,i  #aaith ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #eiba  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,november #d1        
#bjbe,ms4 ,ross 7for herself1 ,ms4      
,adams1 ,mr4 ,davis of ,north ,carolina1
 and ,mrs4 ,foushee7 introduced the     
following bill2 which was referred to   
the ,committee on the ,judiciary  ,a    
,,bill  ,to require ,states to carry out
 congressional redistricting in         
accordance with a process under which   
members of the public are informed of   
redistricting proposals and have the    
opportunity to participate in the       
development of such proposals prior to  
their adoption1 and for other purposes4 
#a4 ,short title2 finding of            
,constitutional authority  7a7 ,short   
,title ,this ,act may be cited as the   
,redistricting ,transparency and        
,accountability ,act of #bjbe4  7b7     
,finding ,congress finds that it has the
 authority to require ,states to follow 
certain procedures 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 the   
number of whole persons in each ,state4 
#b4 ,requiring redistricting to be      
conducted under procedures providing    
opportunity for public participation    
7a7 ,requirement  7#a7 ,in general      
,notwithstanding any other provision of 
law1 any congressional redistricting    
conducted by a ,state shall be conducted
 in accordance with a process under     

which the entity responsible for        
developing congressional redistricting  
plans in the ,state 7hereafter in this  
,act referred to as the ,state          
redistricting entity7-- 7,a7 in         
accordance with section #c1 establishes 
and operates an internet site2  7,b7 in 
accordance with section #d1 provides    
opportunities for participation by      
members of the public in the initial    
development of such plans2 and  7,c7 in 
accordance with section #e1 notifies    
members of the public regarding the     
proposed final congressional            
redistricting plan and provides         
opportunities for members of the public 
to respond to the plan4  7#b7 ,treatment
 of subordinate entities ,except as     
otherwise provided in this ,act1 the    
requirements of this ,act shall apply   
with respect to any entity which is     
subordinate to the entity responsible   
for the final adoption of a             
congressional redistricting plan under  
,state law1 including any commission1   

board1 committee1 or subcommittee       
responsible under ,state law for        
performing certain functions on behalf  
of such entity in conjunction with the  
development and adoption of the plan for
 the ,state1 in the same manner as such 
requirements apply with respect to the  
,state redistricting entity4  7#c7      
,other 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   
procedures as the ,state considers      
appropriate1 to the extent that such    
procedures are consistent with the      
applicable requirements of this ,act and
 the amendments made by this ,act4  7#d7
 ,no effect on redistricting for ,state 
or local elections ,nothing in this ,act
 or the amendments made by this ,act may
 be construed to affect any procedures a
 ,state or a unit of local government in
 a ,state may use to conduct            
redistricting with respect to elections 

for ,state or local offices4  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 a manner  
consistent with the requirements of the 
,redistricting ,transparency and        
,accountability ,act of #bjbe4  #c4     
,public internet site for ,state        
redistricting entity  7a7 ,establishment
 and operation of site ,each ,state     
redistricting entity shall establish and
 maintain a public internet site which  
meets the following minimum             
requirements3 7#a7 ,the site provides   
general information about the           
congressional redistricting process1    
including information on--  7,a7        
applicable legal requirements2 and  7,b7
 any redistricting principles or        

policies that the ,state redistricting  
entity will use in creating or          
evaluating congressional redistricting  
plans4  7#b7 ,the site is updated       
continuously to provide timely advance  
notice of meetings held by the entity   
and to otherwise provide information on 
the activities of the entity and any    
subordinate entity described in section 
#b7;a77#b74  7#c7 ,the site provides    
access to all congressional             
redistricting plans or district maps    
submitted by any person or entity as    
part of the redistricting process4  7#d7
 ,the site provides members of the      
public with no-cost access to easily    
assessable digital files containing the 
block equivalency1 shapefiles1 and      
demographic and election data needed for
 analysis1 evaluation1 or creation of   
proposed redistricting plans1 including 
assessment of a plan's partisan         
performance and compliance with the     
,voting ,rights ,act of #aife and other 
applicable legal requirements4  7#e7    

,the site permits any individual to     
submit1 view1 and search comments on    
proposed redistricting plans1 and to    
submit questions1 comments1 and other   
information with respect to the entity's
 activities4  7#f7 ,the site permits    
members of the public to watch1 in both 
live and archival formats1 and review   
transcripts of1 any public hearings or  
meetings of the ,state redistricting    
entity4  7#g7 ,the site includes any    
other information the entity is required
 to make public under this ,act or other
 applicable law4  7b7 ,deadline for     
posting of comments submitted by public 
,the ,state redistricting entity shall  
ensure that any oral or written comment 
relating to ,congressional redistricting
 in the ,state which is submitted by a  
member of the public to the ,state      
redistricting agency1 including a       
comment on any plan proposed by the     
entity or any other person1 is made     
available on the site not later than #gb
 hours after submission4  7c7 ,updating 

of information ,the ,state redistricting
 entity shall take all actions necessary
 to ensure that the site established    
under this section is updated           
continuously to provide timely advance  
notice of the entity's meetings and to  
otherwise provide timely information on 
the entity's activities4  7d7  ,multiple
 language requirements  ,all of the     
information which is described in       
paragraphs 7#a71 7#b71 and 7#f7 of      
subsection 7a7 of this section shall be 
posted and published in any language in 
which the ,state 7or any jurisdiction in
 the ,state7 is required to provide     
election materials under section #bjc of
 the ,voting ,rights ,act of #aife 7#eb 
,u4,s4,c4 #ajejc74  7e7 ,deadline2      
preservation of information  7#a7       
,deadline ,the ,state redistricting     
entity shall establish the internet site
 required under this section not later  
than ,august #a of the year in which the
 regular decennial census is conducted4 
7#b7 ,preservation of information ,all  

information on the internet site        
established under this section with     
respect to a congressional redistricting
 plan shall be preserved in an          
accessible format for a period of not   
less than #aj years following adoption  
of the plan4  #d4 ,public hearings and  
other opportunities for public          
participation in initial development of 
congressional redistricting plans  7a7  
,requirements for public hearings  7#a7 
,in general ,to ensure that development 
of the ,state's congressional           
redistricting plan is informed by public
 input1 the ,state redistricting entity 
shall hold hearings before and after the
 development of any proposed            
congressional redistricting plans4 ,such
 hearings-- 7,a7 shall be held in       
different regions of the ,state1 with an
 option for participants to participate 
virtually1 and shall be streamed live on
 the public internet site maintained by 
the ,state redistricting entity under   
section #c2 and  7,b7 shall be          

sufficient in number1 scheduled at times
 and places1 and noticed and conducted  
in a manner to ensure that all members  
of the public1 including members of     
racial1 ethnic1 and language minorities 
protected under the ,voting ,rights ,act
 of #aife1 have a meaningful opportunity
 to attend and provide input both before
 and after the entity releases proposed 
plans1 including-- 7i7 comments on the  
criteria the entity will use to develop 
the plans2  7ii7 the content of the     
plans2 and  7iii7 any other issues      
relating to congressional redistricting 
in the ,state4  7#b7 ,development and   
adoption of schedule  7,a7 ,initial     
proposed schedule ,prior to conducting  
hearings under this section1 the ,state 
redistricting entity shall develop and  
publish a proposed schedule of hearings 
that it determines are sufficient in    
number to ensure that persons in all    
parts of the ,state1 including members  
of racial1 ethnic1 and language         
minorities protected under the ,voting  

,rights ,act of #aife1 have a meaningful
 opportunity to provide input and       
comments regarding the contents of      
redistricting plans for the ,state1     
except that the number of hearings under
 the proposed schedule may not be fewer 
than three4  7,b7 ,public response to   
proposed schedule ,following publication
 of the proposed schedule of hearings   
under subparagraph 7,a71 members of the 
public shall have a period of not less  
than ten days to comment on the number  
of proposed hearings1 their dates1      
times1 and locations1 and the processes 
by which the ,state redistricting entity
 proposes to provide notice of such     
hearings and ensure that the hearings   
are equally open to all members of the  
communities where the hearings are to   
take place4  7,c7 ,publication of final 
schedule2 opportunities for additional  
hearings ,after giving due consideration
 to any comments received under         
subparagraph 7,b71 the ,state           
redistricting entity shall publish a    

final schedule of hearings under this   
section1 except that nothing in this    
paragraph may be construed to prohibit  
the entity from holdings additional     
hearings under this section if the      
entity determines that additional       
hearings are necessary to enable the    
entity to obtain the information it     
needs to obtain sufficient public input 
on proposed redistricting plans4  7b7   
,other opportunities for public         
participation ,beginning on the date the
 ,state receives the notice of the      
number of ,representatives to which the 
,state is entitled in the following     
,congress 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 and continuing for not
 fewer than #fj days thereafter1 the    
,state redistricting entity shall       
solicit the input of members of the     

public in its work to develop proposed  
congressional redistricting plans for   
the ,state by carrying out the following
 activities3  7#a7 ,posting on the      
internet site established under section 
#c the criteria which the entity will   
use to develop the congressional        
redistricting plan for the ,state4  7#b7
 ,posting on the internet site          
established under section #c a link to a
 video recording of each such hearing   
not later than #bd hours after the      
conclusion of the hearing and posting on
 the site a searchable version of the   
transcript of each such hearing not     
later than #e days after the conclusion 
of the hearing4  7#c7 ,engaging in      
outreach to provide information to and  
encourage participation in the          
redistricting process by communities    
with limited access to the internet or  
who may be difficult to reach through   
,english-language media4  #e4           
,notification of congressional          
redistricting plan proposed to be       

adopted by redistricting entity2        
opportunities for public to respond  7a7
 ,notice of proposed final plan ,not    
later than #aj days prior to holding a  
final vote on the adoption of a final   
congressional redistricting plan for the
 ,state1 the ,state redistricting entity
 shall post information about the plan  
on the internet site established under  
section #c1 including at a minimum the  
following3 7#a7 ,an analysis of the     
proposed final plan1 including--  7,a7 a
 map showing each congressional district
 established under the plan1 together   
with easily accessible digital files    
containing the block equivalency and    
shapefiles for each such district2  7,b7
 a statement of the total population1   
the voting age population1 and citizen  
population of each such district1 broken
 down by race and membership in a       
language minority group2  7,c7 a        
statement of the number of registered   
voters in each such district1 broken    
down by political party affiliation to  

the extent that such information is     
available under ,state law2  7,d7 a     
statement of the results in each such   
district for all statewide elections    
conducted in the ,state in the #f years 
preceding the year in which the most    
recent decennial census was conducted2  
7,e7 an analysis of the plan's          
compliance with applicable laws1        
including the ,voting ,rights ,act of   
#aife2  7,f7 an assessment of the       
partisan fairness of the plan under one 
or more standard quantitative measures  
of partisan bias2  7,g7 a statement     
identifying all individuals and entities
 responsible for the drafting of1 or who
 were consulted in conjunction with     
drafting of1 the plan2 and  7,h7 a      
statement describing any changes made to
 the plan in response to input from     
members of the public4  7#b7 ,a         
statement explaining the entity's       
reasons for adopting the proposed final 
plan and the reasons why the adoption of
 the plan1 as opposed to the adoption of

 alternative plans1 will best serve the 
public interest1 together with an       
assessment of how the plan is consistent
 with the policies described in section 
#c7;a77#a74  7#c7 ,any dissenting       
statement of any member of the entity   
who did not approve the proposed final  
plan4  7#d7 ,a statement that members of
 the public may submit comments         
regarding the proposed final plan       
through the internet site1 together with
 information on how members of the      
public may submit such comments to the  
entity through other methods4  7b7      
,public hearing prior to adoption of    
final plan  7#a7 ,mandatory public      
hearing ,not later than #g days prior to
 holding a final vote on the adoption of
 the final congressional redistricting  
plan for the ,state1 the ,state         
redistricting entity shall hold hearings
 in accordance with the requirements of 
section #d at which members of the      
public may provide comments on the plan4
  7#b7 ,video and transcripts of        

hearings ,the entity shall post a link  
to a video recording of each such       
hearing on the internet site established
 under section #c immediately following 
the conclusion of the hearing1 and shall
 publish and post on such website a     
searchable version of a transcript of   
the hearing not later than #dh hours    
after the conclusion of the hearing4    
7c7 ,treatment of amended and new plans 
,if the ,state redistricting entity     
posts an amended version of the proposed
 final congressional redistricting plan 
or posts a new proposed final           
congressional redistricting plan1       
subsections 7a7 and 7b7 shall apply with
 respect to the amended version of the  
plan or the new plan in the same manner 
as such subsections apply with respect  
to the proposed final plan which is     
first posted under subsection 7a74  7d7 
,application to subordinate entities    
holding votes on recommending adoption  
of plan ,if a subordinate entity of a   
,state redistricting entity described in

 section #b7;a77#b71 including a        
committee or subcommittee of the ,state 
redistricting entity1 is directed under 
,state law to hold a vote on            
recommending the adoption of a final    
congressional redistricting plan to the 
,state redistricting entity1 subsections
 7a7 and 7b7 shall apply with respect to
 the subordinate entity and the vote    
held by the subordinate entity on       
recommending the adoption of the plan in
 the same manner as such subsections    
apply to the ,state redistricting entity
 and the final vote held on the adoption
 of the final plan by the ,state        
redistricting entity4  #f4 ,effective   
,date2 application to redistricting     
conducted pursuant to #bjbj census for  
certain ,states  7a7 ,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 #bjcj4  7b7     
,application to redistricting conducted 

pursuant to #bjbj census for ,states    
without enacted ,congressional          
redistricting plans ,if a ,state is     
ordered by a court to revise its        
congressional redistricting plan for    
conducting redistricting pursuant to the
 regular decennial census conducted     
during #bjbj1 and the ,state has not    
enacted such a final congressional      
redistricting plan as of the date of the
 enactment of this ,act1 this ,act and  
the amendments made by this ,act shall  
apply with respect to congressional     
redistricting in the ,state which is    
conducted pursuant to the regular       
decennial census conducted during #bjbj1
 except that-- 7#a7 the ,state shall    
establish the internet site described in
 section #c as soon as practicable after
 the date of the enactment of this ,act2
 and  7#b7 the ,state redistricting     
entity shall begin to solicit the input 
of members of the public under section  
#d7;b7 not later than #cj days after the
 court issues the order to the ,state or

 such earlier deadline as the court may 
require under the order4