Problem Solvers Independent Commissions Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H.R. 10380 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 10380

To require States to conduct Congressional redistricting through independent commissions, and for other purposes.

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IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

September 15, 2026

Mr. Fitzpatrick (for himself, Mrs. Dingell, Mr. Hurd of Colorado, Mr. Carbajal, Mr. Lawler, Mr. Case, and Mr. Suozzi) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

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A BILL

To require States to conduct Congressional redistricting through independent commissions, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Problem Solvers Independent Commissions Act''.

SEC. 2. REQUIRING REDISTRICTING TO BE CONDUCTED THROUGH PLAN OF INDEPENDENT STATE COMMISSION OR PLAN OF HIGHEST STATE COURT.

(a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any Congressional redistricting conducted by a State shall be conducted in accordance with-- (1) the redistricting plan developed by the independent redistricting commission established in the State, in accordance with section 4(d); or (2) if the plan developed by such commission is not enacted into law, the redistricting plan selected by the highest court in the State in accordance with section 4(e). (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 Problem Solvers Independent Commissions Act''.

SEC. 3. INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING COMMISSION.

(a) Composition of Commission.--Each State shall establish an independent redistricting commission composed of an equal number of members (but not fewer than one) from each of the following categories: (1) Members affiliated with the political party with the greatest number of seats in the State legislature. (2) Members affiliated with the political party with the second greatest number of seats in the State legislature. (3) Members not affiliated with any political party described in subparagraph (A) or (B). (b) Eligibility.--An individual is eligible to serve as a member of the independent redistricting commission of a State if-- (1) the individual is a United States citizen; (2) as of the date of appointment, the individual-- (A) is registered to vote in elections for Federal office held in the State, and was registered to vote in elections for Federal office held in the State for at least 3 years prior to such appointment without changing the political affiliation of such registration; or (B) voted in at least 3 consecutive primary elections for Federal office held in the State for a candidate affiliated with the same political party; (3) neither the individual nor the spouse or family member of the individual held public office or ran as a candidate for election for public office, or served as an employee of or paid consultant for a political party or candidate for election for public office, at any time during the 3-year period preceding the date of appointment; and (4) the individual certifies that the individual will not run as a candidate for the public office in the State for not less than 3 years after the date the individual no longer serves on the commission. (c) Additional Consideration.--To the extent practicable, the membership of the independent redistricting commission of a State under this section shall reasonably reflect the geographic, demographic, and socioeconomic diversity of the State. (d) Deadline.--Each State shall establish an independent redistricting commission under this section not later than 60 days after the date on which the chief executive of a State receives the State apportionment notice. (e) Selection of Members.-- (1) In general.--With respect to the members of a independent redistricting commission in a State described under subsection (a), the members shall be selected from individuals who apply through an open application process, which shall include a random mailing of applications distributed to a meaningful number of registered voters in the State. (2) Random selection of applicant pool.--With respect to applicants for the independent redistricting commission of a State described in paragraph (1), each State shall select applicants on a random basis to be included in an initial selection pool, which shall consist of an equal number of individuals from each of the categories described in subsection (a). (3) Removal of certain applicants.--Legislative leaders in the legislature of a State may, from each of the categories described in subsection (a), strike not more than 20 percent of the applicants from their respective partisan pool described in paragraph (2). (4) Final selection of members.--After any removals made under paragraph (3), members of the independent redistricting commission of a State shall be randomly selected from the remaining eligible applicants selected under paragraph (2). (f) Training Requirement.--Each member selected for the independent redistricting commission of a State under subsection (e) shall complete training developed and provided by the State on redistricting law, mapping criteria, ethics, and public engagement before beginning the map-drawing process. (g) Removal of Members of an Independent Redistricting Commission.-- (1) In general.--Members of the independent redistricting commission of a State may be removed only by an affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the members of the commission on the basis of a grounds for removal described in paragraph (2). (2) Grounds for removal.--A member of an independent redistricting commission may be removed under paragraph (1) only on the basis of-- (A) a felony conviction involving dishonesty, deceit, fraud, or a breach of the public trust that occurred while the individual was serving on the commission; (B) an ethics violation; (C) repeated unexcused absences, incapacity, or dereliction of duty; or (D) a conflict of interest. (3) Vacancy.--In the event that a member of an independent redistricting commission of a State resigns or is removed under this subsection, an individual from the applicant pool of the State described in subsection (e)(2) and from the same category described in subsection (a) as the member who resigned or was removed shall be randomly selected to fill such vacancy. (h) Staff; Consultants.--Any technical experts, legal counsel, consultants, or such other staff as the independent redistricting commission of a State may appoint shall be under the supervision and oversight of the commission and may not be directed by the legislature of the State. (i) Sense of Congress With Respect to Resources of an Independent Redistricting Commission.--It is the sense of Congress that each State should-- (1) provide the independent redistricting commission of the State with such resources and funding as the commission may require to carry out its duties under the Constitution and this Act; and (2) ensure that members of the independent redistricting commission receive adequate compensation during their term of service on the commission.

SEC. 4. DEVELOPMENT OF REDISTRICTING PLAN.

(a) Criteria.--The independent redistricting commission of a State shall develop a redistricting plan for the State in accordance with the following considerations: (1) Ensuring that districts each have equal population per Representative as nearly as practicable, in accordance with the Constitution of the United States. (2) Ensuring that no congressional district in the State is drawn to discourage competition, or for the purpose of favoring or disfavoring an incumbent, a particular candidate, or a particular political party. (3) Ensuring that districts are contiguous to the greatest extent possible. (4) To the greatest extent practicable, ensuring the preservation of pre-existing political subdivisions, including counties and municipalities. (5) To the greatest extent practicable, maintaining compact districts. (b) Solicitation of Public Input in Development of Plans.--The commission shall solicit and take into consideration comments from the public in developing the redistricting plan for the State by-- (1) holding meetings in the State Capitol of the State that shall also be made available live on a publicly accessible government website of the State at which members of the public may provide input; and (2) otherwise soliciting input from the public through such methods as the commission determines appropriate. (c) Requiring All Meetings To Be Open to Public.--Except as necessary for the protection of information pertaining to pending litigation or other legally protected matters, the commission shall hold each of its meetings in public. (d) Process for Enactment of Final Redistricting Plan.-- (1) In general.--Prior to developing and publishing a final redistricting plan under paragraph (2), the independent redistricting commission of a State shall develop and make publicly available a preliminary redistricting plan and solicit public input as described in subsection (b) on the preliminary redistricting plan. (2) Final plan.--After taking into consideration comments from the public under subsection (b) and paragraph (1), at any time after the expiration of the 30-day period which begins on the date the commission makes the preliminary plans available to the public under paragraph (1), the independent redistricting commission of a State shall develop and publish a final redistricting plan for the State. (3) Enactment.--The final redistricting plan developed and published under this subsection shall be deemed to be enacted into law upon the expiration of the 30-day period which begins on the date on which-- (A) such final plan is approved by at least two- thirds of the whole membership of the commission; and (B) at least two-fifths of the members of the Commission from each of the categories of the approved selection pool described in section 3(a) vote to approve such final plan. (4) Publication of plan and accompanying materials.--As soon as practicable after the enactment of a final redistricting plan under paragraph (2), the commission shall make available to the public all data and research relied upon to develop such plan, including the following: (A) The final redistricting plan, including all relevant maps and draft maps. (B) A report by the commission to accompany the plan which provides the background for the plan and the commission's reasons for selecting the plan as the final redistricting plan, including how the plan satisfies each of the considerations under subsection (a). (C) Demographic and election data used. (D) Mapping software and methodologies. (E) Consultant reports. (F) Communications with outside parties and constituents. (G) Public submissions. (H) Email correspondence between commissioners. (I) Meeting recordings. (J) An algorithmic bell curve of the average outcome of a fair redistricting process. (e) Restriction on Outside Communication.--Members of the commission of a State may not engage in private communications regarding any proposed maps under this section with any elected officials, political parties, lobbyists, or outside advocacy organizations. (f) Special Process if No Final Plan Selected.--If a redistricting plan developed by the independent redistricting commission of a State is not enacted into law under subsection (d) by the date that is 30 days before the deadline in the State for a candidate to file to run for office, the existing congressional districts shall remain in place in the State for a period of not more than 8 weeks and, if after such period has ended, the commission has not enacted into law a final redistricting plan under subsection (d), the highest court of the State may appoint two special masters to develop and publish a final redistricting plan for the State consistent with the criteria described in subsection (a), but in no case may the State legislature of the State have a role in determining a final redistricting plan under this subsection. (g) Judicial Challenges to Final Redistricting Plan.--The highest court of each State shall have jurisdiction to hear and determine claims asserting that the final redistricting plan of the State violates the requirements of this Act or State law. (h) Removal.-- (1) In general.--At any time, a civil action brought in a State court which asserts a claim for which the district courts of the United States have exclusive jurisdiction under this section may be removed by any party in the case, including an intervenor, by filing, in the district court for an applicable venue under this section, a notice of removal signed pursuant to Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure containing a short and plain statement of the grounds for removal. Consent of parties shall not be required for removal. (2) Claims not within the original or supplemental jurisdiction.--If a civil action removed in accordance with paragraph (1) contains claims not within the original or supplemental jurisdiction of the district court, the district court shall sever all such claims and remand them to the State court from which the action was removed. (i) Termination.--The independent redistricting commission of a State shall terminate on the day after the date of the first regularly scheduled general election for Federal office which occurs after the chief executive of the State receives the State apportionment notice.

SEC. 5. STATE APPORTIONMENT NOTICE DEFINED.

In this Act, the ``State apportionment notice'' means, with respect to a State, the notice sent to the State from the Clerk of the House of Representatives under section 22(b) 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), of the number of Representatives to which the State is entitled.

SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE.

This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall apply with respect to any Congressional redistricting which occurs after the regular decennial census conducted during 2030. <all>