(The Center Square) – The Texas House Select Committee on Redistricting passed a new redistricting plan on Saturday along party lines. Three Democrats were absent and didn’t vote.
The vote was held less than two weeks after the committee members were assigned on July 21, after Gov. Greg Abbott added redistricting to the special session, The Center Square reported. The committee held three hearings prior to any maps being released at which the majority of the public testified against the proposal and asked questions about the process.
On July 30, the committee published the maps and the bill including the redistricting proposal, HB 4, filed by five Republicans: Reps. Todd Hunter, Cody Vasut, David Spiller, Katrina Pierson and Ryan Guillen. The maps open up seven districts, of which five would likely be won by Republicans, The Center Square reported. Democrats and several groups have already vowed to sue.
On Friday, the committee held a 13-hour hearing on the proposal and on Saturday, the committee convened again to pass it, moving it to the full House for consideration.
Twelve Republicans voted for it: Reps. Cody Vasut, committee chair, Charlie Geren, Ryan Guillen, Cole Hefner, Hillary Hickland, Todd Hunter, John McQueeney, Will Metcalf, Katrina Pierson, David Spiller, Carl Tepper and Terry Wilson.
Six Democrats voted against it: Reps. Jon Rosenthal, vice chair, R.D. “Bobby” Guerra, Christian Manuel, Joe Moody, Chris Turner and Gene Wu.
Three Democrats were absent: Barbara Gervin-Hawkins, Josey Garcia and Senfronia Thompson.
The Friday hearing was the first time Republican members of the committee openly expressed support for the bill at length.
Hunter gave an overview of the process, saying that Vosut scheduled three hearings before the bill was filed but didn’t have to because House rules don’t require him to.
Wu interjected, saying, “We don’t drop bills two days before we vote them out of committee.” He also objected to the process.
Hunter said that redistricting can be done at any point in time and because the population of Texas has increased so rapidly since 2021, it was necessary to redistrict. “We are allowed to draw congressional districts whether you agree or disagree,” he said. “This has been the case for both major parties. You can draw districts based on parties – that’s recognized by the Supreme Court. These districts were drawn by using political performance, criteria used by the Supreme Court,” he said. He also said the maps were redrawn according to a recent ruling by the Fifth Circuit, are legal and the process has been transparent.
The proposed plan redraws 37 of the 38 congressional districts to some degree. Primary changes are focused on five districts for partisan purposes, Hunter said. Four of the five new districts are majority/minority districts, which each now trend Republican. The redistricting “doesn’t guarantee electoral success but it does allow Republicans to compete in these districts,” he said. The new districts are CD 9-Houston, CD 28 in the Rio Grande Valley, CD 32 in Dallas, CD 34 in the Coastal Bend and CD 35 in San Antonio.
Hunter also said that all the districts are lean Republican based on recent voting records.
In 2021, there were nine Hispanic majority voting age districts, now there are 10, he said. In 2021, there were no majority Black population districts; under the new proposed plan, there are two. Under the new proposal, CD 18 is now 50.8% Black majority, up from 38.8% in 2021. CD 30 is now 50.2% Black majority, up from 46% in 2021, he said.
“It’s a good plan for Texas,” Hunter said.
The 2021 redistricting plan followed the decennial Census. After the 2024 presidential election, Republican nominee and now president, Donald Trump, increased his share of the statewide vote from 52.06% to 56.14%, according to Secretary of State records, the bill analysis says. HB 4 “seeks to revise the composition of the districts for the election of members of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas by replacing the 2021 map with a new map to reflect the increased statewide vote for the Republican presidential nominee.”
The analysis explains how the districts were reapportioned by population and several demographics. The House also published 1,729 pages of public comments, including members of the public expressing support for redistricting.
