(b) DEVELOPMENT AND PUBLICATION OF PRELIMI-
NARY REDISTRICTING PLAN.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Prior to developing and pub-
lishing a final redistricting plan under subsection 
(c), the independent redistricting commission of a 
State shall develop and publish a preliminary redis-
tricting plan. 
(2) MINIMUM PUBLIC HEARINGS AND OPPOR-
TUNITY FOR COMMENT PRIOR TO DEVELOPMENT.— 
(A) 3 HEARINGS REQUIRED.—Prior to de-
veloping a preliminary redistricting plan under 
this subsection, the commission shall hold not 
fewer than 3 public hearings at which members 
of the public may provide input and comments 
regarding the potential contents of redistricting 
plans for the State and the process by which 
the commission will develop the preliminary 
plan under this subsection. 
(B) MINIMUM PERIOD FOR NOTICE PRIOR 
TO HEARINGS.—Not fewer than 14 days prior 
to the date of each hearing held under this 
paragraph, the commission shall post notices of 
the hearing on the website maintained under 
subsection (a)(2), and shall provide for the pub-
lication of such notices in newspapers of general 
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circulation throughout the State. Each such no-
tice shall specify the date, time, and location of 
the hearing. 
(C) SUBMISSION OF PLANS AND MAPS BY 
MEMBERS
OF
THE
PUBLIC.—Any member of 
the public may submit maps or portions of 
maps for consideration by the commission. As 
provided under subsection (a)(2)(A), any such 
map shall be made publicly available on the 
commission’s website and open to comment. 
(3) PUBLICATION OF PRELIMINARY PLAN.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The commission shall 
post the preliminary redistricting plan devel-
oped under this subsection, together with a re-
port that includes the commission’s responses 
to any public comments received under sub-
section (a)(3), on the website maintained under 
subsection (a)(2), and shall provide for the pub-
lication of each such plan in newspapers of gen-
eral circulation throughout the State. 
(B) MINIMUM PERIOD FOR NOTICE PRIOR 
TO
PUBLICATION.—Not fewer than 14 days 
prior to the date on which the commission posts 
and publishes the preliminary plan under this 
paragraph, the commission shall notify the pub-
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lic through the website maintained under sub-
section (a)(2), as well as through publication of 
notice in newspapers of general circulation 
throughout the State, of the pending publica-
tion of the plan. 
(4) MINIMUM POST-PUBLICATION PERIOD FOR 
PUBLIC
COMMENT.—The commission shall accept 
and consider comments from the public (including 
through the website maintained under subsection 
(a)(2)) with respect to the preliminary redistricting 
plan published under paragraph (3), including pro-
posed revisions to maps, for not fewer than 30 days 
after the date on which the plan is published. 
(5) POST-PUBLICATION HEARINGS.— 
(A) 3 HEARINGS REQUIRED.—After post-
ing and publishing the preliminary redistricting 
plan under paragraph (3), the commission shall 
hold not fewer than 3 public hearings in dif-
ferent geographic areas of the State at which 
members of the public may provide input and 
comments regarding the preliminary plan. 
(B) MINIMUM PERIOD FOR NOTICE PRIOR 
TO HEARINGS.—Not fewer than 14 days prior 
to the date of each hearing held under this 
paragraph, the commission shall post notices of 
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the hearing on the website maintained under 
subsection (a)(2), and shall provide for the pub-
lication of such notices in newspapers of general 
circulation throughout the State. Each such no-
tice shall specify the date, time, and location of 
the hearing. 
(6) 
PERMITTING
MULTIPLE
PRELIMINARY 
PLANS.—At the option of the commission, after de-
veloping and publishing the preliminary redistricting 
plan under this subsection, the commission may de-
velop and publish subsequent preliminary redis-
tricting plans, so long as the process for the develop-
ment and publication of each such subsequent plan 
meets the requirements set forth in this subsection 
for the development and publication of the first pre-
liminary redistricting plan. 
(c) PROCESS FOR ENACTMENT OF FINAL REDIS-
TRICTING PLAN.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—After taking into consider-
ation comments from the public on any preliminary 
redistricting plan developed and published under 
subsection (b), the independent redistricting commis-
sion of a State shall develop and publish a final re-
districting plan for the State. 
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(2) MEETING; FINAL VOTE.—Not later than the 
deadline specified in subsection (e), the commission 
shall hold a public hearing at which the members of 
the commission shall vote on approving the final 
plan for enactment into law. 
(3) PUBLICATION OF PLAN AND ACCOMPANYING 
MATERIALS.—Not fewer than 14 days before the 
date of the meeting under paragraph (2), the com-
mission shall provide the following information to 
the public through the website maintained under 
subsection (a)(2), as well as through newspapers of 
general circulation throughout the State: 
(A) The final redistricting plan, including 
all relevant maps. 
(B) A report by the commission to accom-
pany the plan which provides the background 
for the plan and the commission’s reasons for 
selecting the plan as the final redistricting plan, 
including responses to the public comments re-
ceived on any preliminary redistricting plan de-
veloped and published under subsection (b). 
(C) Any dissenting or additional views with 
respect to the plan of individual members of the 
commission. 
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(4) ENACTMENT.—Subject to paragraph (5), 
the final redistricting plan developed and published 
under this subsection shall be deemed to be enacted 
into law upon the expiration of the 45-day period 
which begins on the date on which— 
(A) such final plan is approved by a major-
ity of the whole membership of the commission; 
and 
(B) at least one member of the commission 
appointed from each of the categories of the ap-
proved selection pool described in section 
202(b)(1) approves such final plan. 
(5) REVIEW BY DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE.— 
(A) REQUIRING SUBMISSION OF PLAN FOR 
REVIEW.—The final redistricting plan shall not 
be deemed to be enacted into law unless the 
State submits the plan to the Department of 
Justice for an administrative review to deter-
mine if the plan is in compliance with the cri-
teria described in subsections (b) and (c) of sec-
tion 103. 
(B) TERMINATION OF REVIEW.—The De-
partment of Justice shall terminate any admin-
istrative review under subparagraph (A) if, dur-
ing the 45-day period which begins on the date 
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the plan is enacted into law, an action is filed 
in a United States district court alleging that 
the plan is not in compliance with the criteria 
described in subsections (b) and (c) of section 
103. 
(d) WRITTEN EVALUATION OF PLAN AGAINST EX-
TERNAL METRICS.—The independent redistricting com-
mission shall include with each redistricting plan devel-
oped and published under this section a written evaluation 
that measures each such plan against external metrics 
which cover the criteria set forth in section 103(a), includ-
ing the impact of the plan on the ability of communities 
of color to elect candidates of choice, measures of partisan 
fairness using multiple accepted methodologies, and the 
degree to which the plan preserves or divides communities 
of interest. 
(e) TIMING.—The independent redistricting commis-
sion of a State may begin its work on the redistricting 
plan of the State upon receipt of relevant population infor-
mation from the Bureau of the Census, and shall approve 
a final redistricting plan for the State in each year ending 
in the numeral one not later than 8 months after the date 
on which the State receives the State apportionment notice 
or October 1, whichever occurs later. 
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SEC. 204. ESTABLISHMENT OF RELATED ENTITIES. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT
OR DESIGNATION
OF NON-
PARTISAN AGENCY OF STATE LEGISLATURE.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State shall establish a 
nonpartisan agency in the legislative branch of the 
State government to appoint the members of the 
independent redistricting commission for the State 
in accordance with section 201. 
(2) NONPARTISANSHIP DESCRIBED.—For pur-
poses of this subsection, an agency shall be consid-
ered to be nonpartisan if under law the agency— 
(A) is required to provide services on a 
nonpartisan basis; 
(B) is required to maintain impartiality; 
and 
(C) is prohibited from advocating for the 
adoption or rejection of any legislative proposal. 
(3) TRAINING
OF
MEMBERS
APPOINTED
TO 
COMMISSION.—Not later than January 15 of a year 
ending in the numeral one, the nonpartisan agency 
established or designated under this subsection shall 
provide the members of the independent redistricting 
commission with initial training on their obligations 
as members of the commission, including obligations 
under the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 
10301 et seq.) and other applicable laws. 
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(4) REGULATIONS.—The nonpartisan agency 
established or designated under this subsection shall 
adopt and publish regulations, after notice and op-
portunity for comment, establishing the procedures 
that the agency will follow in fulfilling its duties 
under this Act, including the procedures to be used 
in vetting the qualifications and political affiliation 
of applicants and in creating the selection pools, the 
randomized process to be used in selecting the initial 
members of the independent redistricting commis-
sion, and the rules that the agency will apply to en-
sure that the agency carries out its duties under this 
Act in a maximally transparent, publicly accessible, 
and impartial manner. 
(5) DESIGNATION
OF
EXISTING
AGENCY.—At 
its option, a State may designate an existing agency 
in the legislative branch of its government to appoint 
the members of the independent redistricting com-
mission plan for the State under this Act, so long 
as the agency meets the requirements for non-
partisanship under this subsection. 
(6) TERMINATION
OF
AGENCY
SPECIFICALLY 
ESTABLISHED FOR REDISTRICTING.—If a State does 
not designate an existing agency under paragraph 
(5) but instead establishes a new agency to serve as 
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the nonpartisan agency under this section, the new 
agency shall terminate upon the enactment into law 
of the redistricting plan for the State. 
(7) PRESERVATION
OF
RECORDS.—The State 
shall ensure that the records of the nonpartisan 
agency are retained in the appropriate State archive 
in such manner as may be necessary to enable the 
State to respond to any civil action brought with re-
spect to congressional redistricting in the State. 
(8) DEADLINE.—The State shall meet the re-
quirements of this subsection not later than each 
October 15 of a year ending in the numeral nine. 
(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF SELECT COMMITTEE ON RE-
DISTRICTING.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State shall appoint a 
Select Committee on Redistricting to approve or dis-
approve a selection pool developed by the inde-
pendent redistricting commission for the State under 
section 202. 
(2) APPOINTMENT.—The Select Committee on 
Redistricting for a State under this subsection shall 
consist of the following members: 
(A) One member of the upper house of the 
State legislature, who shall be appointed by the 
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leader of the party with the greatest number of 
seats in the upper house. 
(B) One member of the upper house of the 
State legislature, who shall be appointed by the 
leader of the party with the second greatest 
number of seats in the upper house. 
(C) One member of the lower house of the 
State legislature, who shall be appointed by the 
leader of the party with the greatest number of 
seats in the lower house. 
(D) One member of the lower house of the 
State legislature, who shall be appointed by the 
leader of the party with the second greatest 
number of seats in the lower house. 
(3) SPECIAL RULE FOR STATES WITH UNICAM-
ERAL LEGISLATURE.—In the case of a State with a 
unicameral legislature, the Select Committee on Re-
districting for the State under this subsection shall 
consist of the following members: 
(A) Two members of the State legislature 
appointed by the chair of the political party of 
the State whose candidate received the highest 
percentage of votes in the most recent statewide 
election for Federal office held in the State. 
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