,,ii  #aacth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #biaj  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,september #ah1
 #bjad,mr4 ,johnson of ,south ,dakota   
7for himself and ,mr4 ,udall of ,new    
,mexico7 introduced the following bill2 
which was read twice and 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 apportionment1 to require ,states to
 conduct such redistricting through     
independent commissions1 and for other  
purposes4  #a4 ,short ,title2 ,finding  
of ,constitutional ,authority  7a7      
,short ,title ,this ,act may be cited as
 the ,fairness and ,independence in     
,redistricting ,act4  7b7 ,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-- 7#a7 the     
authority granted to ,congress under    
article ,i1 section #d of the           
,constitution of the ,united ,states    
gives ,congress the power to enact laws 
governing the time1 place1 and manner of
 elections for ,members of the ,house of
 ,representatives2 and  7#b7 the        
authority granted to ,congress under    
section #e of the fourteenth amendment  
to the ,constitution gives ,congress the
 power to enact laws to enforce section 
#b of such amendment1 which requires    
,representatives to be apportioned among
 the several ,states according to their 
number4  #b4 ,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
 redistricting1 approved ,december #ad1 
#aifg 7#b ,u4,s4,c4 #b;c71 is amended by
 adding at the end the following3 ,a    
,state which has been redistricted in   
the manner provided by law after an     

apportionment under section #bb7;a7 of  
the ,act entitled ,an ,act to provide   
for the fifteenth and subsequent        
decennial censuses and to provide for an
 apportionment of ,representatives in   
,congress1 approved ,june #ah1 #aibi 7#b
 ,u4,s4,c4 #b;a71 may not be            
redistricted again until after the next 
apportionment of ,representatives under 
such section1 unless a court requires   
the ,state to conduct such subsequent   
redistricting to comply with the        
,constitution or to enforce the ,voting 
,rights ,act of #aife 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4    
#ajcja et seq4744  #c4 ,requiring       
,redistricting to be ,conducted ,through
 ,plan of ,independent ,state           
,commission or ,plan of ,highest ,state 
,court  7a7 ,use of ,plan ,required     
7#a7 ,in general ,notwithstanding any   
other provision of law1 any             
,congressional redistricting conducted  
by a ,state shall be conducted in       
accordance with-- 7,a7 the redistricting
 plan developed by the independent      

redistricting commission established in 
the ,state1 in accordance with section  
#d2 or  7,b7 if the plan developed by   
such commission is not enacted into law1
 the redistricting plan selected by the 
highest court in the ,state or developed
 by a ,united ,states district court1 in
 accordance with section #e4  7#b7      
,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      
appropriate1 to the extent that such    
criteria and procedures are consistent  
with the applicable requirements of this
 ,act and the amendments made by this   
,act4  7b7 ,conforming ,amendment       
,section #bb7;c7 of the ,act entitled   
,an ,act to provide for the fifteenth   
and subsequent decennial censuses and to
 provide for an apportionment of        
,representatives in ,congress1 approved 

,june #ah1 #aibi 7#b ,u4,s4,c4 #b;a7c771
 is amended by striking in the manner   
provided by the law thereof and         
inserting3 in the manner provided by the
 ,fairness and ,independence in         
,redistricting ,act4  #d4 ,independent  
,redistricting ,commission  7a7         
,administrative ,matters  7#a7          
,appointment of members ,each ,state    
shall establish an independent          
redistricting commission composed of--  
7,a7 a chair1 who shall be appointed by 
majority vote of the other members of   
the commission2 and  7,b7 an equal      
number of members 7but not fewer than   
#a7 from each of the following          
categories3 7i7 ,members appointed by a 
member of the upper house of the ,state 
legislature who represents the political
 party with the greatest number of seats
 in that house4  7ii7 ,members appointed
 by a member of the upper house of the  
,state legislature who represents the   
political party with the second greatest
 number of seats in that house4  7iii7  

,members appointed by a member of the   
lower house of the ,state legislature   
who represents the political party with 
the greatest number of seats in that    
house4  7iv7 ,members appointed by a    
member of the lower house of the ,state 
legislature who represents the political
 party with the second greatest number  
of seats in that house4  7#b7 ,special  
rule for ,states with unicameral        
legislature ,in the case of a ,state    
with a unicameral legislature1 the      
independent redistricting commission    
established under this subsection shall 
be composed of-- 7,a7 a chair1 who shall
 be appointed by majority vote of the   
other members of the commission2 and    
7,b7 an equal number of members 7but not
 fewer than #b7 from each of the        
following categories3 7i7 ,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 #c most recent general elections 
for that office4  7ii7 ,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 #c most recent general   
elections for that office4  7#c7        
,eligibility ,an individual is eligible 
to serve as a member of an independent  
redistricting commission if-- 7,a7 as of
 the date of appointment1 the individual
 is registered to vote in elections for 
,federal office held in the ,state1 and 
was registered to vote in the #b most   
recent general elections for ,federal   
office held in the ,state2  7,b7 the    
individual did not hold public office or
 run as a candidate for election for    
public office1 or serve as an employee  

of a political party or candidate for   
election for public office1 at any time 
during the #d-year period ending on the 
,december #ca preceding the date of     
appointment2 and  7,c7 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 #bb7;a7  
of the ,act entitled ,an ,act to provide
 for the fifteenth and subsequent       
decennial censuses and to provide for an
 apportionment of ,representatives in   
,congress1 approved ,june #ah1 #aibi 7#b
 ,u4,s4,c4 #b;a74  7#d7 ,vacancy ,a     
vacancy in the commission shall be      
filled in the manner in which the       
original appointment was made4  7#e7    
,deadline ,each ,state shall establish a
 commission under this section1 and the 
members of the commission shall appoint 
the commission's chair1 not later than  
the first ,february #a which occurs     
after the chief executive of a ,state   

receives the ,state apportionment       
notice4  7#f7 ,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 
subsection 7b7 until the appointment of 
the commission's chair in accordance    
with paragraph 7#a77;,a74  7#g7         
,requiring all meetings to be open to   
public ,the commission shall hold each  
of its meetings in public4  7#h7        
,internet ,web site ,as soon as         
practicable after establishing the      
commission1 the ,state shall establish  
and maintain a public ,internet ,web    
site for the commission which meets the 
following requirements3 7,a7 ,the site  
is updated continuously to provide      
advance notice of commission meetings   
and to otherwise provide timely         
information on the activities of the    
commission4  7,b7 ,the site contains the
 most recent available information from 
the ,bureau of the ,census on voting-age

 population1 voter registration1 and    
voting in the ,state1 including         
precinct-level and census tract-level   
data with respect to such information1  
as well as detailed maps reflecting such
 information4  7,c7 ,the site includes  
interactive software to enable any      
individual to design a redistricting    
plan for the ,state on the basis of the 
information described in subparagraph   
7,b71 in accordance with the criteria   
described in subsection 7b77#a74  7,d7  
,the site permits any individual to     
submit a proposed redistricting plan to 
the commission1 and to submit questions1
 comments1 and other information with   
respect to the commission's activities4 
7b7 ,development of ,redistricting ,plan
  7#a7 ,criteria ,the independent       
redistricting commission of a ,state    
shall develop a redistricting plan for  
the ,state in accordance with the       
following criteria3 7,a7 ,adherence to  
the one person1 one vote standard and   
other requirements imposed under the    

,constitution of the ,united ,states4   
7,b7 ,to the greatest extent            
mathematically possible1 ensuring that  
the population of each ,congressional   
district in the ,state does not vary    
from the population of any other        
,congressional district in the ,state   
7as determined on the basis of the total
 count of persons of the most recent    
decennial census conducted by the       
,bureau of the ,census74  7,c7          
,consistency with any applicable        
requirements of the ,voting ,rights ,act
 of #aife and other ,federal laws4  7,d7
 ,to the greatest extent practicable1   
the maintenance of the geographic       
continuity of the political subdivisions
 of the ,state which are included in the
 same ,congressional district1 in the   
following order of priority3 7i7 ,the   
continuity of counties or parishes4     
7ii7 ,the continuity of municipalities4 
7iii7 ,the continuity of neighborhoods  
7as determined on the basis of census   
tracts or other relevant information74  

7,e7 ,to the greatest extent            
practicable1 maintaining compact        
districts 7in accordance with such      
standards as the commission may         
establish74  7,f7 ,ensuring that        
districts are contiguous 7except to the 
extent necessary to include any area    
which is surrounded by a body of water74
  7#b7 ,factors prohibited from         
consideration ,in developing the        
redistricting plan for the ,state1 the  
independent redistricting commission may
 not take into consideration any of the 
following factors1 except to the extent 
necessary to comply with the ,voting    
,rights ,act of #aife3 7,a7 ,the voting 
history of the population of a          
,congressional district1 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 districts4   
7,b7 ,the political party affiliation of
 the population of a district4  7,c7    

,the residence of incumbent ,members of 
the ,house of ,representatives in the   
,state4  7#c7 ,solicitation of public   
input in development of plans ,the      
commission shall solicit and take into  
consideration comments from the public  
in developing the redistricting plan for
 the ,state by holding meetings in      
representative geographic regions of the
 ,state at which members of the public  
may provide such input1 and by otherwise
 soliciting input from the public       
7including redistricting plans developed
 by members of the public7 through the  
commission ,internet ,web site and other
 methods4  7#d7 ,public notice of plans 
prior to submission to legislature ,not 
fewer than #g days prior to submitting a
 redistricting plan to the legislature  
of the ,state under subsection 7c77#a71 
the commission shall post on the        
commission ,internet ,web site and cause
 to have published in newspapers of     
general circulation throughout the      
,state a notice containing the following

 information3 7,a7 ,a detailed version  
of the plan1 including a map showing    
each ,congressional district established
 under the plan and the voting age      
population by race of each such         
district4  7,b7 ,a statement providing  
specific information on how the adoption
 of the plan would serve the public     
interest4  7,c7 ,any dissenting         
statements of any members of the        
commission who did not approve of the   
submission of the plan to the           
legislature4  7c7 ,submission of ,plans 
to ,legislature  7#a7 ,in general ,at   
any time prior to the first ,november #a
 which occurs after the chief executive 
of the ,state receives the ,state       
apportionment notice1 the commission may
 submit redistricting plans developed by
 the commission under this section to   
the legislature of the ,state4  7#b7    
,consideration of plan by legislature   
,after receiving any redistricting plan 
under paragraph 7#a71 the legislature of
 a ,state may-- 7,a7 approve the plan as

 submitted by the commission without    
amendment and forward the plan to the   
chief executive of the ,state2 or  7,b7 
reject the plan4  7#c7 ,enactment of    
plan  7,a7 ,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 7#b77;,a7 and-- 7i7 the    
chief executive approves the plan as    
forwarded by the legislature without    
amendment2 or  7ii7 the chief executive 
vetoes the plan and the legislature     
overrides the veto in accordance with   
the applicable law of the ,state1 except
 that at no time may the plan be        
amended4  7,b7 ,special rule ,in the    
case of a ,state in which the chief     
executive is prohibited under ,state law
 from acting on a redistricting plan1 a 
redistricting plan developed by the     
commission shall be considered to be    
enacted into law if-- 7i7 the plan is   
submitted to the legislature of the     

,state2 and  7ii7 the legislature       
approves the plan as submitted by the   
commission without amendment4  7d7      
,requiring ,majority ,approval ,for     
,actions ,the independent redistricting 
commission of a ,state may not submit a 
redistricting plan to the ,state        
legislature1 or take any other action1  
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 present4  7e7           
,termination  7#a7 ,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 notice4  7#b7      
,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 ,state4  #e4 ,selection of ,plan
 by ,courts  7a7 ,state ,court  7#a7    
,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 #d7;c77#c7 by the first         
,november #a which occurs after the     
chief executive of the ,state receives  
the ,state apportionment notice1 the    
commission may submit redistricting     
plans developed by the commission in    
accordance with section #d to the       
highest court of the ,state1 which may  
select and publish one of the submitted 
plans to serve as the redistricting plan
 for the ,state4  7#b7 ,no modification 
of plan permitted ,the highest court of 
a ,state may not modify any             
redistricting plan submitted under this 
subsection4  7b7 ,federal ,court  7#a7  
,failure of ,state court to select plan 

7,a7 ,notice to court if plan not       
selected by ,state court ,if a ,state   
court to whom redistricting plans have  
been submitted under subsection 7a7 does
 not select a plan to serve as the      
redistricting plan for the ,state under 
such subsection on or before the first  
,december #a which occurs after the     
chief executive of the ,state receives  
the ,state apportionment notice1 the    
,state shall file a notice with the     
,united ,states district court for the  
district in which the capital of the    
,state is located4  7,b7 ,development   
and selection of plan by ,federal court 
,not later than #cj days after receiving
 a notice from a ,state under           
subparagraph 7,a71 the court shall      
develop and publish a final             
redistricting plan for the ,state4  7#b7
 ,failure of ,state to establish        
commission  7,a7 ,in general ,if a      
,state does not establish an independent
 redistricting commission under section 
#d by the first ,september #a which     

occurs after the chief executive of the 
,state receives the ,state apportionment
 notice-- 7i7 the ,state may not        
establish the commission2 and  7ii7 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 #a which occurs after the     
chief executive of the ,state receives  
the ,state apportionment notice4  7,b7  
,determination of failure to establish  
commission ,for purposes of subparagraph
 7,a71 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 date4  7#c7 
,criteria ,it is the sense of ,congress 
that1 in developing a redistricting plan
 for a ,state under this subsection1 the
 district court should adhere to the    
same terms and conditions that applied  

to the development of the plan of the   
commission under section #d7;b74  7c7   
,access to ,information and ,records of 
,commission ,a court which is required  
to select1 publish1 or develop a        
redistricting plan for a ,state under   
this section shall have access to any   
information1 data1 software1 or other   
records and material used by the        
independent redistricting commission of 
the ,state in carrying out its duties   
under this ,act4  #f4 ,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 #aife1 sections #d and  
#e shall apply with respect to the      
redistricting1 except that-- 7#a7 the   
deadline for the establishment of the   
independent redistricting commission and
 the appointment of the commission's    

chair 7as described in section          
#d7;a77#e77 shall be the expiration of  
the #cj-;day period which begins on the 
date of the final order of the ,federal 
court to conduct the redistricting2     
7#b7 the deadline for the submission of 
redistricting plans to the legislature  
by the commission1 and the date of the  
termination of the commission 7as       
described in section #d7;c77#a7 and     
section #d7;e71 respectively7 shall be  
the expiration of the #aej-;day period  
which begins on the date of the final   
order of the ,federal court to conduct  
the redistricting2  7#c7 the deadline   
for the selection and publication of the
 plan by the highest court of the ,state
 7as described in section #e7;a77 shall 
be the expiration of the #ahj-;day      
period which begins on the date of the  
final order of the ,federal court to    
conduct the redistricting2 and  7#d7 the
 deadline for the selection and         
publication of the plan by the district 
court of the ,united ,states 7as        

described in section #e7;b77 shall be   
the expiration of the #baj-;day period  
which begins on the date of the final   
order of the ,federal court to conduct  
the redistricting4  #g4 ,payments to    
,states ,for carrying out ,redistricting
  7a7 ,authorization of ,payments       
,subject to subsections 7c7 and 7d71 not
 later than #cj days after a ,state     
receives a ,state apportionment notice1 
the ,election ,assistance ,commission   
shall make a payment to the ,state in an
 amount equal to the product of-- 7#a7  
the number of ,representatives to which 
the ,state is entitled1 as provided     
under the notice2 and  7#b7 #aej1jjj4   
7b7 ,use of ,funds ,a ,state shall use  
the payment made under this section to  
establish and operate the ,state's      
independent redistricting commission1 to
 implement the ,state redistricting     
plan1 and to otherwise carry out        
,congressional redistricting in the     
,state4  7c7 ,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 notice4  7d7       
,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
 commission1 and that a chair of the    
commission has been appointed1 in       
accordance with section #d4  7e7        
,authorization of ,appropriations ,there
 are authorized to be appropriated such 
sums as may be necessary for payments   
under this section4  #h4 ,state         
,apportionment ,notice ,defined ,in this
 ,act1 the term ,state apportionment    
notice means1 with respect to a ,state1 
the notice sent to the ,state from the  
,clerk of the ,house of ,representatives
 under section #bb7;b7 of the ,act      

entitled ,an ,act to provide for the    
fifteenth and subsequent decennial      
censuses and to provide for an          
apportionment of ,representatives in    
,congress1 approved ,june #ah1 #aibi 7#b
 ,u4,s4,c4 #b;a71 of the number of      
,representatives to which the ,state is 
entitled4  #i4 ,no ,effect on ,elections
 for ,state and ,local ,office ,nothing 
in this ,act or in any amendment made by
 this ,act may be construed to affect   
the manner in which a ,state carries out
 elections for ,state or local office1  
including the process by which a ,state 
establishes the districts used in such  
elections4  #aj4 ,effective ,date ,this 
,act and the amendments made by this    
,act shall apply with respect to any    
,congressional redistricting which      
occurs after the regular decennial      
census conducted during #bjbj4