110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 328
To provide for the treatment of the District of Columbia as a Congressional
district for purposes of representation in the House of Representatives,
and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 9, 2007
Ms. NORTON (for herself and Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To provide for the treatment of the District of Columbia as a Congressional
district for purposes of representation in the House of Representatives,
and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `District of Columbia Fair and Equal House
Voting Rights Act of 2007'.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds as follows:
(1) Over half a million people living in the District of Columbia, the
capital of our democratic Nation, lack direct voting representation in
the United States Senate and House of Representatives.
(2) District of Columbia residents have fought and died to defend our
democracy in every war since the War of Independence.
(3) District of Columbia residents pay billions of dollars in Federal
taxes each year.
(4) Our Nation is founded on the principles of `one person, one vote'
and `government by the consent of the governed'.
SEC. 3. TREATMENT OF DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA AS CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT.
(a) In General- Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the District
of Columbia shall be considered a Congressional district for purposes of
representation in the House of Representatives.
(b) Conforming Amendments Relating to Apportionment of Members of House
of Representatives-
(1) INCLUSION OF SINGLE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA MEMBER IN REAPPORTIONMENT
OF MEMBERS AMONG STATES- Section 22 of the Act entitled `An Act to provide
for the fifteenth and subsequent decennial censuses and to provide for
apportionment of Representatives in Congress', approved June 28, 1929
(2 U.S.C. 2a), is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
`(d) This section shall apply with respect to the District of Columbia in
the same manner as this section applies to a State, except that the District
of Columbia may not receive more than one Member under any reapportionment
of Members.'.
(2) CLARIFICATION OF DETERMINATION OF NUMBER OF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORS
ON BASIS OF 23RD AMENDMENT- Section 3 of title 3, United States Code,
is amended by striking `come into office;' and inserting the following:
`come into office (subject to the twenty-third article of amendment to
the Constitution of the United States in the case of the District of Columbia);'.
SEC. 4. INCREASE IN MEMBERSHIP OF HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
(a) Permanent Increase in Number of Members- Effective with respect to the
One Hundred Tenth Congress and each succeeding Congress, the House of Representatives
shall be composed of 437 Members, including any Members representing the
District of Columbia pursuant to section 3(a).
(b) Reapportionment of Members Resulting From Increase-
(1) IN GENERAL- Section 22(a) of the Act entitled `An Act to provide for
the fifteenth and subsequent decennial censuses and to provide for apportionment
of Representatives in Congress', approved June 28, 1929 (2 U.S.C. 2a(a)),
is amended by striking `the then existing number of Representatives' and
inserting `the number of Representatives established with respect to the
One Hundred Tenth Congress'.
(2) EFFECTIVE DATE- The amendment made by paragraph (1) shall apply with
respect to the regular decennial census conducted for 2010 and each subsequent
regular decennial census.
(c) Transmittal of Revised Apportionment Information by President-
(1) STATEMENT OF APPORTIONMENT BY PRESIDENT- Not later than 30 days after
the date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall transmit to
Congress a revised version of the most recent statement of apportionment
submitted under section 22(a) of the Act entitled `An Act to provide for
the fifteenth and subsequent decennial censuses and to provide for apportionment
of Representatives in Congress', approved June 28, 1929 (2 U.S.C. 2a(a)),
to take into account this Act and the amendments made by this Act.
(2) REPORT BY CLERK- Not later than 15 calendar days after receiving the
revised version of the statement of apportionment under paragraph (1),
the Clerk of the House of Representatives, in accordance with section
22(b) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 2a(b)), shall send to the executive of each
State a certificate of the number of Representatives to which such State
is entitled under section 22 of such Act, and shall submit a report to
the Speaker of the House of Representatives identifying the State (other
than the District of Columbia) which is entitled to one additional Representative
pursuant to this section.
SEC. 5. NONSEVERABILITY OF PROVISIONS.
If any provision of this Act or any amendment made by this Act is declared
or held invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions of this Act or
any amendment made by this Act shall be treated and deemed invalid and shall
have no force or effect of law.
SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE; TIMING OF ELECTIONS.
(a) In General- The general election for the additional Representative to
which the State identified by the Clerk of the House of Representatives
in the report submitted under section 4(c) is entitled for the One Hundred
Tenth Congress and the general election for the Representative from the
District of Columbia for the One Hundred Tenth Congress shall be subject
to the following requirements:
(1) Neither election may occur unless the Governor of that State has signed
into law a redistricting plan on December 5, 2006, which--
(A) revises the boundaries of the Congressional districts in the State
to take into account the additional Representative to which the State
is entitled under section 4(c)(2); and
(B) remains in effect until the taking effect of the first reapportionment
occurring after the regular decennial census conducted for 2010.
(2) The additional Representative from that State and the other Representatives
from that State will be elected pursuant to the redistricting plan enacted
by the State in accordance with paragraph (1).
(3) The additional Representative from that State, the other Representatives
from that State, and the Representative from the District of Columbia
shall be sworn in and seated as Members of the House of Representatives
on the same date.
(b) Rule of Construction- Nothing in subsection (a)(3) shall be construed
to affect the status of any individual who is eligible to be sworn in and
seated as a Member of the House of Representatives on the first day of the
One Hundred Tenth Congress on the basis of winning the November 2006 general
election for that office.
END
