Legislative
A congressional redistricting bill, HB 3398, was introduced during the regular session, but it did not pass the House. Bills to reapportion the state into congressional districts reached engrossment during the first (HB 3) and second (HB 1) called sessions but did not pass. During the third called session, a redistricting bill (HB 3) was passed by the Legislature and signed by Governor Perry. The Texas Legislative Council's redistricting web site offers a detailed map of this plan.
Judicial
Litigation has also been part of the congressional redistricting process in 2003. Please see our redistricting document library for a list of available petitions, court orders, and opinions.
See our chronology for more details.
The Texas Legislature failed to draw new districts during its regular session of 2001. The Legislative Redistricting Board then convened to draw new State House and State Senate districts. Since the Board does not have the authority to draw congressional districts, a plan was produced by a federal court. The Texas Legislative Council's redistricting web site provides a thorough summary of legislative and judicial activities during the 77th Legislature related to redistricting.
Since the 1881 Census, the Legislature has revisited congressional redistricting several times. In some years followng the decennial census, the Legislature failed to adopt a plan. In some years between the decennial census, the Legislature was required to adopt a new plan due to litigation. The Library has compiled a list of congressional and legislative redistricting bills introduced by the Legislature since 1881.
Federal laws
The reapportionment process is described generally in Article 1, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. Sections 1971, 1973, 1973a-1973p) is one of the major areas of federal statutory law that relates to congressional redistricting. Many other statutes and cases that have affected congressional redistricting efforts are described at the NCSL Redistricting Law site
Texas law
Article 3, Section 28 of the Texas Constitution deals with Texas House and Senate redistricting, but Congressional redistricting is not discussed.
The Texas Attorney General issued an opinion on April 23, 2003 (GA-0063) that interprets the Texas Legislature's rights and responsibilities concerning congressional redistricting.
Maps are available at the Texas Legislative Council's redistricting web site.
In most states, the responsibility to redraw districts lies with the state legislature. See the comparative chart of state redistricting methods. The NCSL site offers additional information on how other states reapportion congressional districts.
Information on this website is provided as a public service by the Legislative Reference Library. The Legislative Reference Library makes no representation as to its completeness or accuracy and makes no warranty in regards to its use. Users assume all risk of reliance on the information included on this site.