HPPR News

Texans speak out about state Senate district maps during legislative hearings

KERA | By Aurora Berry

Published January 30, 2023 at 11:49 AM CST

The Texas Legislature is required to approve changes to political boundaries during the first regular session after census data is released. But the coronavirus pandemic led lawmakers to pass their latest maps in the offseason — during the third Special Session of 2021's 87th Legislative Session, pictured above.

Texans told lawmakers last week what they thought about recent revisions to state Senate districts.

Speakers from across the state called in to a series of hearings held by the Senate Special Committee on Redistricting to share their opinions on the new districts, which some said are not representative of Texas populations.

Several told lawmakers that the districts were designed to consolidate power instead of aligning common interests within a region.

“Ideally districts should represent cohesive communities, but the only thing this map represents is raw partisan power,” said Austin resident Josh Aber.

Daniel Diaz of LUPE said the maps also fail to match the growth of Latino populations in Texas.

“Latinos have driven the state population increase over the past decade. We have very little to show for it in the new maps. Our maps should unequivocally match or be aligned with the Latino population we see in the state of Texas,” Diaz said during Thursday's committee meeting.

The maps, originally approved by the legislature during a special session in 2021, have been embroiled in controversy — including lawsuits and a challenge from the U.S. Justice Department, which called the maps discriminatory against minority groups.

However, Democratic state Senator Royce West of Dallas said he doesn’t expect any changes to district lines to come out the hearings.

“I don’t want to disappoint people but, in part, these are just perfunctory hearings. I’m hoping they have some impact, but I don’t think it’s going to have a lot of impact on the lines that are currently in place,” West told KERA.

The Texas Constitution requires that the legislature draws up maps for redistricting during the first regular session after U.S Census Bureau data is released. However, due to COVID, the data came after the regular session finished. Since the maps were approved during a special session, lawmakers are now just making sure they’re in compliance.

Still, West told KERA that Republicans designed the districts specifically to keep power in the party’s hands, calling it “a sheer, unadulterated power grab.”

“I think that the impact of this power grab is that a lot of people have been disenfranchised,” said West.

He urged citizens to make their voices heard virtually at any future hearings redistricting committee meetings.

“You don’t have to come to Austin to do it. You can be at your desk, frankly you can be in bed. The only thing you have to do is register, express your interest in testifying, and make sure you testify virtually.”