Amends TCA Title 2; Title 3, Chapter 1; Title 4, Chapter 16; Title 4, Chapter 29 and Title 8, Chapter 4.

Under present law, the general assembly establishes the composition of districts for the election of members of the house of representatives in congress after each enumeration and apportionment of representation by the congress of the United States. This bill requires the Tennessee independent redistricting commission (hereinafter the "commission"), which this bill creates, to develop congressional and legislative redistricting plans for the state. THE COMMISSION Under this bill, the commission will be established in 2021, on the effective date of this bill, and by April 1 thereafter, in years ending in the number 1 (e.g., 2031, 2041, etc.). The commission will consist of nine members, with each legislative leader and caucus chair of the majority party and the minority party in each house of the general assembly jointly appointing two members, and a ninth nonvoting member to be appointed by majority vote of the initial eight members. The ninth nonvoting member will act as the commission's chairperson. Except for the 2021 commission, which will have earlier deadlines, this bill requires appointments to be made and certified to the comptroller by April 11 for legislative appointees and by April 20 for the nonvoting ninth member. If an appointment is not made and certified by the applicable date, then the supreme court will certify an appointment for that position within five business days. No action may be taken to develop a redistricting plan until the commission's chair has been appointed. To be eligible to serve on the commission, a person must: (1) Be registered to vote in this state as of the date of appointment and must have been registered to vote in the two most recent general elections for federal office held in this state for federal office; (2) Not hold public office or run as a candidate for election for public office, or serve as an employee of a political party or candidate for election for public office, at any time during the four-year period ending on the December 31 preceding the date of appointment; (3) Not be a registered member of a political party as of the date of appointment and not have been a registered member of a political party at any point during the five years prior to the date of appointment; (4) Certify that he or she will not run as a candidate for the office of representative in congress or for a seat in either chamber of the general assembly until after the next apportionment; and (5) Not have worked as a lobbyist within two years prior to selection to serve on the commission. Prior to serving on the commission, every person selected will be required to take an oath to faithfully perform the duties of that office. Commission members will receive no compensation but will be eligible for reimbursement of expenses and mileage. Employees of the commission will be compensated as determined by the commission and will not have preferred service status, but will be subject to personnel policies applicable to state employees. No member or employee of the commission may campaign for elective office or actively participate in or contribute to any political campaign of any candidate for federal elective office while a member or employee of the commission. THE PLAN The commission's meetings will be open to the public and the commission will maintain a website. All records and information in the possession of the commission will be open for inspection by members of the public. This bill requires the commission to adopt rules whereby the votes of seven commissioners will be required for any official action. The commission will develop redistricting plans in accordance with the following criteria: (1) Adherence to the "one person, one vote" standard and other requirements imposed under the United States Constitution and the Constitution of Tennessee; (2) Ensure, to the greatest extent mathematically possible, that the population of each congressional district in this state does not vary from the population of any other congressional district in this state as determined on the basis of the total count of persons of the most recent census; (3) Comply with any applicable requirements of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and other applicable federal laws; (4) To the greatest extent practicable, maintain the geographic continuity of the political subdivisions of the state that are included in the same congressional district in the following order of priority: the continuity of counties, the continuity of municipalities, and the continuity of neighborhoods; (5) To the greatest extent practicable, maintain compact districts in accordance with commission standards; and (6) Ensure that districts are contiguous except to the extent necessary to include any area surrounded by a body of water. In developing the redistricting plans for the state, the commission may not consider the voting history of the population of a congressional district, the political party affiliation of the population of a district, or the residence of incumbent legislators, except where consideration of such factors is necessary to comply with applicable federal law. Upon approval of the plans by seven of the voting members of the commission, but no later than November 1 of any year ending in the number one, the commission will submit the plans to the general assembly and will notify the public through the publication of notice in at least one newspaper of general circulation in each grand division of this state. The commission will also publish a detailed version of the plans, including maps showing each congressional, state house of representatives, and state senatorial districts established and the voting age population by race of each district on the commission's website. The plans will then be drafted as legislation for introduction in the general assembly. Any technical corrections will be made prior to introduction of the legislation and a summary of the corrections will be posted on the commission's website. Upon introduction of the legislation, the general assembly may approve a congressional plan as submitted, without amendment, and forward the plan to the governor, or reject the plan. Upon introduction of the legislation, the general assembly may approve a state legislative plan as submitted, without amendment, and forward the plan to the governor, amend the plan, or reject the plan. A redistricting plan will only be considered law if the plan is forwarded to the governor and the governor signs the legislation, or allows such legislation to become law, or the governor vetoes the plan and the legislature overrides the veto. Any legislation enacting a congressional redistricting plan will be effective upon becoming a law. The redistricting commission will terminate and cease to exist on the day after the date of the first regularly scheduled general election for federal office occurring in the year ending in the number two. In the event that the congressional plan is not enacted, the commission may submit congressional redistricting plans to the Tennessee supreme court, which may then select and publish one of the submitted plans to serve as the plan for the state. The supreme court will not be authorized to modify any congressional redistricting plan so submitted. If the supreme court does not select a congressional plan on or before December 1, the clerk of the supreme court must file a notice with the United States district court in Nashville. No later than 30 days after receiving such notice, the United States district court will be requested to develop and publish a final congressional plan for Tennessee that adheres to the same terms and criteria that applied to the development of the plan by the commission. COURT-ORDERED REDISTRICTING If a federal court requires this state to conduct congressional or state legislative redistricting in order to comply with the United States Constitution or to enforce the Voting Rights Act of 1965, this bill will apply with respect to the redistricting, provided that: (1) The deadline for the establishment of the commission and the appointment of the commission's chair will be the expiration of the 30-day period beginning on the date of the final court order to conduct the redistricting; (2) The deadline for the submission of redistricting plans to the general assembly and the date of termination of the commission will be the expiration of the 150-day period beginning on the date of the final court order; (3) The deadline for the selection and publication of the plan by the state supreme court will be the expiration of the 180-day period beginning on the date of the final court order; and (4) The deadline for the selection and publication of the plan by the federal district court will be the expiration of the 210-day period beginning on the date of the final court order. OTHER PROVISIONS The commission will be attached to the comptroller of the treasury for all administrative matters relating to receipts, disbursements, expense accounts, budget, audit, and other related items. The commissioner of finance and administration will seek all available federal funding for the establishment and operation of the commission, implementation of the redistricting plan, and other necessary expenses, including the expenses of any special sessions of the general assembly.