Texas The state’s congressional redistricting plan, HB 4, was approved by the Texas Senate. It alters almost all districts and has the potential to convert up to five blue seats to red ones.
By a vote of 18–11 on Friday, it passed along party lines, according to the Senate Journal record.
When Governor Greg Abbott summoned the first special session, the bill was on the agenda. Legislative action was halted when over fifty House Democrats departed the state in opposition after it initially passed a House committee in July. After more than two dozen Democrats returned to Austin, the House convened for a second extraordinary session and enacted a flood relief measure. Redistricting was then approved, and both bills were sent to the Senate.
After hearing from parents who lost their children at Camp Mystic, the Texas Senate initially passed SB 1, a camp safety policy. According to The Center Square, the parents said that if the camp had implemented safety precautions and an evacuation plan, their deaths would have been completely avoidable. It is anticipated that Abbott will sign it into law.
Abbott stated that he would sign SB 4 into law after the Senate passed it.
Abbott stated that the One Big Beautiful Map has now passed the Senate and is en route to my desk, where it will be promptly signed into law. I kept my word that we would finish this, and I did. I express my gratitude to Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick for spearheading the Senate’s approval of a bill that guarantees our maps accurately represent Texans’ voting preferences.
Following a significant increase in Texas’ population following the 2021 map revisions and a move toward a more Republican voter base, the measure was introduced. According to state Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi, who wrote the bill, the legislature has the power to redistrict at any moment.
According to The Center Square, the plan redraws 37 of Texas’ 38 congressional districts.
Hunter responded to Democrats’ claims that the bill is racist or unconstitutional by stating that the maps not only adhere to state and federal law but also provide minority voters with more representation and a voice. Currently trending Republican, four of the five new seats are majority minority districts. According to Hunter, redistricting gives Republicans the opportunity to run in these areas but does not ensure electoral success.
Houston (CD 9), Rio Grande Valley (CD 28), Dallas (CD 32), Coastal Bend (CD 34), and San Antonio (CD 35) are the new districts. Hunter stated at a meeting earlier this month that the new districts are largely Hispanic majorities that lean Republican based on recent voting trends, according to The Center Square.
There are currently ten Hispanic majority voting age districts, compared to nine in 2021, Hunter said. There were no districts with a majority Black population in 2021; two are envisaged in the current plan.
According to The Center Square, the plan does not alter the number of districts but rather creates new ones by relocating incumbents to different districts, creating seats in CDs 7, 9, 20, 30, 32, 34, and 35, and relocating some incumbent Democrats to run against one another.
Republicans may end up winning five seats as a result.
State Representative David Spiller, a Democrat from Jacksonville, claims that three states with Democratic majorities—California, New York, and Illinois—already enjoy unfair advantages as Democratic governors and lawmakers in California and New York vow to redistrict in reaction to Texas’ redistricting plans.
Critics contend that any redistricting efforts they undertake would have to account for population losses and more accurately reflect Republican votes in order to be permitted.
Although 62% of California voters cast Democratic ballots, 43 Democrats and just 9 Republicans make up the state’s congressional delegation, according to Spiller. According to The Center Square, Spiller stated during a hearing earlier this month that this offers California congressional Democrats an 82% edge when Democrats hold a 62% majority in the state.
According to him, Democrats have a 73% edge in New York, where 58% of citizens vote Democratic, but the city’s congressional delegation is made up of 19 Democrats and 7 Republicans.
Nearly every bill on the special session call has been approved by the Texas Senate. With a few weeks remaining in the session, the Texas House is working through them. But according to House Speaker Dustin Burrows, he wants the House to approve them all by the weekend of Labor Day.
