Text of Senate Amendment 4779

Text of Senate Amendment 4779

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 56 (Wednesday, March 25, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 56 (Wednesday, March 25, 2026)] [Senate] [Pages S1620-S1627] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] SA 4779. Mr. WARNOCK (for himself and Mr. Padilla) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 1383, to establish the Veterans Advisory Committee on Equal Access, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows: Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the following: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; STATEMENT OF CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY; TABLE OF CONTENTS. (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Redistricting Reform Act of 2026''. (b) Finding of Constitutional Authority.--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-- (1) the authority granted to Congress under article I, section 4 of the Constitution of the United States gives Congress the power to enact laws governing the time, place, and manner of elections for Members of the House of Representatives; (2) the authority granted to Congress under section 5 of the fourteenth amendment to the Constitution gives Congress the power to enact laws to enforce section 2 of such amendment, which requires Representatives to be apportioned among the several States according to their number; (3) the authority granted to Congress under section 5 of the fourteenth amendment to the Constitution gives Congress the power to enact laws to enforce section 1 of such amendment, including protections against excessive partisan gerrymandering that Federal courts have not enforced because they understand such enforcement to be committed to Congress by the Constitution; (4) of the authority granted to Congress to enforce article IV, section 4, of the Constitution, and the guarantee of a Republican Form of Government to every State, which Federal courts have not enforced because they understand such enforcement to be committed to Congress by the Constitution; and (5) requiring States to use uniform redistricting criteria is an appropriate and important exercise of such authority. (c) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act is as follows: Sec. 1. Short title; statement of constitutional authority; table of contents. TITLE I--REQUIREMENTS FOR CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING Sec. 101. Requiring congressional redistricting to be conducted through plan of independent State commission. Sec. 102. Ban on mid-decade redistricting. Sec. 103. Criteria for redistricting. TITLE II--INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING COMMISSIONS Sec. 201. Independent redistricting commission. Sec. 202. Establishment of selection pool of individuals eligible to serve as members of commission. Sec. 203. Public notice and input. Sec. 204. Establishment of related entities. Sec. 205. Report on diversity of memberships of independent redistricting commissions. TITLE III--ROLE OF COURTS IN DEVELOPMENT OF REDISTRICTING PLANS Sec. 301. Failure by State to enact plan. Sec. 302. Special rule for redistricting conducted under order of Federal court. TITLE IV--ADMINISTRATIVE AND MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS Sec. 401. Payments to States for carrying out redistricting. Sec. 402. Civil enforcement. Sec. 403. State apportionment notice defined. Sec. 404. No effect on elections for State and local office. Sec. 405. Effective date. TITLE I--REQUIREMENTS FOR CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING SEC. 101. REQUIRING CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING TO BE CONDUCTED THROUGH PLAN OF INDEPENDENT STATE COMMISSION. (a) Use of Plan Required.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, and except as provided in subsection (c) and subsection (d), any congressional redistricting conducted by a State shall be conducted in accordance with-- (1) the redistricting plan developed and enacted into law by the independent redistricting commission established in the State, in accordance with title II; or (2) if a plan developed by such commission is not enacted into law, the redistricting plan developed and enacted into law by a 3-judge court, in accordance with section 301. (b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 22(c) of the Act entitled ``An Act to provide for the fifteenth and subsequent decennial censuses and to provide for an apportionment of Representatives in Congress'', approved June 18, 1929 (2 U.S.C. 2a(c)), is amended by striking ``in the manner provided by the law thereof'' and inserting: ``in the manner provided by the Redistricting Reform Act of 2026''. (c) Special Rule for Existing Commissions.--Subsection (a) does not apply to any State in which, under law in effect continuously on and after the date of the enactment of this Act, congressional redistricting is carried out in accordance with a plan developed and approved by an independent redistricting commission which is in compliance with each of the following requirements: (1) Publicly available application process.--Membership on the commission is open to citizens of the State through a publicly available application process. (2) Disqualifications for government service and political appointment.--Individuals who, for a covered period of time as established by the State, hold or have held public office, individuals who are or have been candidates for elected public office, and individuals who serve or have served as an officer, employee, or paid consultant of a campaign committee of a candidate for public office are disqualified from serving on the commission. (3) Screening for conflicts.--Individuals who apply to serve on the commission are screened through a process that excludes persons with conflicts of interest from the pool of potential commissioners. (4) Multi-partisan composition.--Membership on the commission represents those who are affiliated with the two political parties whose candidates received the most votes in the most recent statewide election for Federal office held in the State, as well as those who are unaffiliated with any party or who are affiliated with political parties other than the two political parties whose candidates received the most votes in the most recent statewide election for Federal office held in the State. (5) Criteria for redistricting.--Members of the commission are required to meet certain criteria in the map drawing process, including minimizing the division of communities of interest and a ban on drawing maps to favor a political party. (6) Public input.--Public hearings are held and comments from the public are accepted before a final map is approved. (7) Broad-based support for approval of final plan.--The approval of the final redistricting plan requires a majority vote of the members of the commission, including the support of at least one member of each of the following: (A) Members who are affiliated with the political party whose candidate received the most votes in the most recent statewide election for Federal office held in the State. (B) Members who are affiliated with the political party whose candidate received the second most votes in the most recent statewide election for Federal office held in the State. (C) Members who are not affiliated with any political party or who are affiliated with political parties other than the political parties described in subparagraphs (A) and (B). (d) Treatment of State of Iowa.--Subsection (a) does not apply to the State of Iowa, so long as congressional redistricting in such State is carried out in accordance with a plan developed by the Iowa Legislative Services Agency with the assistance of a Temporary Redistricting Advisory Commission, under law which was in effect for the most recent congressional redistricting carried out in the State prior to the date of the enactment of this Act and which remains in effect continuously on and after the date of the enactment of this Act. SEC. 102. BAN ON MID-DECADE REDISTRICTING. (a) Ban.--A State that has been redistricted in accordance with this Act and a State described in section 101(c) or section 101(d) may not be redistricted again until after the next apportionment of Representatives under section 22(a) of the Act entitled ``An Act to provide for the fifteenth and subsequent decennial censuses and to provide for an apportionment of Representatives in Congress'', approved June 18, 1929 (2 U.S.C. 2a), unless a court requires the State to conduct such subsequent redistricting to comply with the Constitution of the United States, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.), the Constitution of the State, or the terms or conditions of this Act. (b) Applicability of Remedies for Noncompliance.--Section 402 applies with respect to a violation of subsection (a) in the [[Page S1621]] same manner as such section applies with respect to a violation of any other provision of this Act, and the remedies available pursuant to such section may be applied with respect to a violation of subsection (a). SEC. 103. CRITERIA FOR REDISTRICTING. (a) Requiring Plans To Meet Criteria.--A State may not use a congressional redistricting plan that is not in compliance with this section. (b) Ranked Criteria.--Under the redistricting plan of a State, there shall be established single-member congressional districts using the following criteria as set forth in the following order of priority: (1) Districts shall comply with the United States Constitution, including the requirement that they substantially equalize total population. (2) Districts shall comply with the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.), including by creating any districts where, if based upon the totality of the circumstances, 2 or more politically cohesive groups protected by such Act are able to elect representatives of choice in coalition with one another, and all applicable Federal laws. (3)(A) Districts shall be d