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The Senate Redistricting Committee met on January 25 that began a series of regional hearings in which they will hear invited, and public, testimony. The Committee will hold numerous regional hearing in order to make up for a majority of the Committee’s 2020 field hearings that were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This hearing focused on gathering testimony from West Texas, but other regions were also included. A video of the hearing can be found here.

 

This report is intended to give you an overview and highlight of the discussions on the various topics taken up. It is not a verbatim transcript of the discussions but is based upon what was audible or understandable to the observer and the desire to get details out as quickly as possible with few errors or omissions.

 

Opening Remarks

  • Sen. Huffman – Because we were unable to hold field hearings, the public will be able to provide input in the upcoming regional hearings
  • Sen. Huffman – Public testimony will not be limited to the regional scope of each redistricting hearing
  • Sen. Huffman – All Senators on the floor and staff on the floor have received a negative COVID-19 test and mask wearing is required in the chamber
  • Senators introduce their staff
  • Sen. West – Know we will run into issues due to our partisanship; understand the Republicans are the majority, but also understand the state is slated to gain 3 congressional seats
  • Sen. West – We know Texas is a majority minority state, and will need to keep this data in mind during this process
  • Sen. Alvarado – Hopeful to continue to receive public input even after the numbers are in
  • Sen. Seliger – Thanks Huffman for being welcoming to members who are not a part of the committee
  • Sen. Blanco – Most important thing to my community is that it has had 5 different members representing the El Paso region
  • Committee rules are adopted; main changes are that committee rules incorporate changes accounted for in SR 4
  • Will be no in-person testimony today; will re-evaluate this later
  • Sen. Whitmire – Can you speculate how we are going to include high density communities with unique issues such as Houston and Dallas?
    • Sen. Huffman – Will have specific days for those areas; February 3 San Antonio, February 4 Dallas Forth Worth, February 12 Houston, February 19 El Paso, February 26 Austin area

 

Invited Testimony

Dr Llyod Potter, Texas Demographics Center

  • Were struggles in the execution of the Census in 2020; they have claimed 99.8% of all housing units were enumerated
  • In Texas, 62.8% of housing units self-responded, but self-response varies across the state and enumeration does not produce the most accurate data
  • Fort Bend had the highest self-response rates, but was the last counties for NRFU
    • Only 29/254 counties met or surpassed their 2010 self-response rate
    • Rural Texas self-response rate was very low because there is limited access to internet and many do not have a mailable address
  • Texas had 1347 Census Tracts (CTs) with self-response rates below 50%; Laredo, Fort Bend, Lubbock and El Paso were challenging in NRFU
    • 5% of these CTs have majority minority populations
  • Areas of concern: communities of color, under-represented groups in administrative records, areas with low internet access, rural areas, off-campus college students, and low public perception of the Census data
  • Census Bureau now says apportionment counts will be delivered by March 6 at the earliest
    • Postulates the Committee will be back in Special Session to finish up their work
  • Historically, Texas has been prioritized in getting the Census numbers, but may not be the case this year
  • Census Bureau estimates Texas’ population on July 1, 2020 was 29,360,759; which would mean that Texas has grown by about 4.2 million over the last decade
    • Texas is the second fastest growing state after Utah
    • Still is projected Texas will gain 3 seats; are some projections that show it will be 2
    • California and Minnesota are among some of the states who are projected to lose seats
  • Midland/Odessa and the population triangle have had large amounts of influx
  • The urbanized areas of West Texas are showing a need to split CTs
  • By this year or 2022 it is projected that Latino will be the predominate ethnicity in Texas
  • The Asian population is growing at a large rate; 84% of population change is from minorities
  • Sen. Gutierrez – How much of the count was completed by non-response follow-ups?
    • 37%, which is lower than most other states, if contact is made it is just as accurate, doing so by proxy is less accurate
  • Sen. Gutierrez – What are the racial demographics of the tracts with below 50% self-response?
    • 49% were majority Hispanic, 5% were majority African American
  • Sen. Gutierrez – Is it more or less likely to have an accurate enumeration of these tracts?
    • It is less likely than those with higher rates
  • Sen. Gutierrez – Was the 2020 Census under-funded or under-staffed?
    • There were concerns and there probably could have been more resources allocated to it pandemic certainly caused concerns with the levels of staffing
  • Sen. Gutierrez – Are you confident in the accuracy of the 2020 Census?
    • I am skeptical because of anomalies in collecting the data, causing it to be less accurate
    • The consequences of an under-count are not getting new congressional seats, redistricting, and distribution of resources
  • Sen. Gutierrez – Is it likely that Hispanics outnumber whites in the 2020 Census?
    • I do not think so, but it will be close
  • Sen. Bettencourt – Asking for an explanation between Potter’s estimate and the US estimate
    • Until the real number is released, that is the number that will be used for apportionment and redistricting
  • Sen. Lucio – When do you anticipate Texas will become a majority minority state?
    • We already are but anticipate Latino will become the majority population sometime this year or in 2022
  • Sen. Perry – Is your job to evaluate the process vs interpret the data?
    • A little bit of both; whatever data the bureau delivers to us will be final, and it will be as accurate as they can possibly get it
  • Sen. Perry – Was there any less of an effort to get people counted than in 2010?
    • It is difficult to compare the two, in many cases counting is determined by administrative records which are less accurate; there were also different guidelines on when to find a proxy
  • Sen. Alvarado – Could you elaborate on public perception of the Census and its data?
    • The politicization of it caused some concern; the issue of asking about citizenship is not an issue until it became a political issue
    • News stories about the problems this year also caused misconceptions in the public
  • Sen. Alvarado – Can you comment on the new administration’s Census-related executive order?
    • I think that it is in many ways good for Texas If non-citizens were removed from our apportionment file, then we would lose about 17 million people in the count and we would not get 3 US congressional seats
  • Sen. West – Would it be fair to say that CTs are the basis for redistricting?
    • Yes
  • Sen. West – Do you believe that administrative records are more accurate than a proxy?
    • Yes, because they are self-reported in a way rather than relying on a neighbor
  • Sen. West – What are your areas of concern in communities of color?
    • Self-response rates in these areas tended to be lower This has historically been an issue partially because of socio-economic status and partially because of language barriers
  • Sen. West – Is it easier to get data for on-campus students rather than those off-campus?
    • The Census does not have to rely on students to self-respond, can get info from the university
    • Counting students living off-campus has historically been an issue due to duplicates
  • Sen. Huffman – To clarify, we are required to use the data that is sent by the Census correct?
    • Yes
  • Sen. Huffman – Are you familiar with the Governor’s office’s funding to encourage responses?
    • Yes, and with the Secretary of State’s office and their efforts; historically, Texas has not put any funding towards the Census
  • Sen. Huffman – There was extensive funding for COVID relief, and some went towards Census state agencies such as TEA, TXDOT, TDHCA, Texas DFPS, Texas HHS for the count
  • Sen. Menendez – Many areas get a variety of funding based on Census counts, correct?
    • Yes, and I believe that is one of the most important reasons we get people counted
  • Sen. Menendez – The federal government is going to distribute vaccines based on Census numbers; is there a way to ask the Census bureau to adjust the numbers for a more accurate count?
    • There is a way to contest the count, and it has historically happened at the local level
    • However, this cannot happen before the redistricting file is delivered
  • Sen. Menendez – My concern is that because of COVID we need to ensure that we count the correct number of people to make sure that redistricting is legal, fair, and accurate

 

Public Testimony

Judy Akroman, Self

  • Proposes that gerrymandering is largely responsible for the insurrection at the capitol; that this encourages people not to vote in their district
  • Gerrymandering leads to candidates taking more extreme positions leading to a more divisive country
  • Asks Senators to draw maps based less on party lines in order to consider their country and their constituents

 

Sherley Spears, NAACP Unit 6219

  • Concerned that there was not enough emphasis placed on getting minority populations to complete the Census in her area
  • Also concerned that the choices of media used to encourage participation were not ideal for reaching a large number of the population
  • Asks if it is likely that we will contest the Census results by cities as mentioned earlier

 

Peter Svarzbein, Mayor Pro Tempore of El Paso

  • The 2020 Census was critical in mapping out the allocation of federal funds
  • Wants to emphasize the importance of redistricting in terms of considering the citizens from across the state, rural and urban
  • Says that it would be devastating if seats were eliminated from the El Paso area and far west Texas region
  • Wants to ensure that redistricting brings equity and balance to representation across multiple districts

 

David Stout, El Paso County

  • The state should remove obstacles in order to give Texas counties could give control of redistricting to the communities
  • The best way to ensure communities of interest are maintained is through a citizen led process and ask Senators to give counties that power
  • Asks that Texas take a similar approach to the state of Utah where citizens are screened for party affiliations, etc.
  • Recommends that these reforms be introduced in a constitutional amendment

 

Dora Oaxaca-Rivera, El Paso Democratic Party

  • It is critical for legislators to restore confidence in the public through this redistricting process
  • States that it is imperative that if SD 29 expands that it retains the same contiguous characteristics; asks to retain the 6 Texas house seats in El Paso
  • Proposes increased transparency, the upload a draft and flowchart of redistricting process, and to give the public notice of opportunities for public testimony on redistricting

 

Susan Bellsnyder, Self

  • Testifying on behalf of rural Texans and the importance of considering rural communities in the redistricting process

 

Elisa Tamayo, Self

  • From SD 29; Latinos are underrepresented across all levels of government
  • Recommends that public hearings are held on any proposed maps after they have been drawn
  • Recommends that there is enough time between hearings in order to allow for public opinion on proposed maps
  • Recommends that all communications be held open in order to prevent discrimination in the redistricting process
  • Asks that they ensure that El Paso County retains its five seats in the house

 

Emma Acosta, Self

  • When maps are gerrymandered, it takes away constituents voices and breaks up communities
  • Are issues in SD 23; those in San Antonio and other parts of the district do not have the same issues as those in the district from El Paso
  • Recommends that the public has adequate access and be allowed to give input on maps

 

Marcus Rogers, West Texas A&M University Democrats

  • SD 31 is highly gerrymandered and does not allow for equal representation of all constituents
  • Recommends the adoption of a non-political commission for the process of redistricting

 

Paul De La Pena, Self

  • Advocate for an independent redistricting commission in the State of Texas