I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 712 
To prohibit States from carrying out more than one Congressional redis-
tricting after a decennial census and apportionment, to require States 
to conduct such redistricting through independent commissions, and for 
other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 27, 2017 
Mr. COOPER (for himself, Mr. PETERSON, Ms. SINEMA, Mr. COSTA, Mr. 
SCHRADER, Mrs. MURPHY
of Florida, Mr. QUIGLEY, and Mr. 
O’HALLERAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To prohibit States from carrying out more than one Congres-
sional redistricting after a decennial census and appor-
tionment, to require States to conduct such redistricting 
through independent commissions, and for other pur-
poses. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDING OF CONSTITUTIONAL 
AUTHORITY. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘John Tanner Fairness and Independence in Redistricting 
Act’’. 
(b) FINDING.—Congress finds that it has the author-
ity to establish the terms and conditions States must fol-
low in carrying out Congressional redistricting after an 
apportionment of Members of the House of Representa-
tives because— 
(1) the authority granted to Congress under ar-
ticle I, section 4 of the Constitution of the United 
States gives Congress the power to enact laws gov-
erning the time, place, and manner of elections for 
Members of the House of Representatives; and 
(2) the authority granted to Congress under 
section 5 of the fourteenth amendment to the Con-
stitution gives Congress the power to enact laws to 
enforce section 2 of such amendment, which requires 
Representatives to be apportioned among the several 
States according to their number. 
SEC. 2. LIMIT ON CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING AFTER 
AN APPORTIONMENT. 
The Act entitled ‘‘An Act for the relief of Doctor Ri-
cardo Vallejo Samala and to provide for congressional re-
districting’’, approved December 14, 1967 (2 U.S.C. 2c), 
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is amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘A State 
which has been redistricted in the manner provided by law 
after an apportionment under section 22(a) of the Act en-
titled ‘An Act to provide for the fifteenth and subsequent 
decennial censuses and to provide for an apportionment 
of Representatives in Congress’, approved June 18, 1929 
(2 U.S.C. 2a), may not be redistricted again until after 
the next apportionment of Representatives under such sec-
tion, unless a court requires the State to conduct such 
subsequent redistricting to comply with the Constitution 
or to enforce the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 
10301 et seq.).’’. 
SEC. 3. REQUIRING REDISTRICTING TO BE CONDUCTED 
THROUGH PLAN OF INDEPENDENT STATE 
COMMISSION OR PLAN OF HIGHEST STATE 
COURT. 
(a) USE OF PLAN REQUIRED.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, any Congressional redistricting con-
ducted by a State shall be conducted in accordance 
with— 
(A) the redistricting plan developed by the 
independent redistricting commission estab-
lished in the State, in accordance with section 
4; or 
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(B) if the plan developed by such commis-
sion is not enacted into law, the redistricting 
plan selected by the highest court in the State 
or developed by a United States district court, 
in accordance with section 5. 
(2) TREATMENT
OF
COMMISSIONS
ESTAB-
LISHED PURSUANT TO LAWS ENACTED PRIOR TO EN-
ACTMENT.—If Congressional redistricting in a State 
is conducted in accordance with a redistricting plan 
developed by a commission which was established in 
the State pursuant to a law enacted prior to the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the redistricting 
shall be deemed to meet the requirement of subpara-
graph (A) of paragraph (1). 
(3) OTHER CRITERIA AND PROCEDURES PER-
MITTED.—Nothing in this Act or the amendments 
made by this Act may be construed to prohibit a 
State from conducting Congressional redistricting in 
accordance with such criteria and procedures as the 
State considers appropriate, to the extent that such 
criteria and procedures are consistent with the appli-
cable requirements of this Act and the amendments 
made by this Act. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 22(c) of 
the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for the fifteenth and 
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subsequent decennial censuses and to provide for an ap-
portionment of Representatives in Congress’’, approved 
June 18, 1929 (2 U.S.C. 2a(c)), is amended by striking 
‘‘in the manner provided by the law thereof’’ and insert-
ing: ‘‘in the manner provided by the John Tanner Fair-
ness and Independence in Redistricting Act’’. 
SEC. 4. INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING COMMISSION. 
(a) ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS.— 
(1) APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS.—Each State 
shall establish an independent redistricting commis-
sion composed of— 
(A) a chair, who shall be appointed by ma-
jority vote of the other members of the commis-
sion; and 
(B) an equal number of members (but not 
fewer than 1) from each of the following cat-
egories: 
(i) Members appointed by a member 
of the upper house of the State legislature 
who represents the political party with the 
greatest number of seats in that house. 
(ii) Members appointed by a member 
of the upper house of the State legislature 
who represents the political party with the 
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second greatest number of seats in that 
house. 
(iii) Members appointed by a member 
of the lower house of the State legislature 
who represents the political party with the 
greatest number of seats in that house. 
(iv) Members appointed by a member 
of the lower house of the State legislature 
who represents the political party with the 
second greatest number of seats in that 
house. 
(2) SPECIAL RULE FOR STATES WITH UNICAM-
ERAL LEGISLATURE.—In the case of a State with a 
unicameral legislature, the independent redistricting 
commission established under this subsection shall 
be composed of— 
(A) a chair, who shall be appointed by ma-
jority vote of the other members of the commis-
sion; and 
(B) an equal number of members (but not 
fewer than 2) from each of the following cat-
egories: 
(i) Members appointed by a member 
of the legislature who shall be selected by 
the chair of the Government Affairs Com-
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mittee of the legislature to represent the 
State political party whose candidate for 
chief executive of the State received the 
greatest number of votes on average in the 
3 most recent general elections for that of-
fice. 
(ii) Members appointed by a member 
of the legislature who shall be selected by 
the chair of the Government Affairs Com-
mittee of the legislature to represent the 
State political party whose candidate for 
chief executive of the State received the 
second greatest number of votes on aver-
age in the 3 most recent general elections 
for that office. 
(3) ELIGIBILITY.—An individual is eligible to 
serve as a member of an independent redistricting 
commission if— 
(A) as of the date of appointment, the in-
dividual is registered to vote in elections for 
Federal office held in the State, and was reg-
istered to vote in the 2 most recent general 
elections for Federal office held in the State; 
(B) the individual did not hold public office 
or run as a candidate for election for public of-
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fice, or serve as an employee of a political party 
or candidate for election for public office, at 
any time during the 4-year period ending on the 
December 31 preceding the date of appoint-
ment; and 
(C) the individual certifies that he or she 
will not run as a candidate for the office of 
Representative in the Congress until after the 
next apportionment of Representatives under 
section 22(a) of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to 
provide for the fifteenth and subsequent decen-
nial censuses and to provide for an apportion-
ment of Representatives in Congress’’, approved 
June 18, 1929 (2 U.S.C. 2a). 
(4) VACANCY.—A vacancy in the commission 
shall be filled in the manner in which the original 
appointment was made. 
(5) DEADLINE.—Each State shall establish a 
commission under this section, and the members of 
the commission shall appoint the commission’s chair, 
not later than the first February 1 which occurs 
after the chief executive of a State receives the State 
apportionment notice. 
(6) APPOINTMENT OF CHAIR REQUIRED PRIOR 
TO DEVELOPMENT OF REDISTRICTING PLAN.—The 
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commission may not take any action to develop a re-
districting plan for the State under subsection (b) 
until the appointment of the commission’s chair in 
accordance with paragraph (1)(E). 
(7) REQUIRING ALL MEETINGS TO BE OPEN TO 
PUBLIC.—The commission shall hold each of its 
meetings in public. 
(8) INTERNET
SITE.—As soon as practicable 
after establishing the commission, the State shall es-
tablish and maintain a public Internet site for the 
commission which meets the following requirements: 
(A) The site is updated continuously to 
provide advance notice of commission meetings 
and to otherwise provide timely information on 
the activities of the commission. 
(B) The site contains the most recent 
available information from the Bureau of the 
Census on voting-age population, voter registra-
tion, and voting in the State, including pre-
cinct-level and census tract-level data with re-
spect to such information, as well as detailed 
maps reflecting such information. 
(C) The site includes interactive software 
to enable any individual to design a redis-
tricting plan for the State on the basis of the 
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information described in subparagraph (B), in 
accordance with the criteria described in sub-
section (b)(1). 
(D) The site permits any individual to sub-
mit a proposed redistricting plan to the com-
mission, and to submit questions, comments, 
and other information with respect to the com-
mission’s activities. 
(b) DEVELOPMENT OF REDISTRICTING PLAN.— 
(1) CRITERIA.—The independent redistricting 
commission of a State shall develop a redistricting 
plan for the State in accordance with the following 
criteria: 
(A) Adherence to the ‘‘one person, one 
vote’’ standard and other requirements imposed 
under the Constitution of the United States. 
(B) To the greatest extent mathematically 
possible, ensuring that the population of each 
Congressional district in the State does not 
vary from the population of any other Congres-
sional district in the State (as determined on 
the basis of the total count of persons of the 
most recent decennial census conducted by the 
Bureau of the Census). 
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(C) Consistency with any applicable re-
quirements of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 
and other Federal laws. 
(D) To the greatest extent practicable, the 
maintenance of the geographic continuity of the 
political subdivisions of the State which are in-
cluded in the same Congressional district, in the 
following order of priority: 
(i) The continuity of counties or par-
ishes. 
(ii) The continuity of municipalities. 
(iii) The continuity of neighborhoods 
(as determined on the basis of census 
tracts or other relevant information). 
(E) To the greatest extent practicable, 
maintaining compact districts (in accordance 
with such standards as the commission may es-
tablish). 
(F) Ensuring that districts are contiguous 
(except to the extent necessary to include any 
area which is surrounded by a body of water). 
(2) FACTORS
PROHIBITED
FROM
CONSIDER-
ATION.—In developing the redistricting plan for the 
State, the independent redistricting commission may 
not take into consideration any of the following fac-
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tors, except to the extent necessary to comply with 
the Voting Rights Act of 1965: 
(A) The voting history of the population of 
a Congressional district, except that the com-
mission may take such history into consider-
ation to the extent necessary to comply with 
any State law which requires the establishment 
of competitive Congressional districts. 
(B) The political party affiliation of the 
population of a district. 
(C) The residence of incumbent Members 
of the House of Representatives in the State. 
(3) SOLICITATION OF PUBLIC INPUT IN DEVEL-
OPMENT OF PLANS.—The commission shall solicit 
and take into consideration comments from the pub-
lic in developing the redistricting plan for the State 
by holding meetings in representative geographic re-
gions of the State at which members of the public 
may provide such input, and by otherwise soliciting 
input from the public (including redistricting plans 
developed by members of the public) through the 
commission Internet site and other methods. 
(4) PUBLIC NOTICE OF PLANS PRIOR TO SUB-
MISSION TO LEGISLATURE.—Not fewer than 7 days 
prior to submitting a redistricting plan to the legis-
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lature of the State under subsection (c)(1), the com-
mission shall post on the commission Internet site 
and cause to have published in newspapers of gen-
eral circulation throughout the State a notice con-
taining the following information: 
(A) A detailed version of the plan, includ-
ing a map showing each Congressional district 
established under the plan and the voting age 
population by race of each such district. 
(B) A statement providing specific infor-
mation on how the adoption of the plan would 
serve the public interest. 
(C) Any dissenting statements of any 
members of the commission who did not ap-
prove of the submission of the plan to the legis-
lature. 
(c) SUBMISSION OF PLANS TO LEGISLATURE.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—At any time prior to the 
first November 1 which occurs after the chief execu-
tive of the State receives the State apportionment 
notice, the commission may submit redistricting 
plans developed by the commission under this sec-
tion to the legislature of the State. 
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(2) CONSIDERATION
OF
PLAN
BY
LEGISLA-
TURE.—After receiving any redistricting plan under 
paragraph (1), the legislature of a State may— 
(A) approve the plan as submitted by the 
commission without amendment and forward 
the plan to the chief executive of the State; or 
(B) reject the plan. 
(3) ENACTMENT OF PLAN.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—A redistricting plan de-
veloped by the commission shall be considered 
to be enacted into law only if the plan is for-
warded to the chief executive of the State pur-
suant to paragraph (2)(A) and— 
(i) the chief executive approves the 
plan as forwarded by the legislature with-
out amendment; or 
(ii) the chief executive vetoes the plan 
and the legislature overrides the veto in ac-
cordance with the applicable law of the 
State, except that at no time may the plan 
be amended. 
(B) SPECIAL
RULE.—In the case of a 
State in which the chief executive is prohibited 
under State law from acting on a redistricting 
plan, a redistricting plan developed by the com-
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mission shall be considered to be enacted into 
law if— 
(i) the plan is submitted to the legisla-
ture of the State; and 
(ii) the legislature approves the plan 
as submitted by the commission without 
amendment. 
(d) REQUIRING
MAJORITY
APPROVAL
FOR
AC-
TIONS.—The independent redistricting commission of a 
State may not submit a redistricting plan to the State leg-
islature, or take any other action, without the approval 
of at least a majority of its members given at a meeting 
at which at least a majority of its members are present. 
(e) TERMINATION.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The independent redis-
tricting commission of a State shall terminate on the 
day after the date of the first regularly scheduled 
general election for Federal office which occurs after 
the chief executive of the State receives the State 
apportionment notice. 
(2) PRESERVATION
OF
RECORDS.—The State 
shall ensure that the records of the independent re-
districting commission are retained in the appro-
priate State archive in such manner as may be nec-
essary to enable the State to respond to any civil ac-
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tion brought with respect to Congressional redis-
tricting in the State. 
SEC. 5. SELECTION OF PLAN BY COURTS. 
(a) STATE COURT.— 
(1) SUBMISSION AND SELECTION OF PLAN.—If 
a redistricting plan developed by the independent re-
districting commission of a State is not enacted into 
law under section 4(c)(3) by the first November 1 
which occurs after the chief executive of the State 
receives the State apportionment notice, the commis-
sion may submit redistricting plans developed by the 
commission in accordance with section 4 to the high-
est court of the State, which may select and publish 
one of the submitted plans to serve as the redis-
tricting plan for the State. 
(2) NO MODIFICATION OF PLAN PERMITTED.— 
The highest court of a State may not modify any re-
districting plan submitted under this subsection. 
(b) FEDERAL COURT.— 
(1) FAILURE
OF
STATE
COURT
TO
SELECT 
PLAN.— 
(A) NOTICE TO COURT IF PLAN NOT SE-
LECTED BY STATE COURT.—If a State court to 
whom redistricting plans have been submitted 
under subsection (a) does not select a plan to 
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serve as the redistricting plan for the State 
under such subsection on or before the first De-
cember 1 which occurs after the chief executive 
of the State receives the State apportionment 
notice, the State shall file a notice with the 
United States district court for the district in 
which the capital of the State is located. 
(B) DEVELOPMENT
AND
SELECTION
OF 
PLAN BY FEDERAL COURT.—Not later than 30 
days after receiving a notice from a State under 
subparagraph (A), the court shall develop and 
publish a final redistricting plan for the State. 
(2) FAILURE OF STATE TO ESTABLISH COMMIS-
SION.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—If a State does not es-
tablish an independent redistricting commission 
under section 4 by the first September 1 which 
occurs after the chief executive of the State re-
ceives the State apportionment notice— 
(i) the State may not establish the 
commission; and 
(ii) the United States district court 
for the district in which the capital of the 
State is located shall develop and publish 
a final redistricting plan for the State not 
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later than the first December 1 which oc-
curs after the chief executive of the State 
receives the State apportionment notice. 
(B) DETERMINATION OF FAILURE TO ES-
TABLISH COMMISSION.—For purposes of sub-
paragraph (A), a State shall be considered to 
have failed to establish an independent redis-
tricting commission by the date referred to in 
such subparagraph if a chair of the commission 
has not been appointed on or before such date. 
(3) CRITERIA.—It is the sense of Congress 
that, in developing a redistricting plan for a State 
under this subsection, the district court should ad-
here to the same terms and conditions that applied 
to the development of the plan of the commission 
under section 4(b). 
(c) ACCESS
TO INFORMATION
AND RECORDS
OF 
COMMISSION.—A court which is required to select, pub-
lish, or develop a redistricting plan for a State under this 
section shall have access to any information, data, soft-
ware, or other records and material used by the inde-
pendent redistricting commission of the State in carrying 
out its duties under this Act. 
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SEC. 6. SPECIAL RULE FOR REDISTRICTING CONDUCTED 
UNDER ORDER OF FEDERAL COURT. 
If a Federal court requires a State to conduct redis-
tricting subsequent to an apportionment of Representa-
tives in the State in order to comply with the Constitution 
or to enforce the Voting Rights Act of 1965, sections 4 
and 5 shall apply with respect to the redistricting, except 
that— 
(1) the deadline for the establishment of the 
independent redistricting commission and the ap-
pointment of the commission’s chair (as described in 
section 4(a)(5)) shall be the expiration of the 30-day 
period which begins on the date of the final order of 
the Federal court to conduct the redistricting; 
(2) the deadline for the submission of redis-
tricting plans to the legislature by the commission, 
and the date of the termination of the commission 
(as described in section 4(c)(1) and section 4(e)) 
shall be the expiration of the 150-day period which 
begins on the date of the final order of the Federal 
court to conduct the redistricting; 
(3) the deadline for the selection and publica-
tion of the plan by the highest court of the State (as 
described in section 5(a)) shall be the expiration of 
the 180-day period which begins on the date of the 
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final order of the Federal court to conduct the redis-
tricting; and 
(4) the deadline for the selection and publica-
tion of the plan by the district court of the United 
States (as described in section 5(b)) shall be the ex-
piration of the 210-day period which begins on the 
date of the final order of the Federal court to con-
duct the redistricting. 
SEC. 7. PAYMENTS TO STATES FOR CARRYING OUT REDIS-
TRICTING. 
(a) AUTHORIZATION OF PAYMENTS.—Subject to sub-
section (d), not later than 30 days after a State receives 
a State apportionment notice, the Election Assistance 
Commission shall make a payment to the State in an 
amount equal to the product of— 
(1) the number of Representatives to which the 
State is entitled, as provided under the notice; and 
(2) $150,000. 
(b) USE OF FUNDS.—A State shall use the payment 
made under this section to establish and operate the 
State’s independent redistricting commission, to imple-
ment the State redistricting plan, and to otherwise carry 
out Congressional redistricting in the State. 
(c) NO PAYMENT TO STATES WITH SINGLE MEM-
BER.—The Election Assistance Commission shall not 
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make a payment under this section to any State which 
is not entitled to more than one Representative under its 
State apportionment notice. 
(d) REQUIRING ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION AS 
CONDITION OF PAYMENT.—The Election Assistance Com-
mission may not make a payment to a State under this 
section until the State certifies to the Commission that 
the State has established an independent redistricting 
commission, and that a chair of the commission has been 
appointed, in accordance with section 4. 
(e) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 
necessary for payments under this section. 
SEC. 8. STATE APPORTIONMENT NOTICE DEFINED. 
In this Act, the ‘‘State apportionment notice’’ means, 
with respect to a State, the notice sent to the State from 
the Clerk of the House of Representatives under section 
22(b) of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for the fif-
teenth and subsequent decennial censuses and to provide 
for an apportionment of Representatives in Congress’’, ap-
proved June 18, 1929 (2 U.S.C. 2a), of the number of 
Representatives to which the State is entitled. 
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SEC. 9. NO EFFECT ON ELECTIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL 
OFFICE. 
Nothing in this Act or in any amendment made by 
this Act may be construed to affect the manner in which 
a State carries out elections for State or local office, in-
cluding the process by which a State establishes the dis-
tricts used in such elections. 
SEC. 10. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall 
apply with respect to any Congressional redistricting 
which occurs after the regular decennial census conducted 
during 2020. 
Æ 
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