Texas Legislature, House of Representatives, Committee on Redistricting:

An Inventory of House of Representatives Committee on Redistricting Records at the Texas State Archives, 1971-2001, undated, bulk 1990-1992, 2000-2001

Agency History

The Texas House of Representatives is one arm of the Legislature of the State of Texas (the other being the Texas Senate), which the Texas Constitution (Article III, Section 1) vests with all legislative power of the state. The primary legislative power is enacting laws, and the most visible function of the legislature is to make public policy through drafting, considering, and passing bills and resolutions. Biennially, the House of Representatives elects a speaker from its membership to serve as its presiding officer. The House of Representatives consists of 150 representatives elected in even-numbered years for two-year terms. A representative must be at least twenty-one years old, a qualified voter, and a resident of Texas for at least two years and of the district represented for at least one year immediately preceding election.

In addition to legislative powers, the legislature exercises other types of authority. Constituent powers include the ability to alter the state constitution, and the members' authority to exercise powers of attorney in behalf of their constituents. Directory and supervisory powers allow the legislature to regulate the state's administrative machinery, made up of boards, commissions, and departments that conduct the affairs of state. The legislature establishes and funds these bodies and defines their functions. Executive powers of each house include selection of legislative officers, employees, and chairs and members of committees. Investigative powers are exercised through the formation of standing, special, interim, and joint committees to study an issue. House committees are usually charged with a particular purpose by the speaker, although this may also be accomplished by a resolution adopted by the house. Each legislative house holds judicial powers over its members, including punishing or expelling members for cause.

The legislature meets in regular session on the second Tuesday in January of odd-numbered years and in special sessions when convened by the governor. The length of the regular session is limited to 140 days. Special sessions are limited to 30 days, but the number of special sessions that may be called is not limited. Only legislative matters submitted by the governor may be considered in special session. All legislative sessions, except for the senate's executive session, are open. Neither house may, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days or move to a place other than where the legislature is sitting. Two-thirds of each house constitutes a quorum, the number of members required to conduct business. If a quorum is not present, a smaller number may vote to adjourn and compel absent members to attend. The house is required to keep and publish a journal of its proceedings and to record the vote on any question on which three members who are present demand an actual count of yeas and nays.

The House of Representatives functions through committees set up under its own rules. The house maintains more standing committees than the senate. By custom the speaker appoints standing, special, and conference committees, although the house is free to designate its own method of selection. Under the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1961, the committee system was expanded, and provisions were made whereby standing, special, and general investigating committees created by each body could function whether or not the legislature was in session. As of 2011, the house has 36 standing committees:

• Agriculture and Livestock
• Appropriations
• Border and International Affairs
• Business and Industry
• Calendars
• Corrections
• County Affairs
• Criminal Jurisprudence
• Culture, Recreation, and Tourism
• Defense and Veterans Affairs
• Economic and Small Business Development
• Elections
• Energy Resources
• Environmental Regulation
• General Investigating and Ethics
• Government Efficiency and Reform
• Higher Education
• Homeland Security and Public Safety
• House Administration
• Human Services
• Insurance
• Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence
• Land and Resource Management
• Licensing and Administrative Procedures
• Local and Consent Calendars
• Natural Resources
• Pensions, Investments and Financial Services
• Public Education
• Public Health
• Redistricting
• Rules and Resolutions
• State Affairs
• Technology
• Transportation
• Urban Affairs
• Ways and Means

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Committee on Redistricting

The Texas House of Representatives Committee on Redistricting has jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to legislative districts, both house and senate, and any changes or amendments; congressional districts, their creation, and any changes or amendments; establishing districts for the election of judicial officers or of governing bodies or representatives of political subdivisions or state agencies as required by law; and preparations for the redistricting process. Redistricting entails the revision of existing districts into new districts with different geographical boundaries. The Texas Constitution (Article III, Section 28) requires the legislature to redistrict seats in the Texas House of Representatives and Senate during its first regular session after publication of each United States decennial census, which occurs in each year ending in zero. The U.S. Constitution (Article I, Section 2) calls for reapportionment of congressional seats according to population from a decennial census. Texas state law (Senate Bill 2, 72nd Legislature, 2nd Called Session, 1991) provides for a decennial reapportionment of State Board of Education boundaries, and the Texas Constitution ( Article V, Section 7a ) and state law (V.T.C.A., Government Code, Section 24.941 et seq.) provide for a statewide reapportionment of judicial districts within three years of the federal decennial census. As a result of these provisions, the 73rd through 77th Legislatures were involved in redistricting the boundaries for the Texas House of Representatives and Senate, the U.S. Congress, the State Board of Education, and the state's judicial districts, after the 1990 and the 2000 U.S. Census.

The basic purpose of decennial redistricting is to equalize population in state and congressional districts after publication of the federal census indicates an increase, decrease, or shift in population location. Two primary requirements govern all redistricting decisions. First, districts of a given type (Texas House of Representatives and Senate, U.S. Congress, State Board of Education) must have equal or nearly equal populations; and, second, districts must be drawn in a manner that does not have the purpose, and will not have the effect, of denying or abridging the right to vote on the basis of race or language group. These requirements are based on the guarantees of the Fourteenth (the equal protection provision) and Fifteenth (prohibiting voting discrimination because of race) Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, the federal Voting Rights Act, and Article I, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution.

During the 76th Legislature (1999), the committee was charged to gather information regarding the existence and location of communities of interest to be considered in the creation of legislative, congressional and state board of education districts; to monitor related federal developments, including those affecting the conduct of the 2000 federal census and enforcement of the Voting Rights Act; to coordinate with the Texas Legislative Council the development of software applications and support services relating to redistricting for the 77th Legislature; and to conduct public hearings in appropriate locations to obtain public input on all issues relating to the redistricting of legislative, congressional, and State Board of Education districts following the release of the federal census in 2001.

The regular session of the 77th Legislature adjourned on May 28, 2001, without adopting a senate, house, congressional, or State Board of Education redistricting plan. The Legislative Redistricting Board (LRB) convened on June 6 and adopted plans for the senate and the house, which were submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) for preclearance under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. While the LRB's senate plan (PLAN01188S) was eventually upheld by the federal district court, legal challenges were made to its house plan. The DOJ denied preclearance of the LRB house plan on November 16, and on November 28 the federal district court put in place a new house district plan (PLAN01369H), which modified the LRB house plan to address the DOJ's objections.

In December 2000, three legal challenges were filed in Travis County district court regarding congressional redistricting in Texas. After the regular session of the 77th Legislature concluded, the governor did not call a special session to consider congressional redistricting. On November 14, the federal district court issued an order adopting congressional districts (PLAN01151C) for the 2002 elections.

Legal challenges were filed against the old State Board of Education (SBOE) districts, and on November 2, 2001, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued an order adopting new SBOE districts based on the 2000 federal census (PLAN01018E) for the 2002 elections.

(Sources include: Texas Constitution, Article III, Section 28 and Article V, Section 7a; U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 2; V.T.C.A., Government Code, Section 24.941 et seq.; and the Texas Legislative Council's Texas Redistricting web site, http://www.tlc.state.tx.us/redist/redist.html , accessed on May 5, 2011.)

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Scope and Contents of the Records

The Texas House of Representatives Committee on Redistricting has jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to state legislative districts, congressional districts, and establishing districts for the election of judicial officers or of governing bodies or representatives of political subdivisions or state agencies as required by law; and preparations for the redistricting process. Records of the Texas House of Representatives Committee on Redistricting reflect the reassessment of legislative, congressional, judicial, and educational district boundaries as necessitated by the 2000 United States Census according to federal and Texas state laws and the Texas Constitution. Records include meeting notices, agenda, minutes, transcripts, handouts, witness affirmations, testimony, petitions, correspondence, memorandums, notes, maps, plans, reports, legal cases, legislative bills, audiocassettes, videotapes, and computer disks, dating 1971-2001, undated, bulk 1990-1992, 2000-2001. Representative Delwin Jones (R-Lubbock) served as chair of the 11 member committee during the 73rd through 77th Legislatures when the majority of these records were created. Representative Paul Moreno (D-El Paso) served as vice-chair during the 73rd and 74th Legislatures, and Representative Bob Glaze (D-Gilmer) served as vice-chair during the 75th through 77th Legislatures. Included are a significant quantity of files from the committee when Representative Jones was vice-chair during the 71st and 72nd Legislatures, concerning redistricting after the 1990 U.S. Census. Additional records for that era of this committee are described in House of Representatives Committee on Redistricting records, 1966-1992, bulk 1990-1992 .

To prepare this inventory, the described materials were cursorily reviewed to delineate series, to confirm the accuracy of contents lists, to provide an estimate of dates covered, and to determine record types.

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Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

Materials do not circulate, but may be used in the State Archives search room. Materials will be retrieved from and returned to storage areas by staff members.

Because of the possibility that portions of these records fall under Public Information Act exceptions including, but not limited to: confidentiality of a memorandum of a communication of a resident with a member of the legislature (V.T.C.A., Government Code, Section 306.003); confidentiality of a communication of a citizen with a member of the legislature (V.T.C.A., Government Code, Section 306.004); confidentiality of communication of an assistant or employee of the Texas Legislative Council with a member of the legislature (V.T.C.A., Government Code, Section 323.017); and privacy (V.T.C.A., Government Code, Section 552.101), an archivist must review these records before they can be accessed for research. The records may be requested for research under the provisions of the Public Information Act (V.T.C.A., Government Code, Chapter 552). The researcher may request an interview with an archivist or submit a request by mail (Texas State Library and Archives Commission, P. O. Box 12927, Austin, TX 78711), fax (512-463-5436), email (Dir_Lib@tsl.state.tx.us), or see our web page ( http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/agency/customer/pia.html ). Include enough description and detail about the information requested to enable the archivist to accurately identify and locate the information. If our review reveals information that may be excepted by the Public Information Act, we are obligated to seek an open records decision from the Attorney General on whether the records can be released. The Public Information Act allows the Archives ten working days after receiving a request to make this determination. The Attorney General has 45 working days to render a decision. Alternately, the Archives can inform you of the nature of the potentially excepted information and if you agree, that information can be redacted or removed and you can access the remainder of the records.

Restrictions on Use

Most records created by Texas state agencies are not copyrighted and may be freely used in any way. State records also include materials received by, not created by, state agencies. Copyright remains with the creator. The researcher is responsible for complying with U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17 U.S.C.).

Technical Requirements

Please contact the Preservation Officer for equipment to access the audiocassettes, VHS videotapes, CD-R disks, and 3.5-inch floppy disks. None of these formats have been verified for content, play quality, or readability by State Archives staff.

Oversize maps are too large to be photocopied.

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Related Material

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

(Identify the item and cite the series), House of Representatives, Committee on Redistricting records, Texas Legislature. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Accession Information

Accession number: 2003/128

These records were transferred to the Archives and Information Services Division of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission by the Texas House of Representatives on March 7, 2003.

Processing Information

Rebecca Romanchuk, April 2011

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Detailed Description of the Records

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