John Tanner and Jim Cooper Fairness and Independence in Redistricting Act

Key Points

• This bill would require every state to create an independent redistricting commission to draw Congressional district maps instead of letting state legislators do it. The goal is to prevent gerrymandering, where politicians draw maps to benefit their own party.
• Commission members must be regular citizens, not politicians or political party workers. They cannot have held office or worked for a campaign in the four years before being appointed, and they must promise not to run for Congress until after the next census cycle.
• The commissions are banned from using voting history, party affiliation, or where current members of Congress live when drawing maps. Instead, they must focus on equal population, keeping communities together, and making compact, contiguous districts.
• States may only redraw their Congressional maps once per decade after the census. They cannot redistrict again unless a court orders it to comply with the Constitution or the Voting Rights Act. This would prevent mid-decade partisan map changes.
• The federal government would pay states $150,000 per Congressional district to cover the costs of setting up and running their commissions. States that only have one House seat would not receive payments. The law would take effect starting with the 2030 census.