The state “does not intend to undertake redistricting in a special session,” according to a response filed by the defendants in the ongoing Perez v. Abbott redistricting lawsuit. Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in the North Carolina redistricting case, U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez asked the state to consider whether it would “voluntarily undertake redistricting in a special session.”
The state cited three reasons for its refusal:
- First, the Legislature “already convened in a special session in 2013 to adopt redistricting plans drawn by [the] Court … according to the Supreme Court’s instruction.”
- Second, “any further attempt to reconfigure the State’s electoral districts will only result in new legal challenges.”
- Third, drawing new maps would “not end the existing litigation against the plans adopted in 2013.”
Rodriguez also asked all parties to file briefs addressing the effects of the SCOTUS decision “on the various claims in the congressional and Texas House cases.” Those briefs are due June 6.
The House Redistricting Committee has not met during the current legislative session. The regular session ends Monday.
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