I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 151 

To require any State which, after enacting a Congressional redistricting 

plan after a decennial census and apportionment of Representatives, 

enacts a subsequent Congressional redistricting plan prior to the next 

decennial census and apportionment of Representatives, to obtain a declaratory judgment or preclearance in the manner provided under section 

5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in order for the subsequent plan 

to take effect. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 3, 2017 

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To require any State which, after enacting a Congressional 

redistricting plan after a decennial census and apportionment of Representatives, enacts a subsequent Congressional redistricting plan prior to the next decennial census and apportionment of Representatives, to obtain a 

declaratory judgment or preclearance in the manner provided under section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 

in order for the subsequent plan to take effect. 

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. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Redistricting and 

3 Voter Protection Act of 2017’’. 

4 SEC. 2. REQUIRING DECLARATORY JUDGMENT OR 

5 PRECLEARANCE AS PREREQUISITE FOR MUL6 TIPLE CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING 

7 PLANS ENACTED PURSUANT TO SAME DE8 CENNIAL CENSUS AND APPORTIONMENT OF 

9 REPRESENTATIVES. 

10 (a) DECLARATORY JUDGMENT THAT PLAN DOES

11 NOT DENY OR ABRIDGE RIGHT TO VOTE ON ACCOUNT

12 OF RACE OR COLOR.—Except as provided in subsection 

13 (b), after a State enacts a Congressional redistricting plan 

14 in the manner provided by law after an apportionment of 

15 Representatives under section 22(a) of the Act entitled 

16 ‘‘An Act to provide for the fifteenth and subsequent decen17 nial censuses and to provide for an apportionment of Rep18 resentatives in Congress’’, approved June 18, 1929 (2 

19 U.S.C. 2a), any subsequent Congressional redistricting 

20 plan enacted by the State prior to the next apportionment 

21 of Representatives under such section shall not take effect 

22 unless and until— 

23 (1) the State commences a civil action in the 

24 United States District Court for the District of Co25 lumbia for a declaratory judgment that such subse26 quent plan neither has the purpose nor will have the 


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•HR 151 IH

1 effect of denying or abridging the right to vote on 

2 account of race or color, or in contravention of the 

3 guarantees set forth in section 4(f)(2) of the Voting 

4 Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10303(f)(2)); and 

5 (2) the court enters such a declaratory judg6 ment. 

7 (b) PRECLEARANCE.—A subsequent Congressional 

8 redistricting plan described in subsection (a) may take ef9 fect if— 

10 (1) the chief legal officer or other appropriate 

11 official of the State involved submits the plan to the 

12 Attorney General and the Attorney General has not 

13 interposed an objection within 60 days of such sub14 mission; or 

15 (2) upon good cause shown, to facilitate an ex16 pedited approval within 60 days of such submission, 

17 the Attorney General has affirmatively indicated 

18 that such objection will not be made. 

19 (c) APPLICATION OF VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF

20 1965.—For purposes of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, 

21 a declaratory judgment under subsection (a) or a 

22 preclearance under subsection (b), and the proceedings re23 lated to such judgment or preclearance, shall be treated 

24 as a declaratory judgment or preclearance under section 

25 5 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 10304). 


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1 SEC. 3. NO EFFECT ON REDISTRICTING PLANS ENACTED 

2 PURSUANT TO COURT ORDER. 

3 Section 1 does not apply with respect to any subse4 quent Congressional redistricting plan described in section 

5 1(a) if the plan is enacted by a State pursuant to a court 

6 order in order to comply with the Constitution or to en7 force the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10301 

8 et seq.). 

Æ 


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