85R6868 JRJ-D     By: Johnson of Dallas H.B. No. 1215       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to the inclusion of an incarcerated person in the   population data used for redistricting according to the person's   last residence before incarceration.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Section 2058.002, Government Code, is amended to   read as follows:          Sec. 2058.002.  EXCEPTIONS. (a)  The legislature or the   Legislative Redistricting Board under Article III, Section 28, of   the Texas Constitution may officially recognize or act on a federal   decennial census as adjusted under Section 2058.003 before   September 1 of the year after the calendar year during which the   census was taken.          (b)  A political subdivision governed by a body elected from   single-member districts may recognize and act on tabulations of   population of a federal decennial census as adjusted under Section   2058.003, for redistricting purposes, as soon as those adjusted   tabulations become available [on or after the date the governor   receives a report of the basic tabulations of population from the   secretary of commerce under 13 U.S.C. Section 141(c)]. This   subsection does not apply to a political subdivision that was not   subject to a statute requiring certain political subdivisions,   classified by population, to elect their governing bodies from   single-member districts under the preceding federal census.          SECTION 2.  Chapter 2058, Government Code, is amended by   adding Sections 2058.003 and 2058.004 to read as follows:          Sec. 2058.003.  INCLUSION OF INCARCERATED PERSONS IN CENSUS   COUNTS.  (a) Not later than the next May 1 following the date on   which the tract-level population counts for this state from the   federal decennial census are released by the director of the Bureau   of the Census of the United States Department of Commerce, the   comptroller shall prepare and disseminate adjusted population   counts for each geographic unit included in the census counts as   provided by this section.          (b)  Not later than June 1 of the year in which the federal   decennial census is conducted, each state or local governmental   entity in this state that operates a facility for the incarceration   of persons convicted of a criminal offense, including a mental   health institution for those persons, or that places any person   convicted of a criminal offense in a private facility to be   incarcerated on behalf of the governmental entity, shall submit a   report to the comptroller with the following information:                (1)  a unique identifier, not including the name, for   each person incarcerated in a facility operated by the governmental   entity or in a private facility on behalf of the governmental entity   on the date for which the census reports population who completed a   census form, responded to a census inquiry, or was included in any   report provided to census officials, if the form, response, or   report indicated that the person resided at the facility on that   date;                (2)  the age, gender, and race of each person included   in the report and whether the person is of Hispanic, Latino, or   Spanish origin, if known; and                (3)  the last address at which the person resided   before the person's current incarceration.          (c)  Each governmental entity required to make a report under   Subsection (b) shall ensure that the entity collects and maintains   the information required to make the report.  The comptroller shall   prescribe procedures that a governmental entity shall use to permit   each person included in the report to indicate the person's race and   ethnicity for purposes of Subsection (b)(2) in a manner similar to   the manner in which a person not incarcerated would indicate the   person's race and ethnicity for the federal decennial census.          (d)  The comptroller shall request each agency that operates   a federal facility in this state that incarcerates persons   convicted of a criminal offense to provide the comptroller with a   report including the information listed in Subsection (b) for   persons convicted of an offense in this state.          (e)  For each person included in a report received under   Subsection (b) or (d), the comptroller shall determine the   geographic units for which population counts are reported in the   federal decennial census that contain the last address at which the   person resided before the person's incarceration according to the   report and, if that address is in this state:                (1)  adjust all relevant population counts reported in   the census, including populations by age, gender, race, and   Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin, as if the person resided at   that address on the day for which the census reports population; and                (2)  eliminate the person from all applicable   population counts reported in the federal decennial census for the   geographic units that include the facility at which the person was   incarcerated on the day for which the census reports population.          (f)  The information required to be included in a report   under Subsection (b) or (d) is confidential and not subject to   required disclosure under Chapter 552. This subsection does not   apply to information aggregated by geographic census unit that does   not disclose the address of or other information that might   identify an individual.          Sec. 2058.004.  USE OF ADJUSTED CENSUS COUNTS FOR   REDISTRICTING. (a) Each political subdivision of this state that   elects any members of a governmental body from election districts,   wards, or precincts that are subject to the one-person, one-vote   requirement of the Constitution of the United States shall ensure   that after redistricting each of those election districts, wards,   or precincts does not vary from the average population of those   districts, wards, or precincts according to the most recent   adjusted population counts prepared by the comptroller under   Section 2058.003 by more than five percent.          (b)  A state governmental body, including the legislature,   the Legislative Redistricting Board, or any state court, that   redistricts any election districts subject to the one-person,   one-vote requirement of the Constitution of the United States shall   comply with the restriction provided by Subsection (a).          (c)  A governmental entity to which this section applies may   exceed the adjusted population restrictions required by this   section only to the extent necessary to comply with federal law or   the Texas Constitution.          (d)  This section does not apply to any political subdivision   or state governmental body before the comptroller makes the initial   adjustment of census counts for the 2020 federal decennial census.     This subsection expires January 1, 2022.          SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives   a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as   provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this   Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this   Act takes effect September 1, 2017.