II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2226 

To require States to carry out congressional redistricting in accordance with 

plans developed and enacted into law by independent redistricting commissions, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 23, 2019 

Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself, Mr. CASEY, Mr. COONS, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Ms. 

SMITH, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, and Mr. SANDERS) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To require States to carry out congressional redistricting 

in accordance with plans developed and enacted into 

law by independent redistricting 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDING OF CONSTITUTIONAL 

4 AUTHORITY; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

6 ‘‘Redistricting Reform Act of 2019’’. 

7 (b) FINDING OF CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY.— 

8 Congress finds that it has the authority to establish the 


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1 terms and conditions States must follow in carrying out 

2 congressional redistricting after an apportionment of 

3 Members of the House of Representatives because— 

4 (1) the authority granted to Congress under ar5 ticle I, section 4 of the Constitution of the United 

6 States gives Congress the power to enact laws gov7 erning the time, place, and manner of elections for 

8 Members of the House of Representatives; and 

9 (2) the authority granted to Congress under 

10 section 5 of the fourteenth amendment to the Con11 stitution gives Congress the power to enact laws to 

12 enforce section 2 of such amendment, which requires 

13 Representatives to be apportioned among the several 

14 States according to their number. 

15 (c) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

16 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; finding of constitutional authority; table of contents. 

TITLE I—REQUIREMENTS FOR CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING 

Sec. 101. Requiring congressional redistricting to be conducted through plan of 

independent State commission. 

Sec. 102. Ban on mid-decade redistricting. 

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. 

Sec. 205. Report on diversity of memberships of independent redistricting commissions. 

TITLE III—ROLE OF COURTS IN DEVELOPMENT OF 

REDISTRICTING PLANS 


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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. 

1 TITLE I—REQUIREMENTS FOR 

2 CONGRESSIONAL REDIS3 TRICTING 

4 SEC. 101. REQUIRING CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING TO 

5 BE CONDUCTED THROUGH PLAN OF INDE6 PENDENT STATE COMMISSION. 

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

8 other provision of law, and except as provided in sub9 section (c) and subsection (d), any congressional redis10 tricting conducted by a State shall be conducted in accord11 ance 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, in accord19 ance with section 301. 

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

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


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1 subsequent decennial censuses and to provide for an ap2 portionment of Representatives in Congress’’, approved 

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

4 ‘‘in the manner provided by the law thereof’’ and insert5 ing: ‘‘in the manner provided by the Redistricting Reform 

6 Act of 2019’’. 

7 (c) SPECIAL RULE FOR EXISTING COMMISSIONS.— 

8 Subsection (a) does not apply to any State in which, under 

9 law in effect continuously on and after the date of the 

10 enactment of this Act, congressional redistricting is car11 ried out in accordance with a plan developed and approved 

12 by an independent redistricting commission which is in 

13 compliance with each of the following requirements: 

14 (1) PUBLICLY AVAILABLE APPLICATION PROC15 ESS.—Membership on the commission is open to citi16 zens of the State through a publicly available appli17 cation process. 

18 (2) DISQUALIFICATIONS FOR GOVERNMENT

19 SERVICE AND POLITICAL APPOINTMENT.—Individ20 uals who, for a covered period of time as established 

21 by the State, hold or have held public office, individ22 uals who are or have been candidates for elected 

23 public office, and individuals who serve or have 

24 served as an officer, employee, or paid consultant of 


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1 a campaign committee of a candidate for public of2 fice are disqualified from serving on the commission. 

3 (3) SCREENING FOR CONFLICTS.—Individuals 

4 who apply to serve on the commission are screened 

5 through a process that excludes persons with con6 flicts of interest from the pool of potential commis7 sioners. 

8 (4) MULTI-PARTISAN COMPOSITION.—Member9 ship on the commission represents those who are af10 filiated with the two political parties whose can11 didates received the most votes in the most recent 

12 Statewide election for Federal office held in the 

13 State, as well as those who are unaffiliated with any 

14 party or who are affiliated with political parties 

15 other than the two political parties whose candidates 

16 received the most votes in the most recent Statewide 

17 election for Federal office held in the State. 

18 (5) CRITERIA FOR REDISTRICTING.—Members 

19 of the commission are required to meet certain cri20 teria in the map drawing process, including mini21 mizing the division of communities of interest and a 

22 ban on drawing maps to favor a political party. 

23 (6) PUBLIC INPUT.—Public hearings are held 

24 and comments from the public are accepted before 

25 a final map is approved. 


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1 (7) BROAD-BASED SUPPORT FOR APPROVAL OF

2 FINAL PLAN.—The approval of the final redistricting 

3 plan requires a majority vote of the members of the 

4 commission, including the support of at least one 

5 member of each of the following: 

6 (A) Members who are affiliated with the 

7 political party whose candidate received the 

8 most votes in the most recent Statewide election 

9 for Federal office held in the State. 

10 (B) Members who are affiliated with the 

11 political party whose candidate received the sec12 ond most votes in the most recent Statewide 

13 election for Federal office held in the State. 

14 (C) Members who not affiliated with any 

15 political party or who are affiliated with polit16 ical parties other than the political parties de17 scribed in subparagraphs (A) and (B). 

18 (d) TREATMENT OF STATE OF IOWA.—Subsection (a) 

19 does not apply to the State of Iowa, so long as congres20 sional redistricting in such State is carried out in accord21 ance with a plan developed by the Iowa Legislative Serv22 ices Agency with the assistance of a Temporary Redis23 tricting Advisory Commission, under law which was in ef24 fect for the most recent congressional redistricting carried 

25 out in the State prior to the date of the enactment of this 


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1 Act and which remains in effect continuously on and after 

2 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

3 SEC. 102. BAN ON MID-DECADE REDISTRICTING. 

4 A State that has been redistricted in accordance with 

5 this Act and a State described in section 101(c) or section 

6 101(d) may not be redistricted again until after the next 

7 apportionment of Representatives under section 22(a) of 

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

9 subsequent decennial censuses and to provide for an ap10 portionment of Representatives in Congress’’, approved 

11 June 18, 1929 (2 U.S.C. 2a), unless a court requires the 

12 State to conduct such subsequent redistricting to comply 

13 with the Constitution of the United States, the Voting 

14 Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.), the Con15 stitution of the State, or the terms or conditions of this 

16 Act. 

17 TITLE II—INDEPENDENT 

18 REDISTRICTING COMMISSIONS 

19 SEC. 201. INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING COMMISSION. 

20 (a) APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The nonpartisan agency es22 tablished or designated by a State under section 

23 204(a) shall establish an independent redistricting 

24 commission for the State, which shall consist of 15 

25 members appointed by the agency as follows: 


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1 (A) Not later than October 1 of a year 

2 ending in the numeral zero, the agency shall, at 

3 a public meeting held not earlier than 15 days 

4 after notice of the meeting has been given to 

5 the public, first appoint 6 members as follows: 

6 (i) The agency shall appoint 2 mem7 bers on a random basis from the majority 

8 category of the approved selection pool (as 

9 described in section 202(b)(1)(A)). 

10 (ii) The agency shall appoint 2 mem11 bers on a random basis from the minority 

12 category of the approved selection pool (as 

13 described in section 202(b)(1)(B)). 

14 (iii) The agency shall appoint 2 mem15 bers on a random basis from the inde16 pendent category of the approved selection 

17 pool (as described in section 202(b)(1)(C)). 

18 (B) Not later than November 15 of a year 

19 ending in the numeral zero, the members ap20 pointed by the agency under subparagraph (A) 

21 shall, at a public meeting held not earlier than 

22 15 days after notice of the meeting has been 

23 given to the public, then appoint 9 members as 

24 follows: 


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1 (i) The members shall appoint 3 mem2 bers from the majority category of the ap3 proved selection pool (as described in sec4 tion 202(b)(1)(A)). 

5 (ii) The members shall appoint 3 

6 members from the minority category of the 

7 approved selection pool (as described in 

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

9 (iii) The members shall appoint 3 

10 members from the independent category of 

11 the approved selection pool (as described in 

12 section 202(b)(1)(C)). 

13 (2) RULES FOR APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS

14 APPOINTED BY FIRST MEMBERS.— 

15 (A) AFFIRMATIVE VOTE OF AT LEAST 4

16 MEMBERS.—The appointment of any of the 9 

17 members of the independent redistricting com18 mission who are appointed by the first members 

19 of the commission pursuant to subparagraph 

20 (B) of paragraph (1), as well as the designation 

21 of alternates for such members pursuant to 

22 subparagraph (B) of paragraph (3) and the ap23 pointment of alternates to fill vacancies pursu24 ant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (4), shall 

25 require the affirmative vote of at least 4 of the 


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1 members appointed by the nonpartisan agency 

2 under subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1), in3 cluding at least one member from each of the 

4 categories referred to in such subparagraph. 

5 (B) ENSURING DIVERSITY.—In appointing 

6 the 9 members pursuant to subparagraph (B) 

7 of paragraph (1), as well as in designating al8 ternates pursuant to subparagraph (B) of para9 graph (3) and in appointing alternates to fill 

10 vacancies pursuant to subparagraph (B) of 

11 paragraph (4), the first members of the inde12 pendent redistricting commission shall ensure 

13 that the membership is representative of the de14 mographic groups (including racial, ethnic, eco15 nomic, and gender) and geographic regions of 

16 the State, and provides racial, ethnic, and lan17 guage minorities protected under the Voting 

18 Rights Act of 1965 with a meaningful oppor19 tunity to participate in the development of the 

20 State’s redistricting plan. 

21 (3) DESIGNATION OF ALTERNATES TO SERVE

22 IN CASE OF VACANCIES.— 

23 (A) MEMBERS APPOINTED BY AGENCY.— 

24 At the time the agency appoints the members 

25 of the independent redistricting commission 


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1 under subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) from 

2 each of the categories referred to in such sub3 paragraph, the agency shall, on a random basis, 

4 designate 2 other individuals from such cat5 egory to serve as alternate members who may 

6 be appointed to fill vacancies in the commission 

7 in accordance with paragraph (4). 

8 (B) MEMBERS APPOINTED BY FIRST MEM9 BERS.—At the time the members appointed by 

10 the agency appoint the other members of the 

11 independent redistricting commission under 

12 subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) from each 

13 of the categories referred to in such subpara14 graph, the members shall, in accordance with 

15 the special rules described in paragraph (2), 

16 designate 2 other individuals from such cat17 egory to serve as alternate members who may 

18 be appointed to fill vacancies in the commission 

19 in accordance with paragraph (4). 

20 (4) APPOINTMENT OF ALTERNATES TO SERVE

21 IN CASE OF VACANCIES.— 

22 (A) MEMBERS APPOINTED BY AGENCY.—If 

23 a vacancy occurs in the commission with respect 

24 to a member who was appointed by the non25 partisan agency under subparagraph (A) of 


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1 paragraph (1) from one of the categories re2 ferred to in such subparagraph, the agency 

3 shall fill the vacancy by appointing, on a ran4 dom basis, one of the 2 alternates from such 

5 category who was designated under subpara6 graph (A) of paragraph (3). At the time the 

7 agency appoints an alternate to fill a vacancy 

8 under the previous sentence, the agency shall 

9 designate, on a random basis, another indi10 vidual from the same category to serve as an al11 ternate member, in accordance with subpara12 graph (A) of paragraph (3). 

13 (B) MEMBERS APPOINTED BY FIRST MEM14 BERS.—If a vacancy occurs in the commission 

15 with respect to a member who was appointed by 

16 the first members of the commission under sub17 paragraph (B) of paragraph (1) from one of the 

18 categories referred to in such subparagraph, the 

19 first members shall, in accordance with the spe20 cial rules described in paragraph (2), fill the va21 cancy by appointing one of the 2 alternates 

22 from such category who was designated under 

23 subparagraph (B) of paragraph (3). At the time 

24 the first members appoint an alternate to fill a 

25 vacancy under the previous sentence, the first 


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1 members shall, in accordance with the special 

2 rules described in paragraph (2), designate an3 other individual from the same category to 

4 serve as an alternate member, in accordance 

5 with subparagraph (B) of paragraph (3). 

6 (5) REMOVAL.—A member of the independent 

7 redistricting commission may be removed by a ma8 jority vote of the remaining members of the commis9 sion if it is shown by a preponderance of the evi10 dence that the member is not eligible to serve on the 

11 commission under section 202(a). 

12 (b) PROCEDURES FOR CONDUCTING COMMISSION

13 BUSINESS.— 

14 (1) CHAIR.—Members of an independent redis15 tricting commission established under this section 

16 shall select by majority vote one member who was 

17 appointed from the independent category of the ap18 proved selection pool described in section 

19 202(b)(1)(C) to serve as chair of the commission. 

20 The commission may not take any action to develop 

21 a redistricting plan for the State under section 203 

22 until the appointment of the commission’s chair. 

23 (2) REQUIRING MAJORITY APPROVAL FOR AC24 TIONS.—The independent redistricting commission 

25 of a State may not publish and disseminate any 


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1 draft or final redistricting plan, or take any other 

2 action, without the approval of at least— 

3 (A) a majority of the whole membership of 

4 the commission; and 

5 (B) at least one member of the commission 

6 appointed from each of the categories of the ap7 proved selection pool described in section 

8 202(b)(1). 

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

10 the commission shall constitute a quorum. 

11 (c) STAFF; CONTRACTORS.— 

12 (1) STAFF.—Under a public application process 

13 in which all application materials are available for 

14 public inspection, the independent redistricting com15 mission of a State shall appoint and set the pay of 

16 technical experts, legal counsel, consultants, and 

17 such other staff as it considers appropriate, subject 

18 to State law. 

19 (2) CONTRACTORS.—The independent redis20 tricting commission of a State may enter into such 

21 contracts with vendors as it considers appropriate, 

22 subject to State law, except that any such contract 

23 shall be valid only if approved by the vote of a ma24 jority of the members of the commission, including 

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1 egories of the approved selection pool described in 

2 section 202(b)(1). 

3 (3) REPORTS ON EXPENDITURES FOR POLIT4 ICAL ACTIVITY.— 

5 (A) REPORT BY APPLICANTS.—Each indi6 vidual who applies for a position as an employee 

7 of the independent redistricting commission and 

8 each vendor who applies for a contract with the 

9 commission shall, at the time of applying, file 

10 with the commission a report summarizing— 

11 (i) any expenditure for political activ12 ity made by such individual or vendor dur13 ing the 10 most recent calendar years; and 

14 (ii) any income received by such indi15 vidual or vendor during the 10 most recent 

16 calendar years which is attributable to an 

17 expenditure for political activity. 

18 (B) ANNUAL REPORTS BY EMPLOYEES

19 AND VENDORS.—Each person who is an em20 ployee or vendor of the independent redis21 tricting commission shall, not later than one 

22 year after the person is appointed as an em23 ployee or enters into a contract as a vendor (as 

24 the case may be) and annually thereafter for 

25 each year during which the person serves as an 


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1 employee or a vendor, file with the commission 

2 a report summarizing the expenditures and in3 come described in subparagraph (A) during the 

4 10 most recent calendar years. 

5 (C) EXPENDITURE FOR POLITICAL ACTIV6 ITY DEFINED.—In this paragraph, the term 

7 ‘‘expenditure for political activity’’ means a dis8 bursement for any of the following: 

9 (i) An independent expenditure, as de10 fined in section 301(17) of the Federal 

11 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 

12 30101(17)). 

13 (ii) An electioneering communication, 

14 as defined in section 304(f)(3) of such Act 

15 (52 U.S.C. 30104(f)(3)) or any other pub16 lic communication, as defined in section 

17 301(22) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 

18 30101(22)) that would be an electioneering 

19 communication if it were a broadcast, 

20 cable, or satellite communication. 

21 (iii) Any dues or other payments to 

22 trade associations or organizations de23 scribed in section 501(c) of the Internal 

24 Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from 

25 tax under section 501(a) of such Code that 


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1 are, or could reasonably be anticipated to 

2 be, used or transferred to another associa3 tion or organization for a use described in 

4 paragraph (1), (2), or (4) of section 501(c) 

5 of such Code. 

6 (4) GOAL OF IMPARTIALITY.—The commission 

7 shall take such steps as it considers appropriate to 

8 ensure that any staff appointed under this sub9 section, and any vendor with whom the commission 

10 enters into a contract under this subsection, will 

11 work in an impartial manner, and may require any 

12 person who applies for an appointment to a staff po13 sition or for a vendor’s contract with the commission 

14 to provide information on the person’s history of po15 litical activity beyond the information on the per16 son’s expenditures for political activity provided in 

17 the reports required under paragraph (3) (including 

18 donations to candidates, political committees, and 

19 political parties) as a condition of the appointment 

20 or the contract. 

21 (5) DISQUALIFICATION; WAIVER.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—The independent redis23 tricting commission may not appoint an indi24 vidual as an employee, and may not enter into 

25 a contract with a vendor, if the individual or 


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1 vendor meets any of the criteria for the dis2 qualification of an individual from serving as a 

3 member of the commission which are set forth 

4 in section 202(a)(2). 

5 (B) WAIVER.—The commission may by 

6 unanimous vote of its members waive the appli7 cation of subparagraph (A) to an individual or 

8 a vendor after receiving and reviewing the re9 port filed by the individual or vendor under 

10 paragraph (3). 

11 (d) TERMINATION.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The independent redis13 tricting commission of a State shall terminate on the 

14 earlier of— 

15 (A) June 14 of the next year ending in the 

16 numeral zero; or 

17 (B) the day on which the nonpartisan 

18 agency established or designated by a State 

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

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

21 the Select Committee on Redistricting for the 

22 State established under section 204(b). 

23 (2) PRESERVATION OF RECORDS.—The State 

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1 priate State archive in such manner as may be nec2 essary to enable the State to respond to any civil ac3 tion brought with respect to congressional redis4 tricting in the State. 

5 SEC. 202. ESTABLISHMENT OF SELECTION POOL OF INDI6 VIDUALS ELIGIBLE TO SERVE AS MEMBERS 

7 OF COMMISSION. 

8 (a) CRITERIA FOR ELIGIBILITY.— 

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

10 serve as a member of an independent redistricting 

11 commission if the individual meets each of the fol12 lowing criteria: 

13 (A) As of the date of appointment, the in14 dividual is registered to vote in elections for 

15 Federal office held in the State. 

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

17 the date of the individual’s appointment, the in18 dividual has been continuously registered to 

19 vote with the same political party, or has not 

20 been registered to vote with any political party. 

21 (C) The individual submits to the non22 partisan agency established or designated by a 

23 State under section 203, at such time and in 

24 such form as the agency may require, an appli25 cation for inclusion in the selection pool under 


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1 this section, and includes with the application a 

2 written statement, with an attestation under 

3 penalty of perjury, containing the following in4 formation and assurances: 

5 (i) The full current name and any 

6 former names of, and the contact informa7 tion for, the individual, including an elec8 tronic mail address, the address of the in9 dividual’s residence, mailing address, and 

10 telephone numbers. 

11 (ii) The individual’s race, ethnicity, 

12 gender, age, date of birth, and household 

13 income for the most recent taxable year. 

14 (iii) The political party with which the 

15 individual is affiliated, if any. 

16 (iv) The reason or reasons the indi17 vidual desires to serve on the independent 

18 redistricting commission, the individual’s 

19 qualifications, and information relevant to 

20 the ability of the individual to be fair and 

21 impartial, including, but not limited to— 

22 (I) any involvement with, or fi23 nancial support of, professional, so24 cial, political, religious, or community 

25 organizations or causes; and 


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1 (II) the individual’s employment 

2 and educational history. 

3 (v) An assurance that the individual 

4 shall commit to carrying out the individ5 ual’s duties under this Act in an honest, 

6 independent, and impartial fashion, and to 

7 upholding public confidence in the integrity 

8 of the redistricting process. 

9 (vi) An assurance that, during the 

10 covered periods described in paragraph (3), 

11 the individual has not taken and will not 

12 take any action which would disqualify the 

13 individual from serving as a member of the 

14 commission under paragraph (2). 

15 (2) DISQUALIFICATIONS.—An individual is not 

16 eligible to serve as a member of the commission if 

17 any of the following applies during any of the cov18 ered periods described in paragraph (3): 

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

20 covered periods described in subparagraphs (A) 

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

22 member of the individual holds public office or 

23 is a candidate for election for public office. 

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

25 covered periods described in subparagraphs (A) 


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

2 member of the individual serves as an officer of 

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

4 paid consultant of a campaign committee of a 

5 candidate for public office or of any political ac6 tion committee (as determined in accordance 

7 with the law of the State). 

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

9 covered periods described in subparagraphs (A) 

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

11 member of the individual holds a position as a 

12 registered lobbyist under the Lobbying Disclo13 sure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) or an 

14 equivalent State or local law. 

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

16 covered periods described in subparagraphs (A) 

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

18 member of the individual is an employee of an 

19 elected public official, a contractor with the gov20 ernment of the State, or a donor to the cam21 paign of any candidate for public office or to 

22 any political action committee (other than a 

23 donor who, during any of such covered periods, 

24 gives an aggregate amount of $1,000 or less to 


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1 the campaigns of all candidates for all public 

2 offices and to all political action committees). 

3 (E) The individual or (in the case of the 

4 covered periods described in subparagraphs (A) 

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

6 member of the individual paid a civil money 

7 penalty or criminal fine, or was sentenced to a 

8 term of imprisonment, for violating any provi9 sion of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 

10 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101 et seq.). 

11 (F) 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 is an agent of a for15 eign principal under the Foreign Agents Reg16 istration Act of 1938, as amended (22 U.S.C. 

17 611 et seq.). 

18 (3) COVERED PERIODS DESCRIBED.—In this 

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

20 respect to the appointment of an individual to the 

21 commission, any of the following: 

22 (A) The 10-year period ending on the date 

23 of the individual’s appointment. 

24 (B) The period beginning on the date of 

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1 gust 14 of the next year ending in the numeral 

2 one. 

3 (C) The 10-year period beginning on the 

4 day after the last day of the period described in 

5 subparagraph (B). 

6 (4) IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBER DEFINED.—In 

7 this subsection, the term ‘‘immediate family mem8 ber’’ means, with respect to an individual, a father, 

9 stepfather, mother, stepmother, son, stepson, daugh10 ter, stepdaughter, brother, stepbrother, sister, step11 sister, husband, wife, father-in-law, or mother-in12 law. 

13 (b) DEVELOPMENT AND SUBMISSION OF SELECTION

14 POOL.— 

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

16 each year ending in the numeral zero, the non17 partisan agency established or designated by a State 

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

19 Select Committee on Redistricting for the State es20 tablished under section 204(b) a selection pool of 36 

21 individuals who are eligible to serve as members of 

22 the independent redistricting commission of the 

23 State under this Act, consisting of individuals in the 

24 following categories: 


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1 (A) A majority category, consisting of 12 

2 individuals who are affiliated with the political 

3 party whose candidate received the most votes 

4 in the most recent Statewide election for Fed5 eral office held in the State. 

6 (B) A minority category, consisting of 12 

7 individuals who are affiliated with the political 

8 party whose candidate received the second most 

9 votes in the most recent Statewide election for 

10 Federal office held in the State. 

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) ensure that the pool is representative 

20 of the demographic groups (including racial, 

21 ethnic, economic, and gender) and geographic 

22 regions of the State, and includes applicants 

23 who would allow racial, ethnic, and language 

24 minorities protected under the Voting Rights 

25 Act of 1965 a meaningful opportunity to parVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Jul 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2226.IS S2226

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1 ticipate in the development of the State’s redis2 tricting plan; and 

3 (B) take into consideration the analytical 

4 skills of the individuals selected in relevant 

5 fields (including mapping, data management, 

6 law, community outreach, demography, and the 

7 geography of the State) and their ability to 

8 work on an impartial basis. 

9 (3) INTERVIEWS OF APPLICANTS.—To assist 

10 the nonpartisan agency in developing the selection 

11 pool under this subsection, the nonpartisan agency 

12 shall conduct interviews of applicants under oath. If 

13 an individual is included in a selection pool devel14 oped under this section, all of the interviews of the 

15 individual shall be transcribed and the transcriptions 

16 made available on the nonpartisan agency’s website 

17 contemporaneously with release of the report under 

18 paragraph (6). 

19 (4) DETERMINATION OF POLITICAL PARTY AF20 FILIATION OF INDIVIDUALS IN SELECTION POOL.— 

21 For purposes of this section, an individual shall be 

22 considered to be affiliated with a political party only 

23 if the nonpartisan agency is able to verify (to the 

24 greatest extent possible) the information the indi25 vidual provides in the application submitted under 


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1 subsection (a)(1)(D), including by considering addi2 tional information provided by other persons with 

3 knowledge of the individual’s history of political ac4 tivity. 

5 (5) ENCOURAGING RESIDENTS TO APPLY FOR

6 INCLUSION IN POOL.—The nonpartisan agency shall 

7 take such steps as may be necessary to ensure that 

8 residents of the State across various geographic re9 gions and demographic groups are aware of the op10 portunity to serve on the independent redistricting 

11 commission, including publicizing the role of the 

12 panel and using newspapers, broadcast media, and 

13 online sources, including ethnic media, to encourage 

14 individuals to apply for inclusion in the selection 

15 pool developed under this subsection. 

16 (6) REPORT ON ESTABLISHMENT OF SELEC17 TION POOL.—At the time the nonpartisan agency 

18 submits the selection pool to the Select Committee 

19 on Redistricting under paragraph (1), it shall pub20 lish and post on the agency’s public website a report 

21 describing the process by which the pool was devel22 oped, and shall include in the report a description of 

23 how the individuals in the pool meet the eligibility 

24 criteria of subsection (a) and of how the pool reflects 


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1 the factors the agency is required to take into con2 sideration under paragraph (2). 

3 (7) PUBLIC COMMENT ON SELECTION POOL.— 

4 During the 14-day period which begins on the date 

5 the nonpartisan agency publishes the report under 

6 paragraph (6), the agency shall accept comments 

7 from the public on the individuals included in the se8 lection pool. The agency shall post all such com9 ments contemporaneously on the nonpartisan agen10 cy’s website and shall transmit them to the Select 

11 Committee on Redistricting immediately upon the 

12 expiration of such period. 

13 (8) ACTION BY SELECT COMMITTEE.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not earlier than 15 

15 days and not later than 21 days after receiving 

16 the selection pool from the nonpartisan agency 

17 under paragraph (1), the Select Committee on 

18 Redistricting shall— 

19 (i) approve the pool as submitted by 

20 the nonpartisan agency, in which case the 

21 pool shall be considered the approved selec22 tion pool for purposes of section 201(a)(1); 

23 or 

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

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1 mit a replacement selection pool in accord2 ance with subsection (c). 

3 (B) INACTION DEEMED REJECTION.—If 

4 the Select Committee on Redistricting fails to 

5 approve or reject the pool within the deadline 

6 set forth in subparagraph (A), the Select Com7 mittee shall be deemed to have rejected the pool 

8 for purposes of such subparagraph. 

9 (c) DEVELOPMENT OF REPLACEMENT SELECTION

10 POOL.— 

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

12 Redistricting rejects the selection pool submitted by 

13 the nonpartisan agency under subsection (b), not 

14 later than 14 days after the rejection, the non15 partisan agency shall develop and submit to the Se16 lect Committee a replacement selection pool, under 

17 the same terms and conditions that applied to the 

18 development and submission of the selection pool 

19 under paragraphs (1) through (7) of subsection (b). 

20 The replacement pool submitted under this para21 graph may include individuals who were included in 

22 the rejected selection pool submitted under sub23 section (b), so long as at least one of the individuals 

24 in the replacement pool was not included in such re25 jected pool. 


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1 (2) ACTION BY SELECT COMMITTEE.— 

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

3 after receiving the replacement selection pool 

4 from the nonpartisan agency under paragraph 

5 (1), the Select Committee on Redistricting 

6 shall— 

7 (i) approve the pool as submitted by 

8 the nonpartisan agency, in which case the 

9 pool shall be considered the approved selec10 tion pool for purposes of section 201(a)(1); 

11 or 

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

13 nonpartisan agency shall develop and sub14 mit a second replacement selection pool in 

15 accordance with subsection (d). 

16 (B) INACTION DEEMED REJECTION.—If 

17 the Select Committee on Redistricting fails to 

18 approve or reject the pool within the deadline 

19 set forth in subparagraph (A), the Select Com20 mittee shall be deemed to have rejected the pool 

21 for purposes of such subparagraph. 

22 (d) DEVELOPMENT OF SECOND REPLACEMENT SE23 LECTION POOL.— 

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

25 Redistricting rejects the replacement selection pool 


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1 submitted by the nonpartisan agency under sub2 section (c), not later than 14 days after the rejec3 tion, the nonpartisan agency shall develop and sub4 mit to the Select Committee a second replacement 

5 selection pool, under the same terms and conditions 

6 that applied to the development and submission of 

7 the selection pool under paragraphs (1) through (7) 

8 of subsection (b). The second replacement selection 

9 pool submitted under this paragraph may include in10 dividuals who were included in the rejected selection 

11 pool submitted under subsection (b) or the rejected 

12 replacement selection pool submitted under sub13 section (c), so long as at least one of the individuals 

14 in the replacement pool was not included in either 

15 such rejected pool. 

16 (2) ACTION BY SELECT COMMITTEE.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not earlier than 15 

18 days and not later than 14 days after receiving 

19 the second replacement selection pool from the 

20 nonpartisan agency under paragraph (1), the 

21 Select Committee on Redistricting shall— 

22 (i) approve the pool as submitted by 

23 the nonpartisan agency, in which case the 

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1 tion pool for purposes of section 201(a)(1); 

2 or 

3 (ii) reject the pool. 

4 (B) INACTION DEEMED REJECTION.—If 

5 the Select Committee on Redistricting fails to 

6 approve or reject the pool within the deadline 

7 set forth in subparagraph (A), the Select Com8 mittee shall be deemed to have rejected the pool 

9 for purposes of such subparagraph. 

10 (C) EFFECT OF REJECTION.—If the Select 

11 Committee on Redistricting rejects the second 

12 replacement pool from the nonpartisan agency 

13 under paragraph (1), the redistricting plan for 

14 the State shall be developed and enacted in ac15 cordance with title III. 

16 SEC. 203. CRITERIA FOR REDISTRICTING PLAN BY INDE17 PENDENT COMMISSION; PUBLIC NOTICE AND 

18 INPUT. 

19 (a) DEVELOPMENT OF REDISTRICTING PLAN.— 

20 (1) CRITERIA.—In developing a redistricting 

21 plan of a State, the independent redistricting com22 mission of a State shall establish single-member con23 gressional districts using the following criteria as set 

24 forth in the following order of priority: 


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1 (A) Districts shall comply with the United 

2 States Constitution, including the requirement 

3 that they equalize total population. 

4 (B) Districts shall comply with the Voting 

5 Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.) 

6 and all applicable Federal laws. 

7 (C) Districts shall provide racial, ethnic, 

8 and language minorities with an equal oppor9 tunity to participate in the political process and 

10 to elect candidates of choice and shall not dilute 

11 or diminish their ability to elect candidates of 

12 choice whether alone or in coalition with others. 

13 (D) Districts shall respect communities of 

14 interest, neighborhoods, and political subdivi15 sions to the extent practicable and after compli16 ance with the requirements of subparagraphs 

17 (A) through (C). A community of interest is de18 fined as an area with recognized similarities of 

19 interests, including but not limited to ethnic, 

20 racial, economic, social, cultural, geographic, or 

21 historic identities. The term communities of in22 terest may, in certain circumstances, include 

23 political subdivisions such as counties, munici24 palities, or school districts, but shall not include 


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1 common relationships with political parties or 

2 political candidates. 

3 (2) NO FAVORING OR DISFAVORING OF POLIT4 ICAL PARTIES.—Except as may be required to meet 

5 the criteria described in paragraph (1), the redis6 tricting plan developed by the independent redis7 tricting commission shall not, when considered on a 

8 Statewide basis, unduly favor or disfavor any polit9 ical party. 

10 (3) FACTORS PROHIBITED FROM CONSIDER11 ATION.—In developing the redistricting plan for the 

12 State, the independent redistricting commission may 

13 not take into consideration any of the following fac14 tors, except to the extent necessary to comply with 

15 the criteria described in subparagraphs (A) through 

16 (C) of paragraph (1), paragraph (2), and to enable 

17 the redistricting plan to be measured against the ex18 ternal metrics described in subsection (e): 

19 (A) The residence of any Member of the 

20 House of Representatives or candidate. 

21 (B) The political party affiliation or voting 

22 history of the population of a district. 

23 (b) PUBLIC NOTICE AND INPUT.— 

24 (1) USE OF OPEN AND TRANSPARENT PROC25 ESS.—The independent redistricting commission of a 


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

2 solicit and take into consideration comments from 

3 the public, including proposed maps, throughout the 

4 process of developing the redistricting plan for the 

5 State, and shall carry out its duties in an open and 

6 transparent manner which provides for the widest 

7 public dissemination reasonably possible of its pro8 posed and final redistricting plans. 

9 (2) WEBSITE.— 

10 (A) FEATURES.—The commission shall 

11 maintain a public internet site which is not af12 filiated with or maintained by the office of any 

13 elected official and which includes the following 

14 features: 

15 (i) General information on the com16 mission, its role in the redistricting proc17 ess, and its members, including contact in18 formation. 

19 (ii) An updated schedule of commis20 sion hearings and activities, including 

21 deadlines for the submission of comments. 

22 (iii) All draft redistricting plans devel23 oped by the commission under subsection 

24 (c) and the final redistricting plan devel25 oped under subsection (d), including the 


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1 accompanying written evaluation under 

2 subsection (e). 

3 (iv) All comments received from the 

4 public on the commission’s activities, in5 cluding any proposed maps submitted 

6 under paragraph (1). 

7 (v) Live streaming of commission 

8 hearings and an archive of previous meet9 ings, including any documents considered 

10 at any such meeting, which the commission 

11 shall post not later than 24 hours after the 

12 conclusion of the meeting. 

13 (vi) Access in an easily useable format 

14 to the demographic and other data used by 

15 the commission to develop and analyze the 

16 proposed redistricting plans, together with 

17 access to any software used to draw maps 

18 of proposed districts and to any reports 

19 analyzing and evaluating any such maps. 

20 (vii) A method by which members of 

21 the public may submit comments and pro22 posed maps directly to the commission. 

23 (viii) All records of the commission, 

24 including all communications to or from 


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1 members, employees, and contractors re2 garding the work of the commission. 

3 (ix) A list of all contractors receiving 

4 payment from the commission, together 

5 with the annual disclosures submitted by 

6 the contractors under section 201(c)(3). 

7 (x) A list of the names of all individ8 uals who submitted applications to serve 

9 on the commission, together with the appli10 cations submitted by individuals included 

11 in any selection pool, except that the com12 mission may redact from such applications 

13 any financial or other personally sensitive 

14 information. 

15 (B) SEARCHABLE FORMAT.—The commis16 sion shall ensure that all information posted 

17 and maintained on the site under this para18 graph, including information and proposed 

19 maps submitted by the public, shall be main20 tained in an easily searchable format. 

21 (C) DEADLINE.—The commission shall en22 sure that the public internet site under this 

23 paragraph is operational (in at least a prelimi24 nary format) not later than January 1 of the 

25 year ending in the numeral one. 


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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 (5) MULTIPLE LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS FOR

17 ALL NOTICES.—The commission shall make each no18 tice which is required to be posted and published 

19 under this section available in any language in which 

20 the State (or any jurisdiction in the State) is re21 quired to provide election materials under section 

22 203 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. 

23 (c) DEVELOPMENT AND PUBLICATION OF PRELIMI24 NARY REDISTRICTING PLAN.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Prior to developing and pub2 lishing a final redistricting plan under subsection 

3 (d), the independent redistricting commission of a 

4 State shall develop and publish a preliminary redis5 tricting plan. 

6 (2) MINIMUM PUBLIC HEARINGS AND OPPOR7 TUNITY FOR COMMENT PRIOR TO DEVELOPMENT.— 

8 (A) THREE HEARINGS REQUIRED.—Prior 

9 to developing a preliminary redistricting plan 

10 under this subsection, the commission shall hold 

11 not fewer than 3 public hearings at which mem12 bers of the public may provide input and com13 ments regarding the potential contents of redis14 tricting plans for the State and the process by 

15 which the commission will develop the prelimi16 nary plan under this subsection. 

17 (B) MINIMUM PERIOD FOR NOTICE PRIOR

18 TO HEARINGS.—Not fewer than 14 days prior 

19 to the date of each hearing held under this 

20 paragraph, the commission shall post notices of 

21 the hearing on the website maintained under 

22 subsection (b)(2), and shall provide for the pub23 lication of such notices in newspapers of general 

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1 tice shall specify the date, time, and location of 

2 the hearing. 

3 (C) SUBMISSION OF PLANS AND MAPS BY

4 MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC.—Any member of 

5 the public may submit maps or portions of 

6 maps for consideration by the commission. As 

7 provided under subsection (b)(2)(A), any such 

8 map shall be made publicly available on the 

9 commission’s website and open to comment. 

10 (3) PUBLICATION OF PRELIMINARY PLAN.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—The commission shall 

12 post the preliminary redistricting plan devel13 oped under this subsection, together with a re14 port that includes the commission’s responses 

15 to any public comments received under sub16 section (b)(3), on the website maintained under 

17 subsection (b)(2), and shall provide for the pub18 lication of each such plan in newspapers of gen19 eral circulation throughout the State. 

20 (B) MINIMUM PERIOD FOR NOTICE PRIOR

21 TO PUBLICATION.—Not fewer than 14 days 

22 prior to the date on which the commission posts 

23 and publishes the preliminary plan under this 

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1 section (b)(2), as well as through publication of 

2 notice in newspapers of general circulation 

3 throughout the State, of the pending publica4 tion of the plan. 

5 (4) MINIMUM POST-PUBLICATION PERIOD FOR

6 PUBLIC COMMENT.—The commission shall accept 

7 and consider comments from the public (including 

8 through the website maintained under subsection 

9 (b)(2)) with respect to the preliminary redistricting 

10 plan published under paragraph (3), including pro11 posed revisions to maps, for not fewer than 30 days 

12 after the date on which the plan is published. 

13 (5) POST-PUBLICATION HEARINGS.— 

14 (A) THREE HEARINGS REQUIRED.—After 

15 posting and publishing the preliminary redis16 tricting plan under paragraph (3), the commis17 sion shall hold not fewer than 3 public hearings 

18 in different geographic areas of the State at 

19 which members of the public may provide input 

20 and comments regarding the preliminary plan. 

21 (B) MINIMUM PERIOD FOR NOTICE PRIOR

22 TO HEARINGS.—Not fewer than 14 days prior 

23 to the date of each hearing held under this 

24 paragraph, the commission shall post notices of 

25 the hearing on the website maintained under 


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1 subsection (b)(2), and shall provide for the pub2 lication of such notices in newspapers of general 

3 circulation throughout the State. Each such no4 tice shall specify the date, time, and location of 

5 the hearing. 

6 (6) PERMITTING MULTIPLE PRELIMINARY

7 PLANS.—At the option of the commission, after de8 veloping and publishing the preliminary redistricting 

9 plan under this subsection, the commission may de10 velop and publish subsequent preliminary redis11 tricting plans, so long as the process for the develop12 ment and publication of each such subsequent plan 

13 meets the requirements set forth in this subsection 

14 for the development and publication of the first pre15 liminary redistricting plan. 

16 (d) PROCESS FOR ENACTMENT OF FINAL REDIS17 TRICTING PLAN.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—After taking into consider19 ation comments from the public on any preliminary 

20 redistricting plan developed and published under 

21 subsection (c), the independent redistricting commis22 sion of a State shall develop and publish a final re23 districting plan for the State. 

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

25 deadline specified in subsection (h), the commission 


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1 shall hold a public hearing at which the members of 

2 the commission shall vote on approving the final 

3 plan for enactment into law. 

4 (3) PUBLICATION OF PLAN AND ACCOMPANYING

5 MATERIALS.—Not fewer than 14 days before the 

6 date of the meeting under paragraph (2), the com7 mission shall provide the following information to 

8 the public through the website maintained under 

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

10 general circulation throughout the State: 

11 (A) The final redistricting plan, including 

12 all relevant maps. 

13 (B) A report by the commission to accom14 pany the plan which provides the background 

15 for the plan and the commission’s reasons for 

16 selecting the plan as the final redistricting plan, 

17 including responses to the public comments re18 ceived on any preliminary redistricting plan de19 veloped and published under subsection (c). 

20 (C) Any dissenting or additional views with 

21 respect to the plan of individual members of the 

22 commission. 

23 (4) ENACTMENT.—The final redistricting plan 

24 developed and published under this subsection shall 

25 be deemed to be enacted into law if— 


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

2 the whole membership of the commission; and 

3 (B) at least one member of the commission 

4 appointed from each of the categories of the ap5 proved selection pool described in section 

6 202(b)(1) approves the plan. 

7 (e) WRITTEN EVALUATION OF PLAN AGAINST EX8 TERNAL METRICS.—The independent redistricting com9 mission shall include with each redistricting plan devel10 oped and published under this section a written evaluation 

11 that measures each such plan against external metrics 

12 which cover the criteria set forth in paragraph (1) of sub13 section (a), including the impact of the plan on the ability 

14 of communities of color to elect candidates of choice, 

15 measures of partisan fairness using multiple accepted 

16 methodologies, and the degree to which the plan preserves 

17 or divides communities of interest. 

18 (f) TIMING.—The independent redistricting commis19 sion of a State may begin its work on the redistricting 

20 plan of the State upon receipt of relevant population infor21 mation from the Bureau of the Census, and shall approve 

22 a final redistricting plan for the State in each year ending 

23 in the numeral one not later than 8 months after the date 

24 on which the State receives the State apportionment notice 

25 or October 1, whichever occurs later. 


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1 SEC. 204. ESTABLISHMENT OF RELATED ENTITIES. 

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OR DESIGNATION OF NON3 PARTISAN AGENCY OF STATE LEGISLATURE.— 

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

5 nonpartisan agency in the legislative branch of the 

6 State government to appoint the members of the 

7 independent redistricting commission for the State 

8 in accordance with section 201. 

9 (2) NONPARTISANSHIP DESCRIBED.—For pur10 poses of this subsection, an agency shall be consid11 ered to be nonpartisan if under law the agency— 

12 (A) is required to provide services on a 

13 nonpartisan basis; 

14 (B) is required to maintain impartiality; 

15 and 

16 (C) is prohibited from advocating for the 

17 adoption or rejection of any legislative proposal. 

18 (3) TRAINING OF MEMBERS APPOINTED TO

19 COMMISSION.—Not later than January 15 of a year 

20 ending in the numeral one, the nonpartisan agency 

21 established or designated under this subsection shall 

22 provide the members of the independent redistricting 

23 commission with initial training on their obligations 

24 as members of the commission, including obligations 

25 under the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and other ap26 plicable laws. 


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1 (4) REGULATIONS.—The nonpartisan agency 

2 established or designated under this subsection shall 

3 adopt and publish regulations, after notice and op4 portunity for comment, establishing the procedures 

5 that the agency will follow in fulfilling its duties 

6 under this Act, including the procedures to be used 

7 in vetting the qualifications and political affiliation 

8 of applicants and in creating the selection pools, the 

9 randomized process to be used in selecting the initial 

10 members of the independent redistricting commis11 sion, and the rules that the agency will apply to en12 sure that the agency carries out its duties under this 

13 Act in a maximally transparent, publicly accessible, 

14 and impartial manner. 

15 (5) DESIGNATION OF EXISTING AGENCY.—At 

16 its option, a State may designate an existing agency 

17 in the legislative branch of its government to appoint 

18 the members of the independent redistricting com19 mission plan for the State under this Act, so long 

20 as the agency meets the requirements for non21 partisanship under this subsection. 

22 (6) TERMINATION OF AGENCY SPECIFICALLY

23 ESTABLISHED FOR REDISTRICTING.—If a State does 

24 not designate an existing agency under paragraph 

25 (5) but instead establishes a new agency to serve as 


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1 the nonpartisan agency under this section, the new 

2 agency shall terminate upon the enactment into law 

3 of the redistricting plan for the State. 

4 (7) PRESERVATION OF RECORDS.—The State 

5 shall ensure that the records of the nonpartisan 

6 agency are retained in the appropriate State archive 

7 in such manner as may be necessary to enable the 

8 State to respond to any civil action brought with re9 spect to congressional redistricting in the State. 

10 (8) DEADLINE.—The State shall meet the re11 quirements of this subsection not later than each 

12 October 15 of a year ending in the numeral nine. 

13 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF SELECT COMMITTEE ON RE14 DISTRICTING.— 

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

16 Select Committee on Redistricting to approve or dis17 approve a selection pool developed by the inde18 pendent redistricting commission for the State under 

19 section 202. 

20 (2) APPOINTMENT.—The Select Committee on 

21 Redistricting for a State under this subsection shall 

22 consist of the following members: 

23 (A) One member of the upper house of the 

24 State legislature, who shall be appointed by the 


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1 leader of the party with the greatest number of 

2 seats in the upper house. 

3 (B) One member of the upper house of the 

4 State legislature, who shall be appointed by the 

5 leader of the party with the second greatest 

6 number of seats in the upper house. 

7 (C) One member of the lower house of the 

8 State legislature, who shall be appointed by the 

9 leader of the party with the greatest number of 

10 seats in the lower house. 

11 (D) One member of the lower house of the 

12 State legislature, who shall be appointed by the 

13 leader of the party with the second greatest 

14 number of seats in the lower house. 

15 (3) SPECIAL RULE FOR STATES WITH UNICAM16 ERAL LEGISLATURE.—In the case of a State with a 

17 unicameral legislature, the Select Committee on Re18 districting for the State under this subsection shall 

19 consist of the following members: 

20 (A) Two members of the State legislature 

21 appointed by the chair of the political party of 

22 the State whose candidate received the highest 

23 percentage of votes in the most recent State24 wide election for Federal office held in the 

25 State. 


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1 (B) Two members of the State legislature 

2 appointed by the chair of the political party 

3 whose candidate received the second highest 

4 percentage of votes in the most recent State5 wide election for Federal office held in the 

6 State. 

7 (4) DEADLINE.—The State shall meet the re8 quirements of this subsection not later than each 

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

10 SEC. 205. REPORT ON DIVERSITY OF MEMBERSHIPS OF 

11 INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING COMMIS12 SIONS. 

13 Not later than May 15 of a year ending in the nu14 meral one, the Comptroller General of the United States 

15 shall submit to Congress a report on the extent to which 

16 the memberships of independent redistricting commissions 

17 for States established under this title with respect to the 

18 immediately preceding year ending in the numeral zero 

19 meet the diversity requirements as provided for in sections 

20 201(a)(2)(B) and 202(b)(2). 


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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 (f) 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 applicable venue, 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 final plan developed and published by 

17 the Court under this section shall be deemed to be 

18 enacted on the date on which the Court publishes 

19 the final plan, as described in subsection (d). 

20 (b) APPLICABLE VENUE DESCRIBED.—For purposes 

21 of this section, the ‘‘applicable venue’’ with respect to a 

22 State is the District of Columbia or the judicial district 

23 in which the capital of the State is located, as selected 

24 by the first party to file with the court sufficient evidence 


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1 of the occurrence of a triggering event described in sub2 section (f). 

3 (c) PROCEDURES FOR DEVELOPMENT OF PLAN.— 

4 (1) CRITERIA.—In developing a redistricting 

5 plan for a State under this section, the Court shall 

6 adhere to the same terms and conditions that ap7 plied (or that would have applied, as the case may 

8 be) to the development of a plan by the independent 

9 redistricting commission of the State under section 

10 203(a). 

11 (2) ACCESS TO INFORMATION AND RECORDS OF

12 COMMISSION.—The Court shall have access to any 

13 information, data, software, or other records and 

14 material that was used (or that would have been 

15 used, as the case may be) by the independent redis16 tricting commission of the State in carrying out its 

17 duties under this Act. 

18 (3) HEARING; PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.—In de19 veloping a redistricting plan for a State, the Court 

20 shall— 

21 (A) hold one or more evidentiary hearings 

22 at which interested members of the public may 

23 appear and be heard and present testimony, in24 cluding expert testimony, in accordance with 

25 the rules of the Court; and 


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1 (B) consider other submissions and com2 ments by the public, including proposals for re3 districting plans to cover the entire State or 

4 any portion of the State. 

5 (4) USE OF SPECIAL MASTER.—To assist in the 

6 development and publication of a redistricting plan 

7 for a State under this section, the Court may ap8 point a special master to make recommendations to 

9 the Court on possible plans for the State. 

10 (d) PUBLICATION OF PLAN.— 

11 (1) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF INITIAL PLAN.— 

12 Upon completing the development of one or more 

13 initial redistricting plans, the Court shall make the 

14 plans available to the public at no cost, and shall 

15 also make available the underlying data used by the 

16 Court to develop the plans and a written evaluation 

17 of the plans against external metrics (as described in 

18 section 203(e)). 

19 (2) PUBLICATION OF FINAL PLAN.—At any 

20 time after the expiration of the 14-day period which 

21 begins on the date the Court makes the plans avail22 able to the public under paragraph (1), and taking 

23 into consideration any submissions and comments by 

24 the public which are received during such period, the 


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1 Court shall develop and publish the final redis2 tricting plan for the State. 

3 (e) USE OF INTERIM PLAN.—In the event that the 

4 Court is not able to develop and publish a final redis5 tricting plan for the State with sufficient time for an up6 coming election to proceed, the Court may develop and 

7 publish an interim redistricting plan which shall serve as 

8 the redistricting plan for the State until the Court devel9 ops and publishes a final plan in accordance with this sec10 tion. Nothing in this subsection may be construed to limit 

11 or otherwise affect the authority or discretion of the Court 

12 to develop and publish the final redistricting plan, includ13 ing but not limited to the discretion to make any changes 

14 the Court deems necessary to an interim redistricting 

15 plan. 

16 (f) TRIGGERING EVENTS DESCRIBED.—The ‘‘trig17 gering events’’ described in this subsection are as follows: 

18 (1) The failure of the State to establish or des19 ignate a nonpartisan agency of the State legislature 

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

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

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

23 Committee on Redistricting under section 204(b) 

24 prior to the expiration of the deadline set forth in 

25 section 204(b)(4). 


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1 (3) The failure of the Select Committee on Re2 districting to approve any selection pool under sec3 tion 202 prior to the expiration of the deadline set 

4 forth for the approval of the second replacement se5 lection pool in section 202(d)(2). 

6 (4) The failure of the independent redistricting 

7 commission of the State to approve a final redis8 tricting plan for the State prior to the expiration of 

9 the deadline set forth in section 203(f). 

10 SEC. 302. SPECIAL RULE FOR REDISTRICTING CONDUCTED 

11 UNDER ORDER OF FEDERAL COURT. 

12 If a Federal court requires a State to conduct redis13 tricting subsequent to an apportionment of Representa14 tives in the State in order to comply with the Constitution 

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

16 shall apply with respect to the redistricting, except that 

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

18 section if the court determines that a revision is appro19 priate in order to provide for a timely enactment of a new 

20 redistricting plan for the State. 


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1 TITLE IV—ADMINISTRATIVE AND 

2 MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 

3 SEC. 401. PAYMENTS TO STATES FOR CARRYING OUT RE4 DISTRICTING. 

5 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF PAYMENTS.—Subject to sub6 section (d), not later than 30 days after a State receives 

7 a State apportionment notice, the Election Assistance 

8 Commission shall, subject to the availability of appropria9 tions provided pursuant to subsection (e), make a payment 

10 to the State in an amount equal to the product of— 

11 (1) the number of Representatives to which the 

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

13 (2) $150,000. 

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

15 made under this section to establish and operate the 

16 State’s independent redistricting commission, to imple17 ment the State redistricting plan, and to otherwise carry 

18 out congressional redistricting in the State. 

19 (c) NO PAYMENT TO STATES WITH SINGLE MEM20 BER.—The Election Assistance Commission shall not 

21 make a payment under this section to any State which 

22 is not entitled to more than one Representative under its 

23 State apportionment notice. 

24 (d) REQUIRING SUBMISSION OF SELECTION POOL AS

25 CONDITION OF PAYMENT.— 


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1 (1) REQUIREMENT.—Except as provided in 

2 paragraph (2) and paragraph (3), the Election As3 sistance Commission may not make a payment to a 

4 State under this section until the State certifies to 

5 the Commission that the nonpartisan agency estab6 lished or designated by a State under section 204(a) 

7 has, in accordance with section 202(b)(1), submitted 

8 a selection pool to the Select Committee on Redis9 tricting for the State established under section 

10 204(b). 

11 (2) EXCEPTION FOR STATES WITH EXISTING

12 COMMISSIONS.—In the case of a State which, pursu13 ant to section 101(c), is exempt from the require14 ments of section 101(a), the Commission may not 

15 make a payment to the State under this section until 

16 the State certifies to the Commission that its redis17 tricting commission meets the requirements of sec18 tion 101(c). 

19 (3) EXCEPTION FOR STATE OF IOWA.—In the 

20 case of the State of Iowa, the Commission may not 

21 make a payment to the State under this section until 

22 the State certifies to the Commission that it will 

23 carry out congressional redistricting pursuant to the 

24 State’s apportionment notice in accordance with a 

25 plan developed by the Iowa Legislative Services 


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1 Agency with the assistance of a Temporary Redis2 tricting Advisory Commission, as provided under the 

3 law described in section 101(d). 

4 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

5 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 

6 necessary for payments under this section. 

7 SEC. 402. CIVIL ENFORCEMENT. 

8 (a) CIVIL ENFORCEMENT.— 

9 (1) ACTIONS BY ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The At10 torney General may bring a civil action in an appro11 priate district court for such relief as may be appro12 priate to carry out this Act. 

13 (2) AVAILABILITY OF PRIVATE RIGHT OF AC14 TION.—Any citizen of a State who is aggrieved by 

15 the failure of the State to meet the requirements of 

16 this Act may bring a civil action in the United 

17 States district court for the applicable venue for 

18 such relief as may be appropriate to remedy the fail19 ure. For purposes of this section, the ‘‘applicable 

20 venue’’ is the District of Columbia or the judicial 

21 district in which the capital of the State is located, 

22 as selected by the person who brings the civil action. 

23 (b) EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION.—In any action 

24 brought forth under this section, the following rules shall 

25 apply: 


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1 (1) The action shall be filed in the district court 

2 of the United States for the District of Columbia or 

3 for the judicial district in which the capital of the 

4 State is located, as selected by the person bringing 

5 the action. 

6 (2) The action shall be heard by a 3-judge 

7 court convened pursuant to section 2284 of title 28, 

8 United States Code. 

9 (3) The 3-judge court shall consolidate actions 

10 brought for relief under subsection (b)(1) with re11 spect to the same State redistricting plan. 

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

13 promptly to the Clerk of the House of Representa14 tives and the Secretary of the Senate. 

15 (5) A final decision in the action shall be re16 viewable only by appeal directly to the Supreme 

17 Court of the United States. Such appeal shall be 

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

19 days, and the filing of a jurisdictional statement 

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

21 (6) It shall be the duty of the district court and 

22 the Supreme Court of the United States to advance 

23 on the docket and to expedite to the greatest pos24 sible extent the disposition of the action and appeal. 


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

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

3 than the United States) reasonable attorney fees, includ4 ing litigation expenses, and costs. 

5 (d) RELATION TO OTHER LAWS.— 

6 (1) RIGHTS AND REMEDIES ADDITIONAL TO

7 OTHER RIGHTS AND REMEDIES.—The rights and 

8 remedies established by this section are in addition 

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

10 neither the rights and remedies established by this 

11 section nor any other provision of this Act shall su12 persede, restrict, or limit the application of the Vot13 ing Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.). 

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

15 this Act authorizes or requires conduct that is pro16 hibited by the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 

17 10301 et seq.). 

18 SEC. 403. STATE APPORTIONMENT NOTICE DEFINED. 

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

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

21 the Clerk of the House of Representatives under section 

22 22(b) of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for the fif23 teenth and subsequent decennial censuses and to provide 

24 for an apportionment of Representatives in Congress’’, apVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Jul 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00059 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2226.IS S2226

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1 proved June 18, 1929 (2 U.S.C. 2a), of the number of 

2 Representatives to which the State is entitled. 

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

4 LOCAL OFFICE. 

5 Nothing in this Act or in any amendment made by 

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

7 a State carries out elections for State or local office, in8 cluding the process by which a State establishes the dis9 tricts used in such elections. 

10 SEC. 405. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

11 This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall 

12 apply with respect to redistricting carried out pursuant to 

13 the decennial census conducted during 2020 or any suc14 ceeding decennial census. 

Æ 


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