Donuts – they’re not just for breakfast anymore
A Texas House committee on Tuesday voted out a revised draft to redraw the lower chamber’s districts, which will give Republicans stronger positioning in the House of the Legislature for the next decade. The committee vote puts the proposal on track to hit the House floor for debate in the coming days.
House Bill 1 by state Rep. Todd Hunter, the Corpus Christi Republican who chairs the House Redistricting Committee, was changed by lawmakers on the committee during a marathon 16-hour hearing that began Monday morning before it was approved Tuesday along a party line vote.
The hearing, which featured hours of public testimony on the proposal and pushback from Democrats that the draft dilutes voting strength of voters of color, lasted into early Tuesday morning before Hunter recessed the committee until that afternoon. The move, he said, would help give committee members time to review changes before they voted on it.
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The revised HB 1 does not vary drastically from the initial version Hunter filed last week — the draft still aims to increase the GOP’s strength across the state as well as the number of districts in which white residents make up a majority of eligible voters. The latest draft changes the partisan breakdown between the chamber’s 150 districts by adding one district that would lean toward Democrats while still giving Republicans the clear advantage.
Among the changes made to HB 1 ahead of Tuesday’s vote was an amendment by state Rep. Craig Goldman, R-Fort Worth, that redraws Collin County. The change includes turning House District 70 — currently held by state Rep. Scott Sanford, a McKinney Republican who is not seeking reelection — into a Democratic-leaning district.
Another amendment by state Rep. Jacey Jetton, R-Richmond, reconfigures Bell County, which Democrats on the committee argued would split up the Black population in the city of Killeen, where Black residents make up 40% of the population.
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One of the more tense moments during Monday’s hearing came early Tuesday morning when an amendment that would have changed House districts in three counties along the Texas-Mexico border failed along a party line vote. State Rep. Ryan Guillen, a Rio Grande City Democrat who authored the amendment, said that the tweak had been approved by the delegation from the Valley area and would not have impacted other districts. Still, some Republicans on the committee objected to the proposed change.
Another amendment, by state Rep. Rafael Anchía, D-Dallas, would have increased the number of majority Hispanic districts compared to Hunter’s proposal. It also failed along a party line vote.
Anchía said he filed it to “literally [demonstrate] just how far the proposed map fails to allow Latino representation of communities of interest in this state,” adding that his amendment would have achieved “a more representative map across the board, regardless of incumbency.”
As the hearing kicked off Monday, Hunter pushed back against reports that the House proposal reduced the number of majority Black and Hispanic districts based on eligible voters.
See here for the background. I couldn’t find an image that someone else had posted of the new map, so just look at it here, and the full data set here. I don’t have much else to offer on this for now, so let me once again quote Scott Braddock:
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The GOP member objecting to this agreement said “I don’t have to provide a rationale” and the Valley Democrats lose the agreement for Texas House districts they supported #txlege— Scott Braddock (@scottbraddock) 12:51 AM – 05 October 2021
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The agreement among the Collin County delegation – all white people – for their Texas House districts was adopted in the committee no problem.
The agreement among The Valley delegation – all Latino – for their districts was voted down by GOP members with no explanation #txlege— Scott Braddock (@scottbraddock) 12:58 AM – 05 October 2021
Sure says a lot.
I suppose Michelle Beckley could run in HD-70 if she decides to forgo her run for Congress. She would have to move a few miles though.
Maybe, but she’s a lifelong Carrollton resident. I bet she runs in CD24 and probably loses by 10. HD-70 is still slightly competitive right now but won’t be in a cycle of two. If they hadn’t drawn it the GOP could have been looking at a 3 seat loss in Collin around 2026 or 2028.
In Dallas I think Chen-Button’s seat in HD112 flips before Meyer. He sheds much of the blue precincts to Neave and Crockett. She got shored up by picking up the base Republican precincts that Rhetta Bowers had to deal with in HD113. But Dem leaning voters are starting to move to the burbs near the Collin county line.
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