~ ,1 ~ O~I~o~I~ l-~
COMMISSIONERS' COURT AGENDA REQUEST
PLEASE FURNISH ONE ORIGINAL AND TEN (10) COPIES OF THIS REQUEST
AND DOCUMENTS TO BE REVIEWED BY THE COURT
MADE BY: David Mendez
MEETING DATE: April 13, 2009
OFFICE: Bickerstaff, Heath, Delgado,
Acosta LLP
TIME PREFERRED: 11:00 AM
SUBJECT: Presentation by Mr. David Mendez with Bickerstaff, Heath, Delgado, Acosta
LLP regarding the 2010 Census.
EXECUTIVE SESSION REQUESTED: (PLEASE STATE REASON)
NAME OF PERSON ADDRESSING THE COURT: David Mendez
ESTIMATED LENGTH OF PRESENTATION:
IF PERSONNEL MATTER -NAME OF EMPLOYEE:
Time for submitting this request for Court to assure that the matter is posted in
accordance with Title 5, Chapter 551 and 552, Government Code, is as follows:
Meeting scheduled for Mondays: 5:00 PM previous Tuesday
THIS REQUEST RECEIVED BY:
THIS RQUEST RECEIVED ON:
@ .M.
All Agenda Requests will be screened by the County Judge's Office to determine if adequate
information has been prepared for the Court's formal consideration and action at time of Court
Meetings. Your cooperation will be appreciated and contribute towards your request being addressed
at the earliest opportunity. See Agenda Request Rules Adopted by Commissioners' Court.
Bickerstaff Heath Delgado Acosta LLP
816 Congress Avenue Suite 1700 Austin, Texas 78701 (518) 472-8021 Fax (512) 320-5638 www.bickerstaff.com
February 5, 2009
The Honorable Pat Tinley
Kerr County Judge
700 Main Street
Kerrville, TX 78028
Dear Judge Tinley:
Since you have relied on our firm for redistricting services, we wanted to remind you of
some important issues that the County should consider in anticipation of the 2010 census
that will affect redistricting of County Commissioner, Justice and Election precincts in
2011. The Federal Census Bureau is updating its mapping information as it gets ready
for the Census. By making sure the Census Bureau has accurate and current information
from the County on Election Precinct boundaries,, newly approved platted subdivisions
and other boundary adjustments, the County will avoid expensive and time consuming
problems during redistricting.
Election/Voting Precincts -The Legislative Council is submitting. current election
precinct information from the counties to the Census Bureau now, so that the Bureau's
maps will reflect current county election precinct boundaries. The Legislative Council
should have your county's correct new precinct boundaries, but if you need to confirm, I
have provided contact information in the attachment to this letter. If the County
anticipates changing any election precinct boundaries during the spring of 2009, you
want to make sure that you send those changes in immediately to the Legislative Council
so they can continue to update the voting tabulation district layer for the Census Bureau.
That will be the last opportunity to update the maps prior to redistricting. As you are
aware, a county's election precincts are utilized as the primary geographic unit for most
redistricting efforts. This is so not only for county commissioner and justice/constable
precincts, but also for state representative and senate districts as well as congressional
districts and other offices. If the mapping data that the Census Bureau uses to conduct
the census in 2010 is not accurate, the County will encounter problems and costs in terms
of polling locations and other issues.
Platted Subdivisions and Boundary Changes -Plats approved by the County in rural
areas since 2000 also need to be incorporated into the Census data. Iri 2000 these areas of
the County may .have been unpopulated. Now that they have become populated
neighborhoods, it will be critical to have accurate census numbers and boundaries in
order to properly apportion this population among County Commissioner precincts or
election precincts. Getting these new roads and other geographic information on the map
will insure that new neighborhoods are accurately reflected. Any county boundary
changes must be submitted through the Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS}. The
The Honorable Pat Tinley
February 5, 2009 Page 2
BAS should have gone out to all entities in December 2008/January 2009. We
understand that the County will have until March 1, 2009 to submit changes to the
Census Bureau. Recognizing that there may be additional plats approved during 2009,
the Census Bureau has a continuing program that will allow further updating into the
early Summer of 2010. That will be the last opportunity to review the boundary changes
that will be in the 2010 Census Redistricting data files.
As we understand, the Bureau's procedures, notices and information on these mapping
projects are typically sent to the highest elected official for the entity for review, so the
County Judge's Office is likely to receive information from the Census Bureau or Texas
Legislative Council on these projects.
By keeping up with the Census Bureau's mapping process and submitting new County
subdivisions, streets and other important geographic features prior to the taking of the
census, this burdensome (and sometimes expensive) extra step can be avoided or minimized.
If the County needs any information on the existing census geography, we would be
pleased to provide you with information we have as of the last time we redistricted your
commissioner or election precincts. Our records at the firm include the boundaries for
the County as of the 2001 redistricting, and we can easily project your newly platted
areas and election precincts on the map and determine if you have any potential census
geography issues that need to be addressed or submitted to the State or the Census
Bureau. Please let us know if you need any assistance with this census geography issue
or if you have any questions about this or any other aspect of the upcoming 2011
redistricting process.
Redistricting Contracts - If you are interested in securing redistricting counsel at this
early date, this firm would be happy to talk with you about our expertise, experience, and
services or to immediately commence our representation of you. As pointed out in this
letter, there are steps that counties can take now, with or without legal representation, to
ensure a smoother and less costly redistricting process. As a practical matter, census data
will not be available until 2011, and that is when redistricting work will commence in
earnest. While there are reasons not. to wait until the very last minute, it is not necessary
for you to contract with redistricting counsel two to three years in advance; however, if
you are interested in proceeding now, we are ready. Please let me know if you would
like for me to visit with you by phone or in person about engaging the Bickerstaff firm.
Very truly yours,
~ ~~ ~,
David Mendez
DM/da
Enclosure
cc: Diane Bolin, Kerr County Tax Assessor/Collector
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Presented at:
Kerr County
Commissioners Court
Preparing for the 2011
Redistricting Cycle
By: David Mendez
Bickerstaff Heath Delgado Acosta LLP
www.bickerstaff.com
Austin, Texas
April 13, 2009
Presented at:
Kerr County
Commissioners Court
Preparing for the 2011 Redistricting Cycle;
iiii
By: David Mendez • • • •
Bickerstaff Heath Delgado Acosta LLP 'I iiii
www.bickerstaff.com iii i
Ausfin, Texas iii i
iii
April 13, 2009 ~
•••
••••
•••••
•••a
The purpose of this presentation is to: ~g~°
••
. Inform Texas County Commissioners Courts
of their obligations during the 2011
redistricting cycle.
. Describe the 2011 Redistricting Timeline.
. Describe steps counties can undertake now to
reduce costs and make the process more
efficient in 2011.
...
....
....•
County Commissioners Courts ••••
..®.
Redistricting Obligations ®I•"
• Commissioner Precincts
• Election Precincts
• (adjusting precinct boundaries and establishing
county polling locations)
• Constable and Justice Precincts
- ...
....
....~
..~~
Texas County Redistricting Obligations ~~~~
.~g
(Applicable to Commissioner Precincts) ""
One Person -One Vote Requirement
. Requirements under Voting Rights Act of 1965
- Section 5 Coverage
- Section 2 Protection for certain voters
. Requirements under Fourteenth Amendment of the
United States Constitution
...
....
One Person -One Vote Requirement ••'•~
...a
...~
.~~
»°
• Constitutional principle applies to Texas
County Commissioner Precincts
• They must be equal in population (within
10%).
• Principle does not apply to
Justice/Constable precincts.
• Election precinct size governed by state
law requirements.
...
....
Requirements under Voting ::::'
Rights Act of 1965 'm~~
w~
I
.Section 5 Coverage -Applicability to Texas
November 1, 1972. Imposes preclearance
obligations
. Section 2 Protection for certain members of
the community creates cause of action for
violation of rights of protected minority class
2
...
....
....~
Requirements under Fourteenth Amendment i ;;~~
of the United States Constitution ~a$
• Shaw v. Reno -Requires that remedial actions taken
under the Voting Rights Act are narrowly tailored to
address identified harm to minority voters and limiting
the use of race as a factor in redistricting to the narrow
extent required to address potential harm.
• As a result Voting Rights Act and Fourteenth
Amendment both have to be addressed as county re-
draws boundaries.
...
....®
Requirements under the Local ~~~~
...•
Government Code and Texas Constitution :®®°
.•
• Texas Constitution authorizes county commissioners court to adjust
commissioner precincts and justice and constable precincts for the
administration of county business.
Texas Local Government Code specifies certain transitional
requirements when the commissioners court adjusts precinct
boundaries.
Texas Election Code specifies when County may adjust election
precinct boundaries and the number of voters in each precinct.
•••
•~•
••r.•r
••~s
••so
•••:
•s
Organizing the redistricting
process to make it
efficient and effective
3
Timeline for 2011 Redistricting and Subsequent General Election*
w~.
I - , F ---
---
Peobable
s vi~
NtN~ N., ~~~ O Pnma~
N Eleetio
. aoeoaa.'.w ~i..u o.yaaa ue~~ue
•••
••••
County Redistricting Steps :::~®
..m~
.am
4a
• Verify Existing Precinct Boundaries -
collect, input and verify existing precinct
boundaries and input into GIS software
databases
• Perform Initial Assessment -examine
2011 census data and compare it to the existing
precinct boundaries and determine whether
precincts have become sufficiently unbalanced
in population as to require redistricting.
...
....
....
County Redistricting Steps ~~~~'
...p
..~
.~
• Develop and Adopt Guidelines and
Criteria -identify and adopt practical and
legal criteria to be followed during the
redistricting process.
4
...
....
County Redistricting Steps ! :::~~
..~~
.~~
~.:
Redistricting Criteria
• Easily identifiable geographic boundaries
should be followed.
. Avoid splitting neighborhoods.
• Districts should be drawn to permit the
creation of practical voting precincts.
...
....
...w
County Redistricting Steps ~~~~°
..a»
.~~
Additional Criteria ;~
• Districts must be configured so they are relatively
equal in total population. Total deviation should not
exceed 10%.
. The districts should be compact and composed of
contiguous territory.
. Consideration may be given to the preservation of
incumbent-constituency relations by recognition of
the residence of incumbents and their history in
representing certain areas.
...
....
County Redistricting Steps ::::~
...m
.A®
®w
Adoat and Present Illustrative Plan
• The County draws an illustrative plan, based
on the criteria to present to the public for
comment through a public hearings process.
. The County presents the illustrative plan for
comment from the community at one or more
public hearings.
5
...
....
....~
County Redistricting Steps ~ ::~~
i .dam
~~
Analyze public input and Adopt Plan
. The County analyzes the input received
through the public hearing process and
amends the illustrative plan, if necessary.
. The County adopts a final redistricting plan
which is submitted to DOJ in Washington.
...
....
....®
County Redistricting Steps ;;m:
»«
County Election Precincts
. The County adjusts election precincts, as
necessary to conform to new county
commissioner precincts and for other
administrative purposes.
...
....
County election precincts cannot """
....
...®
contain territory from more than one: I$m
. Commissioner precinct
. Justice precinct
. Congressional district
• State senate district
• State representative district
. City ward (10,000 pop. city)
• State Board of Education district
6
...
....
....~
...~
..«~
.~~
Initiatives that Texas Counties can
undertake now to reduce costs and make
the process more effective in 2011
	...
.

Boundary and Annexation Survey

(BAS)	...
••••®
....
"®•
.~~

• Annual Survey by Census Bureau collects boundary and i	•~
area change information about legally defined geographic	
areas.	
Survey mailed to designated contacts and allows	
participants to review and confirm accuracy of geographic	
information for your area.	
BAS information enables reporting and updating data for	
geographic changes that have occured in your county so	
that the maps used to conduct the census match what is on	
the ground in your area.	
• Key Dates (annual): September, January, and March	
For more information visit:
www.census.gov/geo/wewalbas/bashome. html
•.•
••••
•.•~.
Election Precincts •••°
..•.
..m
..
• Changes to election precincts should be sent
to the Texas Legislative Council.
. Texas Legislative Council will send election
precincts to the Census Bureau of inclusion
in the Census geography.
7
Presented at:
Kerr County i
Commissioners Court
Preparing for the 2011 Redistricting Cycle
-------- ---- --
-.___ t~•
By: David Mendez) ~ ~ ~ •
Bickerstaff Heath Delgado Acosta LLP i ~ ~ C ~
www.bickerstaff.com ~ ~ ~ {
~~~:
Austin, Texas ~ ,.
April 13, 2009:
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