadline 

9 set forth in subparagraph (A), the Select Com10 mittee shall be deemed to have rejected the pool 

11 for purposes of such subparagraph. 

12 SEC. 203. CRITERIA FOR REDISTRICTING PLAN BY INDE13 PENDENT COMMISSION; PUBLIC NOTICE AND 

14 INPUT. 

15 (a) DEVELOPMENT OF REDISTRICTING PLAN.— 

16 (1) CRITERIA.—The independent redistricting 

17 commission of a State shall develop a redistricting 

18 plan for the State in accordance with the following 

19 criteria, prioritized according to the following order: 

20 (A) Districts shall each have equal popu21 lation per representative as nearly as prac22 ticable, in accordance with the Constitution of 

23 the United States. 

24 (B) To the extent not inconsistent with the 

25 above criteria, districts shall comply with the 


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1 Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10301 et 

2 seq.). 

3 (C) To the extent not inconsistent with the 

4 above criteria, districts shall be geographically 

5 contiguous. 

6 (D) To the extent practicable and not in7 consistent with the above criteria, district 

8 boundaries shall minimize the division of any 

9 community of interest, municipality, county, or 

10 neighborhood. For purposes of this subpara11 graph, a community of interest is a contiguous 

12 population which shares common social or eco13 nomic interests that should be included within 

14 a single district for purposes of its effective and 

15 fair representation. Examples of such shared in16 terests are those common to an urban area, a 

17 rural area, an industrial area, or an agricultural 

18 area, and those common to areas in which the 

19 people share similar living standards, use the 

20 same transportation facilities, have similar work 

21 opportunities, or have access to the same media 

22 of communication relevant to the election proc23 ess. Communities of interest shall not include 

24 relationships with political parties, incumbent 

25 officeholders, or political candidates. 


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1 (E) To the extent practicable and not in2 consistent with the above criteria, districts shall 

3 be geographically compact such that nearby 

4 areas of population are not bypassed for more 

5 distant areas of population. 

6 (2) FACTORS PROHIBITED FROM CONSIDER7 ATION.—In developing the redistricting plan for the 

8 State, the independent redistricting commission may 

9 not take into consideration any of the following fac10 tors, except to the extent necessary to comply with 

11 the Voting Rights Act of 1965: 

12 (A) The political party affiliation or voting 

13 history of the population of a district. 

14 (B) The residence of any Member of the 

15 House of Representatives or candidate. 

16 (b) PUBLIC NOTICE AND INPUT.— 

17 (1) USE OF OPEN AND TRANSPARENT PROC18 ESS.—The independent redistricting commission of a 

19 State shall hold each of its meetings in public, shall 

20 solicit and take into consideration comments from 

21 the public throughout the process of developing the 

22 redistricting plan for the State, and shall carry out 

23 its duties in an open and transparent manner which 

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1 ably possible of its proposed and final redistricting 

2 plans. 

3 (2) WEBSITE.—The commission shall maintain 

4 a public Internet site which is not affiliated with or 

5 maintained by the office of any elected official and 

6 which includes the following features: 

7 (A) General information on the commission 

8 and its members, including contact information. 

9 (B) An updated schedule of commission 

10 hearings and activities, including deadlines for 

11 the submission of comments. 

12 (C) All draft redistricting plans developed 

13 by the commission under subsection (c) and the 

14 final redistricting plan developed under sub15 section (d). 

16 (D) Live streaming of commission hearings 

17 and an archive of previous meetings and other 

18 commission records. 

19 (E) A method by which members of the 

20 public may submit comments directly to the 

21 commission. 

22 (F) Access to the demographic data used 

23 by the commission to develop the proposed re24 districting plans, together with any software 

25 used to draw maps of proposed districts. 


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1 (3) PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD.—The commis2 sion shall solicit, accept, and consider comments 

3 from the public with respect to its duties, activities, 

4 and procedures at any time during the period— 

5 (A) which begins on January 1 of the year 

6 ending in the numeral one; and 

7 (B) which ends 7 days before the date of 

8 the meeting at which the commission shall vote 

9 on approving the final redistricting plan for en10 actment into law under subsection (d)(2). 

11 (4) MEETINGS AND HEARINGS IN VARIOUS GEO12 GRAPHIC LOCATIONS.—To the greatest extent prac13 ticable, the commission shall hold its meetings and 

14 hearings in various geographic regions and locations 

15 throughout the State. 

16 (c) DEVELOPMENT AND PUBLICATION OF PRELIMI17 NARY REDISTRICTING PLAN.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Prior to developing and pub19 lishing a final redistricting plan under subsection 

20 (d), the independent redistricting commission of a 

21 State shall develop and publish a preliminary redis22 tricting plan. 

23 (2) MINIMUM PUBLIC HEARINGS PRIOR TO DE24 VELOPMENT.— 


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1 (A) 3 HEARINGS REQUIRED.—Prior to de2 veloping a preliminary redistricting plan under 

3 this subsection, the commission shall hold not 

4 fewer than 3 public hearings at which members 

5 of the public may provide input and comments 

6 regarding the potential contents of redistricting 

7 plans for the State and the process by which 

8 the commission will develop the preliminary 

9 plan under this subsection. 

10 (B) MINIMUM PERIOD FOR NOTICE PRIOR

11 TO HEARINGS.—The commission shall notify 

12 the public through the website maintained 

13 under subsection (b)(2), as well as through pub14 lication of notice in newspapers of general cir15 culation throughout the State, of the date, time, 

16 and location of each of the hearings held under 

17 this paragraph not fewer than 14 days prior to 

18 the date of the hearing. 

19 (3) PUBLICATION OF PRELIMINARY PLAN.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—The commission shall 

21 post the preliminary redistricting plan devel22 oped under this subsection, together with a re23 port that includes the commission’s responses 

24 to any public comments received under sub25 section (b)(3), on the website maintained under 


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1 subsection (b)(2), and shall provide for the pub2 lication of each such plan in newspapers of gen3 eral circulation throughout the State. 

4 (B) MINIMUM PERIOD FOR NOTICE PRIOR

5 TO PUBLICATION.—Not fewer than 14 days 

6 prior to the date on which the commission posts 

7 and publishes the preliminary plan under this 

8 paragraph, the commission shall notify the pub9 lic through the website maintained under sub10 section (b)(2), as well as through publication of 

11 notice in newspapers of general circulation 

12 throughout the State, of the pending publica13 tion of the plan. 

14 (4) MINIMUM PERIOD FOR PUBLIC COMMENT

15 AFTER PUBLICATION OF PLAN.—The commission 

16 shall accept and consider comments from the public 

17 with respect to the preliminary redistricting plan 

18 published under paragraph (3) for not fewer than 30 

19 days after the date on which the plan is published. 

20 (5) POST-PUBLICATION HEARINGS.— 

21 (A) 3 HEARINGS REQUIRED.—After post22 ing and publishing the preliminary redistricting 

23 plan under paragraph (3), the commission shall 

24 hold not fewer than 3 public hearings at which 


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1 members of the public may provide input and 

2 comments regarding the preliminary plan. 

3 (B) MINIMUM PERIOD FOR NOTICE PRIOR

4 TO HEARINGS.—The commission shall notify 

5 the public through the website maintained 

6 under subsection (b)(2), as well as through pub7 lication of notice in newspapers of general cir8 culation throughout the State, of the date, time, 

9 and location of each of the hearings held under 

10 this paragraph not fewer than 14 days prior to 

11 the date of the hearing. 

12 (6) PERMITTING MULTIPLE PRELIMINARY

13 PLANS.—At the option of the commission, after de14 veloping and publishing the preliminary redistricting 

15 plan under this subsection, the commission may de16 velop and publish subsequent preliminary redis17 tricting plans, so long as the process for the develop18 ment and publication of each such subsequent plan 

19 meets the requirements set forth in this subsection 

20 for the development and publication of the first pre21 liminary redistricting plan. 

22 (d) PROCESS FOR ENACTMENT OF FINAL REDIS23 TRICTING PLAN.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—After taking into consider25 ation comments from the public on any preliminary 


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1 redistricting plan developed and published under 

2 subsection (c), the independent redistricting commis3 sion of a State shall develop and publish a final re4 districting plan for the State. 

5 (2) MEETING; FINAL VOTE.—Not later than 

6 August 15 of each year ending in the numeral one, 

7 the commission shall hold a public hearing at which 

8 the members of the commission shall vote on approv9 ing the final plan for enactment into law. 

10 (3) PUBLICATION OF PLAN AND ACCOMPANYING

11 MATERIALS.—Not fewer than 14 days before the 

12 date of the meeting under paragraph (2), the com13 mission shall provide the following information to 

14 the public through the website maintained under 

15 subsection (b)(2), as well as through newspapers of 

16 general circulation throughout the State: 

17 (A) The final redistricting plan, including 

18 all relevant maps. 

19 (B) A report by the commission to accom20 pany the plan which provides the background 

21 for the plan and the commission’s reasons for 

22 selecting the plan as the final redistricting plan, 

23 including responses to the public comments re24 ceived on any preliminary redistricting plan de25 veloped and published under subsection (c). 


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1 (C) Any dissenting or additional views with 

2 respect to the plan of individual members of the 

3 commission. 

4 (4) ENACTMENT.—The final redistricting plan 

5 developed and published under this subsection shall 

6 be deemed to be enacted into law if— 

7 (A) the plan is approved by a majority of 

8 the whole membership of the commission; and 

9 (B) at least one member of the commission 

10 appointed from each of the categories of the ap11 proved selection pool described in section 

12 202(b)(1) approves the plan. 

13 (e) DEADLINE.—The independent redistricting com14 mission of a State shall approve a final redistricting plan 

15 for the State not later than August 15 of each year ending 

16 in the numeral one. 

17 SEC. 204. ESTABLISHMENT OF RELATED ENTITIES. 

18 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OR DESIGNATION OF NON19 PARTISAN AGENCY OF STATE LEGISLATURE.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each State shall establish a 

21 nonpartisan agency in the legislative branch of the 

22 State government to appoint the members of the 

23 independent redistricting commission for the State 

24 in accordance with section 201. 


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1 (2) NONPARTISANSHIP DESCRIBED.—For pur2 poses of this subsection, an agency shall be consid3 ered to be nonpartisan if under law the agency— 

4 (A) is required to provide services on a 

5 nonpartisan basis; 

6 (B) is required to maintain impartiality; 

7 and 

8 (C) is prohibited from advocating for the 

9 adoption or rejection of any legislative proposal. 

10 (3) DESIGNATION OF EXISTING AGENCY.—At 

11 its option, a State may designate an existing agency 

12 in the legislative branch of its government to appoint 

13 the members of the independent redistricting com14 mission plan for the State under this Act, so long 

15 as the agency meets the requirements for non16 partisanship under this subsection. 

17 (4) TERMINATION OF AGENCY SPECIFICALLY

18 ESTABLISHED FOR REDISTRICTING.—If a State does 

19 not designate an existing agency under paragraph 

20 (3) but instead establishes a new agency to serve as 

21 the nonpartisan agency under this section, the new 

22 agency shall terminate upon the enactment into law 

23 of the redistricting plan for the State. 


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1 (5) DEADLINE.—The State shall meet the re2 quirements of this subsection not later than each 

3 August 15 of a year ending in the numeral nine. 

4 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF SELECT COMMITTEE ON RE5 DISTRICTING.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each State shall appoint a 

7 Select Committee on Redistricting to approve or dis8 approve a selection pool developed by the inde9 pendent redistricting commission for the State under 

10 section 202. 

11 (2) APPOINTMENT.—The Select Committee on 

12 Redistricting for a State under this subsection shall 

13 consist of the following members: 

14 (A) 1 member of the upper house of the 

15 State legislature, who shall be appointed by the 

16 leader of the party with the greatest number of 

17 seats in the upper house. 

18 (B) 1 member of the upper house of the 

19 State legislature, who shall be appointed by the 

20 leader of the party with the second greatest 

21 number of seats in the upper house. 

22 (C) 1 member of the lower house of the 

23 State legislature, who shall be appointed by the 

24 leader of the party with the greatest number of 

25 seats in the lower house. 


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1 (D) 1 member of the lower house of the 

2 State legislature, who shall be appointed by the 

3 leader of the party with the second greatest 

4 number of seats in the lower house. 

5 (3) SPECIAL RULE FOR STATES WITH UNICAM6 ERAL LEGISLATURE.—In the case of a State with a 

7 unicameral legislature, the Select Committee on Re8 districting for the State under this subsection shall 

9 consist of the following members: 

10 (A) 2 members of the State legislature ap11 pointed by the leader of the party with the 

12 greatest number of seats in the legislature. 

13 (B) 2 members of the State legislature ap14 pointed by the leader of the party with the sec15 ond greatest number of seats in legislature. 

16 (4) DEADLINE.—The State shall meet the re17 quirements of this subsection not later than each 

18 January 15 of a year ending in the numeral zero. 


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1 TITLE III—ROLE OF COURTS IN 

2 DEVELOPMENT OF REDIS3 TRICTING PLANS 

4 SEC. 301. ENACTMENT OF PLAN DEVELOPED BY 3-JUDGE 

5 COURT. 

6 (a) DEVELOPMENT OF PLAN.—If any of the trig7 gering events described in subsection (c) occur with re8 spect to a State— 

9 (1) not later than December 15 of the year in 

10 which the triggering event occurs, the United States 

11 District Court for the District of Columbia, acting 

12 through a 3-judge court convened pursuant to sec13 tion 2284 of title 28, United States Code, shall de14 velop and publish the congressional redistricting 

15 plan for the State; and 

16 (2) the plan developed and published by the 

17 Court under this subsection shall be deemed to be 

18 enacted on the date on which the Court publishes 

19 the plan. 

20 (b) PROCEDURES FOR DEVELOPMENT OF PLAN.— 

21 (1) CRITERIA.—It is the sense of Congress 

22 that, in developing a redistricting plan for a State 

23 under this section, the Court should adhere to the 

24 same terms and conditions that applied (or that 

25 would have applied, as the case may be) to the develVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:44 Feb 23, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00033 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1102.IH H1102

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1 opment of a plan by the independent redistricting 

2 commission of the State under section 203(a). 

3 (2) ACCESS TO INFORMATION AND RECORDS OF

4 COMMISSION.—The Court shall have access to any 

5 information, data, software, or other records and 

6 material that was used (or that would have been 

7 used, as the case may be) by the independent redis8 tricting commission of the State in carrying out its 

9 duties under this Act. 

10 (c) TRIGGERING EVENTS DESCRIBED.—The ‘‘trig11 gering events’’ described in this subsection are as follows: 

12 (1) The failure of the State to establish or des13 ignate a nonpartisan agency of the State legislature 

14 under section 204(a) prior to the expiration of the 

15 deadline set forth in section 204(a)(5). 

16 (2) The failure of the State to appoint a Select 

17 Committee on Redistricting under section 204(b) 

18 prior to the expiration of the deadline set forth in 

19 section 204(b)(4). 

20 (3) The failure of the Select Committee on Re21 districting to approve any selection pool under sec22 tion 202 prior to the expiration of the deadline set 

23 forth for the approval of the second replacement se24 lection pool in section 202(d)(2). 


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1 (4) The failure of the independent redistricting 

2 commission of the State to approve a final redis3 tricting plan for the State prior to the expiration of 

4 the deadline set forth in section 203(e). 

5 SEC. 302. SPECIAL RULE FOR REDISTRICTING CONDUCTED 

6 UNDER ORDER OF FEDERAL COURT. 

7 If a Federal court requires a State to conduct redis8 tricting subsequent to an apportionment of Representa9 tives in the State in order to comply with the Constitution 

10 or to enforce the Voting Rights Act of 1965, section 203 

11 shall apply with respect to the redistricting, except that 

12 the court may revise any of the deadlines set forth in such 

13 section if the court determines that a revision is appro14 priate in order to provide for a timely enactment of a new 

15 redistricting plan for the State. 

16 TITLE IV—ADMINISTRATIVE AND 

17 MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 

18 SEC. 401. PAYMENTS TO STATES FOR CARRYING OUT RE19 DISTRICTING. 

20 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF PAYMENTS.—Subject to sub21 section (d), not later than 30 days after a State receives 

22 a State apportionment notice, the Election Assistance 

23 Commission shall make a payment to the State in an 

24 amount equal to the product of— 


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1 (1) the number of Representatives to which the 

2 State is entitled, as provided under the notice; and 

3 (2) $150,000. 

4 (b) USE OF FUNDS.—A State shall use the payment 

5 made under this section to establish and operate the 

6 State’s independent redistricting commission, to imple7 ment the State redistricting plan, and to otherwise carry 

8 out Congressional redistricting in the State. 

9 (c) NO PAYMENT TO STATES WITH SINGLE MEM10 BER.—The Election Assistance Commission shall not 

11 make a payment under this section to any State which 

12 is not entitled to more than one Representative under its 

13 State apportionment notice. 

14 (d) REQUIRING SUBMISSION OF SELECTION POOL AS

15 CONDITION OF PAYMENT.—The Election Assistance Com16 mission may not make a payment to a State under this 

17 section until the State certifies to the Commission that 

18 the nonpartisan agency established or designated by a 

19 State under section 204(a) has, in accordance with section 

20 202(b)(1), submitted a selection pool to the Select Com21 mittee on Redistricting for the State established under 

22 section 204(b). 

23 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

24 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 

25 necessary for payments under this section. 


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1 SEC. 402. CIVIL ENFORCEMENT. 

2 (a) CIVIL ENFORCEMENT.— 

3 (1) ACTIONS BY ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The At4 torney General may bring a civil action in an appro5 priate district court for such relief as may be appro6 priate to carry out this Act. 

7 (2) AVAILABILITY OF PRIVATE RIGHT OF AC8 TION.—Any citizen of a State who is aggrieved by 

9 the failure of the State redistricting plan which is 

10 enacted into law under section 203 to meet the re11 quirements for such a plan under this Act may bring 

12 a civil action in an appropriate district court for 

13 such relief as may be appropriate to remedy the fail14 ure, so long as the individual brings the action dur15 ing the 45-day period which begins on the date on 

16 which the plan is enacted into law. 

17 (b) EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION.—In any action 

18 brought forth under this section, the following rules shall 

19 apply: 

20 (1) The action shall be filed in the United 

21 States District Court for the District of Columbia 

22 and shall be heard by a 3-judge court convened pur23 suant to section 2284 of title 28, United States 

24 Code. 


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1 (2) The 3-judge court shall consolidate actions 

2 brought for relief under subsection (b)(1) with re3 spect to the same State redistricting plan. 

4 (3) A copy of the complaint shall be delivered 

5 promptly to the Clerk of the House of Representa6 tives and the Secretary of the Senate. 

7 (4) A final decision in the action shall be re8 viewable only by appeal directly to the Supreme 

9 Court of the United States. Such appeal shall be 

10 taken by the filing of a notice of appeal within 10 

11 days, and the filing of a jurisdictional statement 

12 within 30 days, of the entry of the final decision. 

13 (5) It shall be the duty of the district court and 

14 the Supreme Court of the United States to advance 

15 on the docket and to expedite to the greatest pos16 sible extent the disposition of the action and appeal. 

17 (c) ATTORNEY’S FEES.—In a civil action under this 

18 section, the court may allow the prevailing party (other 

19 than the United States) reasonable attorney fees, includ20 ing litigation expenses, and costs. 

21 (d) RELATION TO OTHER LAWS.— 

22 (1) RIGHTS AND REMEDIES ADDITIONAL TO

23 OTHER RIGHTS AND REMEDIES.—The rights and 

24 remedies established by this section are in addition 

25 to all other rights and remedies provided by law, and 


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1 neither the rights and remedies established by this 

2 section nor any other provision of this Act shall su3 persede, restrict, or limit the application of the Vot4 ing Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.). 

5 (2) VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965.—Nothing in 

6 this Act authorizes or requires conduct that is pro7 hibited by the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 

8 10301 et seq.). 

9 SEC. 403. STATE APPORTIONMENT NOTICE DEFINED. 

10 In this Act, the ‘‘State apportionment notice’’ means, 

11 with respect to a State, the notice sent to the State from 

12 the Clerk of the House of Representatives under section 

13 22(b) of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for the fif14 teenth and subsequent decennial censuses and to provide 

15 for an apportionment of Representatives in Congress’’, ap16 proved June 18, 1929 (2 U.S.C. 2a), of the number of 

17 Representatives to which the State is entitled. 

18 SEC. 404. NO EFFECT ON ELECTIONS FOR STATE AND 

19 LOCAL OFFICE. 

20 Nothing in this Act or in any amendment made by 

21 this Act may be construed to affect the manner in which 

22 a State carries out elections for State or local office, in23 cluding the process by which a State establishes the dis24 tricts used in such elections. 


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1 SEC. 405. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

2 This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall 

3 apply with respect to redistricting carried out pursuant to 

4 the decennial census conducted during 2020 or any suc5 ceeding decennial census. 

Æ 


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