[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2248 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2248

   To prohibit States from carrying out more than one Congressional 
 redistricting 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

                              May 9, 2007

Ms. Zoe Lofgren of California (for herself, Mrs. Capps, Mr. Costa, Mr. 
 Cardoza, Ms. Eshoo, Mr. Farr, Mr. Filner, Ms. Harman, Mr. Lantos, Mr. 
   McNerney, Ms. Matsui, Mr. George Miller of California, Ms. Roybal-
  Allard, Ms. Linda T. Sanchez of California, Ms. Loretta Sanchez of 
    California, Mr. Schiff, Mr. Sherman, Ms. Solis, Mr. Stark, Mrs. 
    Tauscher, Mr. Waxman, Mr. Honda, and Ms. McCollum of Minnesota) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                             the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To prohibit States from carrying out more than one Congressional 
 redistricting after a decennial census and apportionment, to require 
 States to conduct such redistricting through independent commissions, 
                        and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDING OF CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Redistricting 
Reform Act of 2007''.
    (b) Finding.--Congress finds that it has the authority to establish 
the terms and conditions States must follow in carrying out 
Congressional redistricting after an apportionment of Members of the 
House of Representatives because--
            (1) the authority granted to Congress under article I, 
        section 4 of the Constitution of the United States gives 
        Congress the power to enact laws governing 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 Constitution 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 Ricardo Vallejo 
Samala and to provide for congressional redistricting'', approved 
December 14, 1967 (2 U.S.C. 2c), 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 entitled 
`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 
section, 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 (42 U.S.C. 1973 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 conducted by a State shall 
        be conducted in accordance with--
                    (A) the redistricting plan developed by the 
                independent redistricting commission established in the 
                State, in accordance with section 5; or
                    (B) if the plan developed by such commission 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 6.
            (2) Other criteria and procedures permitted.--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 applicable 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 subsequent decennial censuses and 
to provide for an apportionment 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 inserting: ``in the manner 
provided by the Redistricting Reform Act of 2007''.

SEC. 4. INDEPENDENT, BI-PARTISAN REDISTRICTING COMMISSION.

    (a) Appointment of Members.--
            (1) In general.--Each State shall establish an independent 
        redistricting commission composed of the following:
                    (A) A chair, who shall be appointed by majority 
                vote of the other members of the commission.
                    (B) An equal number of members (but not fewer than 
                1) from each of the following categories:
                            (i) Members affiliated with the political 
                        party with the greatest number of seats in the 
                        upper house of the State legislature, who shall 
                        be appointed by the members of that house who 
                        represent the political party with the second 
                        greatest number of seats in that house.
                            (ii) Members affiliated with the political 
                        party with the second greatest number of seats 
                        in the upper house of the State legislature, 
                        who shall be appointed by the members of that 
                        house who represent the political party with 
                        the greatest number of seats in that house.
                            (iii) Members affiliated with the political 
                        party with the greatest number of seats in the 
                        lower house of the State legislature, who shall 
                        be appointed by the members of that house who 
                        represent the political party with the second 
                        greatest number of seats in that house.
                            (iv) Members affiliated with the political 
                        party with the second greatest number of seats 
                        in the lower house of the State legislature, 
                        who shall be appointed by the members of that 
                        house who represent the political party with 
                        the greatest number of seats in that house.
                    (C) A number of members who are not affiliated with 
                any of the political parties referred to in 
                subparagraph (B), who shall be appointed by not fewer 
                than \2/3\ of the members appointed under subparagraph 
                (B), such that the percentage of the members of the 
                commission who are appointed under this subparagraph is 
                equal to the percentage of registered voters in the 
                State who are not affiliated with any of the political 
                parties referred to in subparagraph (B) (with respect 
                to the most recent statewide election for Federal 
                office held in the State for which such information is 
                available).
            (2) Special rule for states with unicameral legislature.--
        In the case of a State with a unicameral legislature, the 
        independent redistricting commission established under this 
        subsection shall be composed of the following:
                    (A) A chair, who shall be appointed by majority 
                vote of the other members of the commission.
                    (B) An equal number of members (but not fewer than 
                2) from each of the following categories:
                            (i) Members appointed by a member of the 
                        legislature who shall be selected by the chair 
                        of the Government Affairs Committee 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 office.
                            (ii) Members appointed by a member of the 
                        legislature who shall be selected by the chair 
                        of the Government Affairs Committee 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 average in the 3 most recent 
                        general elections for that office.
                    (C) A number of members who are not affiliated with 
                any of the political parties referred to in 
                subparagraph (B), who shall be appointed by not fewer 
                than \2/3\ of the members appointed under subparagraph 
                (B), such that the percentage of the members of the 
                commission who are appointed under this subparagraph is 
                equal to the percentage of registered voters in the 
                State who are not affiliated with any of the political 
                parties referred to in subparagraph (B) (with respect 
                to the most recent statewide election for Federal 
                office held in the State for which such information is 
                available).
            (3) Determination of political party affiliation.--For 
        purposes of this subsection, an individual shall be considered 
        to be affiliated with a political party if the individual is 
        registered with the party with respect to each of the 3 most 
        recent elections for Federal office occurring prior to the 
        individual's appointment.
    (b) Eligibility.--
            (1) In general.--An individual is eligible to serve as a 
        member of an independent redistricting commission if--
                    (A) as of the date of appointment, the individual 
                is registered to vote in elections for Federal office 
                held in the State, and was registered 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 office, 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 appointment; 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 
                decennial censuses and to provide for an apportionment 
                of Representatives in Congress'', approved June 18, 
                1929 (2 U.S.C. 2a).
            (2) Discrimination.--The membership of the Commission shall 
        not be selected in a manner which results in a denial or 
        abridgement of the right of any citizen of the United States to 
        vote on account of race or color. A violation of this 
        subsection is established if, based on the totality of 
        circumstances, it is shown that the membership of the 
        Commission is not equally open to participation by members of a 
        class of citizens protected by this subsection in that its 
        members have less opportunity than other members of the 
        electorate to participate in the political process and to elect 
        representatives of their choice.
    (c) Vacancy.--A vacancy in the commission shall be filled in the 
manner in which the original appointment was made.
    (d) Deadline.--
            (1) In general.--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.
            (2) Appointment of chair required prior to development of 
        redistricting plan.--The commission may not take any action to 
        develop a redistricting plan for the State under section 5 
        until the appointment of the commission's chair.
    (e) Requiring Majority Approval for Actions.--The independent 
redistricting commission of a State may not submit a redistricting plan 
to the State legislature, 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.
    (f) Termination.--
            (1) In general.--The independent redistricting 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 redistricting commission 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 respect to Congressional redistricting in the 
        State.

SEC. 5. DEVELOPMENT OF REDISTRICTING PLAN BY INDEPENDENT COMMISSION; 
              PUBLIC NOTICE AND INPUT.

    (a) 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) Districts shall comply with the Constitution of 
                the United States and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 
                U.S.C. 1971 et seq.). The plan shall neither disperse 
                nor concentrate minority populations protected under 
                the Voting Rights Act in a manner that has an adverse 
                effect on their ability to elect their candidate of 
                choice.
                    (B) District boundaries shall respect communities 
                of interest to the extent practicable. Communities of 
                interest shall include, but not be limited to, shared 
                socio-economic status characteristics, history of joint 
                governmental cooperation, housing characteristics, 
                language at home, educational attainment levels, and 
                neighborhoods. Communities of interest shall not be 
                defined as representation by a particular legislator.
                    (C) Districts shall each have equal population per 
                representative, to the extent practicable, and in 
                accordance with federal constitutional standards.
                    (D) Districts shall be geographically contiguous.
                    (E) To the extent practicable, district lines shall 
                use visible geographic features and shall remain within 
                geographic boundaries.
                    (F) To the extent practicable and consistent with 
                subparagraphs (A), (B), (C), (D), and (E), district 
                lines shall use city and county boundaries, or 
                undivided census tracts or block groups.
                    (G) To the extent practicable, districts shall be 
                geographically compact.
            (2) Factors prohibited from consideration.--In developing 
        the redistricting plan for the State, the independent 
        redistricting commission may not take into consideration any of 
        the following factors, 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 commission may 
                take such history into consideration 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) Public notice and input.--
                    (A) Public hearings; solicitation of input from 
                public.--The commission shall hold each of its meetings 
                in public, and shall solicit and take into 
                consideration comments from the public in developing 
                the redistricting plan for the State. The commission 
                shall notify the public through the publication of 
                notice in newspapers of general circulation throughout 
                the State, and through a public Internet site of the 
                State government, of the time and place of its 
                meetings, of its solicitation of public comments, and 
                of the means by which the public should submit comments 
                to the commission.
                    (B) Notice of plans.--At the time the commission 
                submits a redistricting plan to the legislature of the 
                State under subsection (b)(1), the commission shall 
                notify the public through the publication of notice in 
                newspapers of general circulation throughout the State, 
                and shall publish a detailed version of the plan 
                (including a map showing each Congressional district 
                established under the plan and the voting age 
                population by race of each such district) on a public 
                Internet site of the State government. The commission 
                shall provide such public notice of any redistricting 
                plan it develops for a minimum of four weeks prior to 
                submission of that plan to the legislature as provided 
                for in subsection (b).
    (b) Submission of Plans to Legislature.--
            (1) In general.--At any time prior to the first November 1 
        which occurs after the chief executive of the State receives 
        the State apportionment notice, the commission may submit 
        redistricting plans developed by the commission under this 
        section to the legislature of the State.
            (2) Consideration of plan by legislature.--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 developed by 
                the commission shall be considered to be enacted into 
                law only if the plan is forwarded to the chief 
                executive of the State pursuant to paragraph (2)(A) 
                and--
                            (i) the chief executive approves the plan 
                        as forwarded by the legislature without 
                        amendment; or
                            (ii) the chief executive vetoes the plan 
                        and the legislature overrides the veto in 
                        accordance 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 commission shall be considered to be 
                enacted into law if--
                            (i) the plan is submitted to the 
                        legislature of the State; and
                            (ii) the legislature approves the plan as 
                        submitted by the commission without amendment.

SEC. 6. SELECTION OF PLAN BY COURTS.

    (a) State Court.--
            (1) Submission and selection of plan.--If a redistricting 
        plan developed by the independent redistricting commission of a 
        State is not enacted into law under section 5(b)(3) by the 
        first November 1 which occurs after the chief executive of the 
        State receives the State apportionment notice, the commission 
        may submit redistricting plans developed by the commission in 
        accordance with section 5 to the highest court of the State, 
        which may select and publish one of the submitted plans to 
        serve as the redistricting plan for the State.
            (2) No modification of plan permitted.--The highest court 
        of a State may not modify any redistricting plan submitted 
        under this subsection.
    (b) Federal Court.--
            (1) Failure of state court to select plan.--
                    (A) Notice to court if plan not selected by state 
                court.--If a State court to whom redistricting plans 
                have been submitted under subsection (a) does not 
                select a plan to serve as the redistricting plan for 
                the State under such subsection on or before the first 
                December 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 commission.--
                    (A) In general.--If a State does not establish an 
                independent redistricting commission under section 4 by 
                the first September 1 which occurs after the chief 
                executive of the State receives 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 later than 
                        the first December 1 which occurs after the 
                        chief executive of the State receives the State 
                        apportionment notice.
                    (B) Determination of failure to establish 
                commission.--For purposes of subparagraph (A), a State 
                shall be considered to have failed to establish an 
                independent redistricting 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 adhere to the same terms 
        and conditions that applied to the development of the plan of 
        the commission under section 5(a).
    (c) Access to Information and Records of Commission.--A court which 
is required to select, publish, or develop a redistricting plan for a 
State under this section shall have access to any information, data, 
software, or other records and material used by the independent 
redistricting commission of the State in carrying out its duties under 
this Act.

SEC. 7. SPECIAL RULE FOR REDISTRICTING CONDUCTED UNDER ORDER OF FEDERAL 
              COURT.

    If a Federal court requires a State to conduct redistricting 
subsequent to an apportionment of Representatives in the State in order 
to comply with the Constitution or to enforce the Voting Rights Act of 
1965, sections 5 and 6 shall apply with respect to the redistricting, 
except that--
            (1) the deadline for the establishment of the independent 
        redistricting commission and the appointment of the 
        commission's chair (as described in section 4(d)(1)) 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 redistricting plans 
        to the legislature by the commission, and the date of the 
        termination of the commission (as described in section 4(f)) 
        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 publication of the 
        plan by the highest court of the State (as described in section 
        6(a)) shall be the expiration of the 180-day period which 
        begins on the date of the final order of the Federal court to 
        conduct the redistricting; and
            (4) the deadline for the selection and publication of the 
        plan by the district court of the United States (as described 
        in section 6(b)) shall be the expiration of the 210-day period 
        which begins on the date of the final order of the Federal 
        court to conduct the redistricting.

SEC. 8. PAYMENTS TO STATES FOR CARRYING OUT REDISTRICTING.

    (a) Authorization of Payments.--Subject to subsection (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 implement the State redistricting plan, and to otherwise 
carry out Congressional redistricting in the State.
    (c) No Payment to States With Single Member.--The Election 
Assistance Commission shall not 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 Commission 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. 9. 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 fifteenth and subsequent decennial censuses and to 
provide for an apportionment of Representatives in Congress'', approved 
June 18, 1929 (2 U.S.C. 2a), of the number of Representatives to which 
the State is entitled.

SEC. 10. CIVIL ENFORCEMENT AND PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.

    (a) Attorney General.--The Attorney General may bring a civil 
action in an appropriate district court for such declaratory or 
injunctive relief as is necessary to carry out this Act.
    (b) Availability of Private Right of Action.--
            (1) Action challenging contents of state redistricting 
        plan.--A person who is aggrieved by a violation of this Act 
        which consists of the failure of a State redistricting plan 
        enacted into law under section 5(b)(3) to be in compliance with 
        paragraph (1) or paragraph (2) of section 5(a) may bring a 
        civil action in an appropriate district court for declaratory 
        or injunctive relief.
            (2) Other actions.--A person who is aggrieved by a 
        violation of this Act which is not described in paragraph (1) 
        may bring a civil action in an appropriate district court for 
        declaratory or injunctive relief with respect to the violation 
        if--
                    (A) the person provides written notice of the 
                violation to the chair of the independent redistricting 
                commission of the State involved;
                    (B) the violation is not corrected during the 90-
                day period which begins on the date of the receipt of 
                the written notice; and
                    (C) the person brings the action not later than 30 
                days after the expiration of the 90-day period referred 
                to in clause (ii).
            (3) Statute of limitations.--No civil action may be brought 
        under this subsection with respect to a State after the 
        expiration of the 30-day period which begins on the date the 
        State redistricting plan is enacted into law under section 
        5(b)(3).
    (c) Expedited Judicial Review.--In any action brought for 
declaratory or injunctive relief under this section, the following 
rules shall apply:
            (1) The action shall be filed in the appropriate United 
        States district court and shall be heard by a 3-judge court 
        convened pursuant to section 2284 of title 28, United States 
        Code.
            (2) The 3-judge court shall consolidate actions brought for 
        relief under subsection (b)(1) with respect to the same State 
        redistricting plan.
            (3) A copy of the complaint shall be delivered promptly to 
        the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Secretary of 
        the Senate.
            (4) A final decision in the action shall be reviewable only 
        by appeal directly to the Supreme Court of the United States. 
        Such appeal shall be taken by the filing of a notice of appeal 
        within 10 days, and the filing of a jurisdictional statement 
        within 30 days, of the entry of the final decision.
            (5) It shall be the duty of the district court and the 
        Supreme Court of the United States to advance on the docket and 
        to expedite to the greatest possible extent the disposition of 
        the action and appeal.
    (d) Location of Court.--For purposes of an action under this 
section, the appropriate district court shall be the district court of 
the United States for the district which includes the capital of the 
State involved.
    (e) Attorney's Fees.--In a civil action under this section, the 
court may allow the prevailing party (other than the United States) 
reasonable attorney fees, including litigation expenses, and costs.
    (f) Relation to Other Laws.--(1) The rights and remedies 
established by this section are in addition to all other rights and 
remedies provided by law, and neither the rights and remedies 
established by this section nor any other provision of this Act shall 
supersede, restrict, or limit the application of the Voting Rights Act 
of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 1973 et seq.).
    (2) Nothing in this Act authorizes or requires conduct that is 
prohibited by the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 1973 et seq.).

SEC. 11. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall become effective 
upon the date of enactment.
                                 <all>