H.R. 5426 — John Tanner and Jim Cooper Fairness and Independence in Redistricting Act

This section cites the Act as the “John Tanner and Jim Cooper Fairness and Independence in Redistricting Act” and states Congress’s constitutional authority under Article I, section 4, and section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment to establish terms and conditions for states’ congressional redistricting following apportionment.

This section prohibits a state that has redistricted following a decennial apportionment of House seats under 2 U.S.C. 2a from conducting another redistricting until after the next such apportionment, unless required by a court to comply with the Constitution or enforce the Voting Rights Act of 1965. (Thus, states generally may redistrict only once per census cycle to reflect population changes and ensure equal representation.)

This section requires states to conduct congressional redistricting using (1) a plan developed by an independent state redistricting commission under section 4 of this Act, or (2) if no such plan is enacted into law, a plan selected by the state's highest court or developed by a U.S. district court under section 5. It deems redistricting using commissions established before enactment of this Act compliant; permits states to apply additional criteria and procedures consistent with this Act; and amends the Reapportionment Act of 1929 by striking "in the manner provided by the law thereof" and inserting "in the manner provided by the John Tanner and Jim Cooper Fairness and Independence in Redistricting Act". (As background, the Reapportionment Act of 1929 governs elections of Representatives using existing districts until a state redistricts following reapportionment after a decennial census. Thus, states must use independent commissions or court plans rather than solely processes established under state law.)

This section requires each state to establish an independent redistricting commission to develop congressional redistricting plans upon receipt of the state apportionment notice under 2 U.S.C. 2a. The commission consists of a chair, appointed by majority vote of other members, and an equal number of members (not fewer than one) from each of four categories appointed by a member of the state legislature from the political party holding the greatest and second greatest number of seats in the upper and lower houses, respectively (or, for unicameral legislatures, not fewer than two from each of two categories based on the two parties whose candidates for chief executive received the greatest and second greatest average votes in the prior three general elections). Commission members must be registered voters in the two most recent federal general elections, have held no public office, run for office, or worked for a party or candidate in the prior four years, and certify they will not run for the House until after the next apportionment; vacancies are filled as original appointments, the chair must be appointed before developing any plan, all meetings must be public, and the state must maintain a public website with census data, maps, interactive redistricting software, and a portal for public submissions. The commission must develop a redistricting plan adhering to (1) one-person, one-vote and other constitutional requirements; (2) equal population across districts to the greatest extent mathematically possible based on the latest decennial census; (3) the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and other federal laws; and (4) to the greatest extent practicable, geographic continuity of political subdivisions, prioritizing counties or parishes then municipalities. (Thus, this supplants the existing temporary election rules under 2 U.S.C. 2a(c), which allow use of prior districts or at-large elections pending state redistricting.)

This section establishes procedures for state and federal courts to select or develop congressional redistricting plans if a state's independent redistricting commission fails to produce an enacted plan. Specifically, (1) if the commission's plan is not enacted by the first November 1 after the state's chief executive receives the state apportionment notice, the commission submits plans to the state's highest court, which must select and publish one without modification; (2) if the state court does not select a plan by the first December 1 after such notice, the state notifies the federal district court for the district containing the state capital, which must develop and publish a plan within 30 days; (3) if the state fails to establish a commission (i.e., appoint a chair) by the first September 1 after such notice, the state may not establish one, and the federal district court must develop and publish a plan by the first December 1 after such notice; and (4) it is the sense of Congress that the federal court adhere to the commission's criteria under section 4(b). Courts selecting or developing plans have access to the commission's information, data, software, and records.

This section establishes special deadlines for the independent redistricting commission process (under sections 4 and 5) when a federal court orders a state to redistrict after apportionment to comply with the Constitution or Voting Rights Act of 1965, as follows: (1) 30 days from the final court order for establishing the commission and appointing its chair; (2) 150 days from the order for the commission to submit plans to the legislature and for commission termination; (3) 180 days from the order for the state supreme court to select and publish a plan; and (4) 210 days from the order for a U.S. district court to select and publish a plan.

This section directs the Election Assistance Commission to make payments to states entitled to more than one Representative—$150,000 per Representative within 30 days of the state's apportionment notice—to establish and operate independent redistricting commissions, implement state redistricting plans, and conduct congressional redistricting. Payments require state certification of an established commission with an appointed chair per section 4 and are unavailable to single-member states; necessary sums are authorized to be appropriated.

This section defines the term “State apportionment notice” as the notice sent by the Clerk of the House of Representatives to the executive of a state under 2 U.S.C. 2a(b) certifying the number of Representatives to which the state is entitled following a decennial census apportionment.

This section specifies that nothing in this Act affects the manner in which a state conducts elections for state or local office, including the process by which the state establishes electoral districts.