[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2978 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2978

   To require States to conduct Congressional redistricting through 
            independent commissions, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             August 2, 2013

Mr. Lowenthal introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To require States to conduct Congressional 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 ``Let the People 
Draw the Lines Act of 2013''.
    (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 CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING TO BE CONDUCTED THROUGH 
              PLAN OF INDEPENDENT STATE COMMISSION.

    (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 and enacted 
                into law by the independent redistricting commission 
                established in the State, in accordance with section 5; 
                or
                    (B) if a 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) Exception for states using existing nonpartisan 
        independent commissions.--
                    (A) Exception.--Paragraph (1) does not apply to a 
                State in which, under law that is in effect 
                continuously on and after the date of the enactment of 
                this Act, Congressional redistricting is conducted in 
                accordance with a plan developed by a nonpartisan 
                independent commission.
                    (B) Nonpartisan independent status.--For purposes 
                of this paragraph, a commission shall be considered to 
                be a nonpartisan independent commission if the number 
                of its members who are affiliated with the political 
                party with the largest percentage of the registered 
                voters in the State who are affiliated with a political 
                party (as determined with respect to the most recent 
                Statewide election for Federal office held in the State 
                for which such information is available) is equal to 
                the number of its members who are affiliated with the 
                political party with the second largest percentage of 
                the registered voters in the State who are affiliated 
                with a political party (as so determined).
    (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 Let the People Draw the Lines Act of 2013''.

SEC. 4. INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING COMMISSION.

    (a) Appointment of Members.--
            (1) In general.--Each State shall establish an independent 
        redistricting commission composed of 14 members appointed as 
        follows:
                    (A) 5 members from the final majority selection 
                pool (as described in subparagraph (A) of subsection 
                (b)(4)), of whom--
                            (i) 2 shall be appointed by the leader of 
                        the party in the upper house of the State 
                        legislature whose members are affiliated with 
                        the same political party as the individuals in 
                        such pool;
                            (ii) 2 shall be appointed by the leader of 
                        the party in the lower house of the State 
                        legislature whose members are affiliated with 
                        the same political party as the individuals in 
                        such pool; and
                            (iii) 1 shall be appointed on a random 
                        basis by the selection panel described in 
                        subsection (b)(1).
                    (B) 5 members from the final minority selection 
                pool (as described in subparagraph (B) of subsection 
                (b)(4)), of whom--
                            (i) 2 shall be appointed by the leader of 
                        the party in the upper house of the State 
                        legislature whose members are affiliated with 
                        the same political party as the individuals in 
                        such pool;
                            (ii) 2 shall be appointed by the leader of 
                        the party in the lower house of the State 
                        legislature whose members are affiliated with 
                        the same political party as the individuals in 
                        such pool; and
                            (iii) 1 shall be appointed on a random 
                        basis by the selection panel described in 
                        subsection (b)(1).
                    (C) 4 members from the final independent selection 
                pool (as described in subparagraph (C) of subsection 
                (b)(4)), each of whom shall be appointed on a random 
                basis by the selection panel described in subsection 
                (b)(1).
            (2) Special rule for states with unicameral legislature.--
        In the case of a State with a unicameral legislature--
                    (A) the appointments referred to in clauses (i) and 
                (ii) of paragraph (1)(A) shall be made by the leader of 
                the party in the legislature whose members are 
                affiliated with the same political party as the 
                individuals in the final majority selection pool; and
                    (B) the appointments referred to in clauses (i) and 
                (ii) of paragraph (1)(B) shall be made by the leader of 
                the party in the legislature whose members are 
                affiliated with the same political party as the 
                individuals in the final minority selection pool.
    (b) Establishment of Selection Pools.--
            (1) Initial pool of nominees.--
                    (A) Development of pool by panel of retired 
                judges.--Not later than January 1 of each year in which 
                a decennial census is conducted, the highest court of 
                each State shall appoint a panel of retired judges of 
                courts of the State (hereafter referred to as the 
                ``selection panel'') to develop an initial pool of 
                individuals who are eligible to serve as members of the 
                independent redistricting commission of the State under 
                this Act.
                    (B) Encouraging residents to apply for inclusion in 
                pool.--The selection panel shall take such steps as may 
                be necessary to ensure that residents of the State 
                across various geographic regions and demographic 
                groups are aware of the opportunity to serve on the 
                commission, including publicizing the role of the panel 
                and using newspapers, broadcast media, and online 
                sources to encourage individuals to apply for inclusion 
                in the initial pool developed under this paragraph.
                    (C) Individuals within pool.--The selection panel 
                shall include an individual within the initial pool of 
                eligible individuals under this paragraph if--
                            (i) the individual submits an application 
                        to the panel for inclusion in the pool, at such 
                        time as the panel may require; and
                            (ii) the individual meets the criteria for 
                        eligibility under subsection (c) for service as 
                        a member of the independent redistricting 
                        commission.
                    (D) Publication of names of applicants and reasons 
                for rejection of inclusion.--Not later than the first 
                August 10 occurring after its appointment, the 
                selection panel shall make public--
                            (i) the name of each individual who applies 
                        to be included in the initial pool under this 
                        paragraph; and
                            (ii) in the case of any individual who 
                        applies to be included in the pool but is not 
                        so included, the reasons for the failure of the 
                        panel to include the individual in the pool.
            (2) Intermediate selection pool.--
                    (A) Selections from initial pool.--Not later than 
                the first October 1 occurring after its appointment, 
                the selection panel shall establish and present to the 
                legislature of the State an intermediate selection pool 
                of 60 individuals who are eligible to serve as members 
                of the independent redistricting commission of the 
                State under this Act, consisting of individuals in the 
                following categories:
                            (i) A majority category, consisting of 20 
                        individuals who are affiliated with the 
                        political party with the largest percentage of 
                        the registered voters in the State who are 
                        affiliated with a political party (as 
                        determined with respect to the most recent 
                        Statewide election for Federal office held in 
                        the State for which such information is 
                        available).
                            (ii) A minority category, consisting of 20 
                        individuals who are affiliated with the 
                        political party with the second largest 
                        percentage of the registered voters in the 
                        State who are affiliated with a political party 
                        (as so determined).
                            (iii) An independent category, consisting 
                        of 20 individuals who are not affiliated with 
                        either of the political parties described in 
                        clause (i) or clause (ii).
                    (B) Factors taken into account in establishing 
                pool.--In selecting individuals for the intermediate 
                selection pool under this paragraph, the selection 
                panel shall take into consideration the analytical 
                skills of the individuals selected, their ability to 
                work on an impartial basis, and the need for the pool 
                to reflect the representative demographic groups and 
                geographic regions of the State.
                    (C) Determination of political party affiliation.--
                For purposes of this section, an individual shall be 
                considered to be affiliated with a political party if 
                the individual has been continuously registered to vote 
                with the party during the 3-year period ending on the 
                date of the individual's appointment.
            (3) Removal of individuals from intermediate selection pool 
        by leaders of legislature.--
                    (A) Removal.--Not later than the first November 15 
                occurring after the appointment of the selection panel, 
                each of the following individuals may reduce the number 
                of individuals in the intermediate selection pool under 
                paragraph (2)(A) by removing not more than 2 
                individuals from each of the 3 categories described in 
                such paragraph:
                            (i) The leader of the party with the 
                        greatest number of seats in the upper house of 
                        the State legislature.
                            (ii) The leader of the party with the 
                        greatest number of seats in the lower house of 
                        the State legislature.
                            (iii) The leader of the party with the 
                        second greatest number of seats in the upper 
                        house of the State legislature.
                            (iv) The leader of the party with the 
                        second greatest number of seats in the lower 
                        house of the State legislature.
                    (B) Special rule for states with unicameral 
                legislature.--In the case of a State with a unicameral 
                legislature--
                            (i) the leader of the party with the 
                        greatest number of seats in the legislature may 
                        exercise the removal authority described in 
                        clauses (i) and (ii) of subparagraph (A); and
                            (ii) the leader of the party with the 
                        second greatest number of seats in the 
                        legislature may exercise the removal authority 
                        described in clauses (iii) and (iv) of 
                        subparagraph (A).
            (4) Final selection pools.--Not later than the first 
        November 20 occurring after the appointment of the selection 
        panel, the selection panel shall establish the following final 
        selection pools of individuals who may be appointed to serve on 
        the independent redistricting commission under subsection (a):
                    (A) A final majority selection pool, consisting of 
                10 individuals selected at random from the majority 
                category under clause (i) of paragraph (2)(A), as 
                reduced under paragraph (3).
                    (B) A final minority selection pool, consisting of 
                10 individuals selected at random from the minority 
                category under clause (ii) of paragraph (2)(A), as 
                reduced under paragraph (3).
                    (C) A final independent selection pool, consisting 
                of 10 individuals selected at random from the 
                independent category under clause (ii) of paragraph 
                (2)(A), as reduced under paragraph (3).
    (c) Criteria for Eligibility.--
            (1) In general.--An individual is eligible to serve as a 
        member of an independent redistricting commission if the 
        individual meets each of the following criteria:
                    (A) As of the date of appointment, the individual 
                is registered to vote in elections for Federal office 
                held in the State.
                    (B) The individual has voted in at least 2 of the 3 
                most recent Statewide general elections held prior to 
                the date of appointment.
                    (C) During the 3-year period ending on the date of 
                the individual's appointment, the individual has been 
                continuously registered to vote with the same political 
                party, or has not been registered to vote with any 
                political party.
                    (D) The individual provides the selection panel 
                with a written statement containing the following 
                assurances:
                            (i) An assurance that the individual shall 
                        commit to carrying out the individual's duties 
                        under this Act in an honest, independent, and 
                        impartial fashion, and to upholding public 
                        confidence in the integrity of the 
                        redistricting process.
                            (ii) An assurance that, during the covered 
                        periods described in paragraph (3), the 
                        individual has not taken and will not take any 
                        action which would disqualify the individual 
                        from serving as a member of the commission 
                        under such paragraph.
            (2) Disqualifications.--An individual is not eligible to 
        serve as a member of the commission if any of the following 
        applies during any of the covered periods described in 
        paragraph (3):
                    (A) The individual or (in the case of the covered 
                periods described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of 
                paragraph (3)) an immediate family member of the 
                individual holds public office or is a candidate for 
                election for public office.
                    (B) The individual or (in the case of the covered 
                periods described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of 
                paragraph (3)) an immediate family member of the 
                individual serves as an officer of a political party or 
                as an officer, employee, or paid consultant of a 
                campaign committee of a candidate for public office.
                    (C) The individual or (in the case of the covered 
                periods described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of 
                paragraph (3)) an immediate family member of the 
                individual holds a position as a registered lobbyist 
                under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 
                1601 et seq.) or an equivalent State or local law.
                    (D) The individual or (in the case of the covered 
                periods described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of 
                paragraph (3)) an immediate family member of the 
                individual is an employee of an elected public 
                official, a contractor with the legislature of the 
                State, or a donor to the campaign of any candidate for 
                public office (other than a donor who gives an 
                aggregate amount of less than $10,000 to the candidate 
                with respect to the election).
            (3) Covered periods described.--In this subsection, the 
        term ``covered period'' means, with respect to the appointment 
        of an individual to the commission, any of the following:
                    (A) The 3-year period ending on the date of the 
                individual's appointment.
                    (B) The period in which the commission is carrying 
                out its duties.
                    (C) The 3-year period beginning on the date of the 
                commission's termination.
            (4) Immediate family member defined.--In this subsection, 
        the term ``immediate family member'' means, with respect to an 
        individual, a father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, 
        husband, wife, father-in-law, or mother-in-law.
    (d) Removal; Vacancies.--
            (1) Removal.--After having been served written notice and 
        provided with an opportunity for a response, a member of the 
        commission may be removed by the Governor, with the concurrence 
        of two-thirds of the upper house of the State legislature (or, 
        in the case of a State with a unicameral legislature, the 
        legislature), for substantial neglect of duty, gross misconduct 
        in office, or inability to discharge the duties of office.
            (2) Vacancy.--A vacancy in the commission shall be filled 
        in the manner in which the original appointment was made.
    (e) Procedures for Conducting Commission Business.--
            (1) Chair.--Members of an independent redistricting 
        commission established under this subsection shall select by 
        majority vote one member who was appointed from the final 
        independent selection pool described in subsection (b)(4)(C) to 
        serve as chair of the commission. 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.
            (2) Requiring majority approval for actions.--The 
        independent redistricting commission of a State may not publish 
        and disseminate any draft or final redistricting plan, 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.
            (3) Quorum.--A majority of the members of the commission 
        shall constitute a quorum.
    (f) Deadline.--Each State shall establish a commission under this 
section not later than December 31 of each year in which a decennial 
census is conducted.
    (g) 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, prioritized according 
        to the following order:
                    (A) Districts shall each have equal population per 
                representative as nearly as practicable, in accordance 
                with the Constitution of the United States.
                    (B) Districts shall comply with the Voting Rights 
                Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 1973 et seq.).
                    (C) Districts shall be geographically contiguous.
                    (D) To the extent practicable, district boundaries 
                shall minimize the division of any municipality, 
                county, neighborhood, or community of interest. For 
                purposes of this subparagraph, a community of interest 
                is a contiguous population which shares common social 
                and economic interests that should be included within a 
                single district for purposes of its effective and fair 
                representation. Examples of such shared interests are 
                those common to an urban area, a rural area, an 
                industrial area, or an agricultural area, and those 
                common to areas in which the people share similar 
                living standards, use the same transportation 
                facilities, have similar work opportunities, or have 
                access to the same media of communication relevant to 
                the election process. Communities of interest shall not 
                include relationships with political parties, incumbent 
                officeholders, or political candidates.
                    (E) To the extent practicable, districts shall be 
                geographically compact such that nearby areas of 
                population are not bypassed for more distant areas of 
                population.
                    (F) To the extent practicable, district lines shall 
                use visible geographic features.
            (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 political party affiliation of the 
                population of a district.
                    (B) The residence of any Member of the House of 
                Representatives or candidate.
    (b) Public Notice and Input.--
            (1) Use of open and transparent process.--The commission 
        shall hold each of its meetings in public, shall solicit and 
        take into consideration comments from the public throughout the 
        process of developing the redistricting plan for the State, and 
        shall carry out its duties in an open and transparent manner 
        which provides for the widest public dissemination reasonably 
        possible of its proposed and final redistricting plans.
            (2) Minimum public hearings.--The commission shall hold, at 
        a minimum, the following public hearings at which members of 
        the public may provide input and comments:
                    (A) A hearing held prior to the development of 
                draft redistricting plans under subsection (c)(1).
                    (B) A hearing held upon the development and 
                publication of such draft redistricting plans, at which 
                the congressional district maps provided under each 
                such plan shall be displayed.
                    (C) A hearing held upon the approval of the final 
                redistricting plan under subsection (c)(2), at which 
                the congressional district maps provided under such 
                plan shall be displayed.
            (3) Minimum period for public comment after display of 
        maps.--The commission shall accept and consider comments from 
        the public with respect to congressional district maps 
        displayed at any hearing described in paragraph (2) for not 
        fewer than 30 days after the date of the hearing.
            (4) Availability of data and software.--The commission 
        shall make available to the public all of the demographic data 
        used by the commission to develop the proposed redistricting 
        plans, together with any software used to draw maps of proposed 
        districts.
            (5) Meetings and hearings in various geographic 
        locations.--To the greatest extent practicable, the commission 
        shall hold its meetings and hearings in various geographic 
        regions and locations throughout the State.
    (c) Process for Enactment of Final Redistricting Plan.--
            (1) Publication of draft plans.--Not later than the first 
        June 1 which occurs after the chief executive of the State 
        receives the State apportionment notice, the commission shall 
        publish and disseminate multiple draft redistricting plans.
            (2) Period for consideration of public comments.--After 
        publishing and disseminating the draft redistricting plans 
        under paragraph (1), the commission shall solicit and take into 
        consideration comments from the public on such draft plans 
        during a period of at least 60 days following the date on which 
        such draft plans are published and disseminated.
            (3) Publication of final plan.--After taking into 
        consideration comments from the public on the draft 
        redistricting plans, the commission shall publish and 
        disseminate a final redistricting plan for the State, and shall 
        vote on approving such final plan for enactment into law by not 
        later than the first August 15 which occurs after the chief 
        executive of the State receives the State apportionment notice.
            (4) Enactment.--The final redistricting plan published and 
        disseminated under paragraph (3) shall be deemed to be enacted 
        into law if--
                    (A) the plan is approved by a majority of the whole 
                membership of the commission; and
                    (B) at least one member of the commission appointed 
                from each of the final selection pools described in 
                section 4(a)(1) approves the plan.

SEC. 6. ENACTMENT OF PLAN DEVELOPED BY COURTS.

    (a) State Court.--
            (1) Development of plan by special master.--If a 
        redistricting plan developed by the independent redistricting 
        commission of a State is not enacted into law under section 
        5(c) by the first August 31 which occurs after the chief 
        executive of the State receives the State apportionment notice, 
        the chief election official of the State shall petition the 
        highest court of the State for an order directing the 
        appointment of a special master to develop and present a 
        redistricting plan to the court.
            (2) Enactment.--If the highest court of the State approves 
        a redistricting plan developed and presented by a special 
        master under paragraph (1), the plan shall serve as the 
        redistricting plan for the State, and shall be deemed to be 
        enacted on the date on which the court approves the plan.
            (3) Adherence to criteria applicable to plans of 
        commission.--In developing a redistricting plan under this 
        subsection, the highest court of a State shall ensure that the 
        plan meets the criteria applicable under paragraphs (1) and (2) 
        of section 5(a) to plans developed by the independent 
        redistricting commission of the State.
    (b) Federal Court.--
            (1) Failure of state court to enact plan.--
                    (A) Notice to court if plan not selected by state 
                court.--If the chief election official of a State 
                petitions the highest court of the State for an order 
                under subsection (a) and the court does not approve a 
                redistricting plan in accordance with such subsection 
                by the first October 15 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 45 days after receiving a notice 
                from a State under subparagraph (A), the court shall 
                develop and publish a final redistricting plan for the 
                State, which shall be deemed to be enacted on the date 
                on which the court publishes the plan.
            (2) Failure of state to establish commission.--If a State 
        does not establish an independent redistricting commission 
        under section 4 by the deadline set forth in section 4(f)--
                    (A) the State may not establish the commission; and
                    (B) 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 November 30 
                which occurs after the chief executive of the State 
                receives the State apportionment notice.
            (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 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 independent redistricting commission shall be 
        established and the commission's chair shall be appointed prior 
        to the expiration of the 60-day period which begins on the date 
        of the final order of the Federal court to conduct the 
        redistricting;
            (2) if the commission fails to enact into law a final 
        redistricting plan in accordance with section 5(c) prior to the 
        expiration of the 150-day period which begins on the date of 
        the final order of the Federal court to conduct the 
        redistricting, the chief election official of the State shall 
        petition the highest court of the State for an order directing 
        the appointment of a special master to develop and present a 
        redistricting plan to the court in accordance with section 
        6(a);
            (3) if the chief election official of the State petitions 
        the highest court of the State for an order in accordance with 
        section 6(a), the court shall approve a final redistricting 
        plan in accordance with section 6(a) prior to 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) if the highest court of the State fails to meet the 
        requirements of paragraph (3), a district court of the United 
        States shall develop and publish a final redistricting plan for 
        the State in accordance with section 6(b) prior to 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. CIVIL ENFORCEMENT.

    (a) Civil Enforcement.--
            (1) Actions by attorney general.--The Attorney General may 
        bring a civil action in an appropriate district court for such 
        relief as may be appropriate to carry out this Act.
            (2) Availability of private right of action.--Any elector 
        of a State who is aggrieved by the failure of the State 
        redistricting plan which is enacted into law under section 
        5(b)(3) to meet the requirements for such a plan under this Act 
        may bring a civil action in an appropriate district court for 
        such relief as may be appropriate to remedy the failure, so 
        long as the elector brings the action during the 45-day period 
        which begins on the date on which the plan is enacted into law.
    (b) Expedited Consideration.--In any action brought for 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.
    (c) 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.
    (d) 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.
    (e) Relation to Other Laws.--
            (1) Rights and remedies additional to other rights and 
        remedies.--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) Voting rights act of 1965.--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. 10. 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. 11. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall apply with 
respect to redistricting carried out pursuant to the decennial census 
conducted during 2020 or any succeeding decennial census.
                                 <all>