Fixing America's Inconsistent Redistricting (FAIR) Act
Latest action. Referred to the subcommitteeA smaller panel inside a standing committee with jurisdiction over a slice of its subject matter. Most hearings and the first markup usually happen here.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) on the Constitution and Civil Justice.
Fixing America's Inconsistent Redistricting (FAIR) Act - Requires any congressional redistricting conducted by a state to be conducted in accordance with a redistricting plan developed by a nonpartisan agency of the legislative branch of the state government and enacted into law by the state.
Requires each state, by December 31 of the year preceding a redistricting year, to establish a nonpartisan agency in the state government's legislative branch to develop the state's redistricting plan according to specified criteria. Requires the state to appoint a Temporary Redistricting Advisory Commission by February 15 of each redistricting year to: (1) guide the agency in development of the plan, (2) analyze and review the plan, and (3) recommend to the state legislature whether it should be adopted or rejected. Requires the state legislature to approve or reject the plan within three days after receiving the Commission's report.
Prescribes requirements for development and submission of revised plans when preceding plans are rejected.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on January 16, 2014. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on March 20, 2014: Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 113th Congress (2013-14), 296 of the 9,091 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.3 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Bruce Braley (D-IA) introduced it on January 16, 2014, and 1 member has since signed on as a cosponsor.
They are 1 Democrat.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on January 16, 2014, 4620 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 4557 days ago, on March 20, 2014.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 113th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2015 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers