MAY 5, 2011 - This past week the House continued debating bills. The number of bills on the calendar each day has steadily increased, and members are spending more and more time on the floor debating legislation. The House committees are also busy hearing bills that have passed the Senate and have come over to the House for debate. This week the House laid out its redistricting map for the state House districts.

All House districts must be of equal population to ensure that the value of every person's vote is substantially equal. There are 150 House districts in Texas. The ideal district population for each district under the new census numbers is approximately 167,000. District 62, which I represent, currently consists of Fannin and Grayson counties. The population of District 62 as it is currently fell short of the ideal population; as a result, under the new map, District 62 will keep Fannin and Grayson counties, and pick up Delta County. Also, due to the rapid population growth in Denton and Collin counties, both of those counties will pick up a new district.

The redistricting plans move through the legislature the same way that other bills do. The House map is House Bill 150. Prior to the presentation of the House map, the Committee on Redistricting heard public testimony regarding the House districts, and many different versions of the map were debated.. This map and a wealth of other information on the redistricting process can be found on the state's redistricting website at www.tlc.state.tx.us/redist/redist.html<http://www.tlc.state.tx.us/redist/redist.html>. HB 150 now moves to the Senate for consideration, and the House is expected to take up the congressional redistricting map and the Texas Senate map in the near future.

For more information on the redistricting or any other legislative matter, please contact my office by writing to P.O. Box 2910, Austin, TX 78768-2910 or by emailing me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . My district office phone number is (903) 891-7297.