2000s Chronology

**1999**
January 25, 1999	U.S. Supreme Court rules in Clinton v. Glavin that the Census Bureau cannot use statistical sampling in the 2000 census to determine the population of the states for congressional apportionment purposes.
February 24, 1999	U.S. Census Bureau announces that for the 2000 census it will conduct a traditional head count, with the results to be used for congressional apportionment, and an "accuracy and coverage evaluation," involving the use of statistical sampling methods to correct for the expected undercount, resulting in a second set of population data to be used for other purposes such as redistricting.

**2000**
January 2000	Texas Senate and House of Representatives committees with redistricting jurisdiction announce that they will hold regional public hearings from February through September to provide opportunities for persons interested in the redistricting process and the location of district boundaries to offer public comment.
April 1, 2000	Census Day
December 2000	Three plaintiffs file suit in Travis County district court regarding congressional redistricting in Texas. Three different plaintiffs file a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Marshall Division, regarding congressional redistricting in Texas.
December 28, 2000	U.S. Census Bureau releases the first results of the 2000 census. By traditional census counting methods, Texas has 20,851,820 people residing in the state on April 1, 2000. As a result, Texas gains two new congressional seats.

**2001**
January 9, 2001	77th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, convenes. Senate Committee on Redistricting appointed.
January 17, 2001	House Committee on Redistricting appointed.
March 6, 2001	U.S. commerce secretary accepts the recommendation of the Executive Steering Committee on Accuracy and Coverage Evaluation Policy and the acting Census Bureau director to send the actual Census 2000 enumeration data, unadjusted by statistical methods, to the states for the purpose of redistricting.
March 12, 2001	U.S. Census Bureau delivers official population data for Texas to the governor and state legislature.
May 8, 2001	House passes H.B. 150, the state house redistricting bill (PLAN01189H).
May 9, 2001	Senate Committee on Redistricting reports favorably a committee substitute to S.B. 499, the state senate redistricting bill (PLAN01047S). S.B. 499 is not considered by the full senate, so the legislature adjourns without enacting new senate districts.
May 11, 2001	Senate Committee on Redistricting reports favorably H.B. 150, but H.B. 150 is not considered by the full senate, so the legislature adjourns without enacting new house districts.
May 26, 2001	House Committee on Redistricting reports favorably a committee substitute to H.B. 722, the congressional redistricting bill (PLAN01021C). H.B. 722 is not considered by the full house, so the legislature adjourns without enacting new congressional districts.
June 6, 2001	Legislative Redistricting Board (LRB) convenes.
July 3, 2001	Governor Rick Perry notifies Lieutenant Governor Bill Ratliff and Speaker Pete Laney that he will not call a special session to consider congressional redistricting.
July 24, 2001	LRB adopts new state senate districts (PLAN01188S) and new state house districts (PLAN01289H). These plans are submitted to the justice department for preclearance under the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
September 12, 2001	The Texas Supreme Court rules 8–1 that the Travis County district court has dominant jurisdiction to hear congressional redistricting cases in Texas. The court orders that similar proceedings in Harris County (Associated Republicans of Texas v. Cuellar and Rivas v. Cuellar) be abated and that the cases in Travis County (Del Rio v. Perry and Cotera v. Perry) be allowed to proceed to trial. Supreme Court Order Majority Opinion Dissent
September 17, 2001	Travis County district court begins hearings in the congressional cases of Del Rio v. Perry and Cotera v. Perry
October 3, 2001	District Judge Paul Davis issues an order adopting congressional districts for Texas (PLAN01065C) in the two cases pending in Travis County district court.
October 10, 2001	District Judge Paul Davis issues an order and findings modifying his previous congressional districts for Texas (PLAN01089C).
October 15, 2001	U.S. Department of Justice grants preclearance of the senate plan drawn by the LRB (PLAN01188S).
October 19, 2001	Texas Supreme Court vacates the order in the Del Rio congressional redistricting case and remands the case back to state district court after the U.S. district court deadline for the state district court to complete its work has passed.
October 22, 2001	U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas takes up the congressional case of Balderas v. State of Texas.
November 2, 2001	U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issues orders adopting State Board of Education districts (PLAN01018E) for the 2002 elections.
November 5–6, 2001	U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas hears oral arguments on the LRB senate district plan (PLAN01188S), which had been precleared by the justice department on October 15.
November 13–15, 2001	U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas holds hearings on the LRB's house redistricting plan.
November 14, 2001	U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issues an order adopting congressional districts (PLAN01151C) for the 2002 elections. Judgment Opinion
November 16, 2001	U.S. Department of Justice denies preclearance of the LRB house district plan.
November 28, 2001	U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas upholds the senate district plan adopted by the LRB (PLAN01188S). Judgment Opinion Concurring opinion of Judge Hannah U.S. district court orders a new house district plan (PLAN01369H), which modifies the LRB house plan to address justice department objections. Judgment Opinion

**2002**
June 17, 2002	U.S. Supreme Court affirms federal district court rulings in the Texas congressional and legislative redistricting cases.
November 5, 2002	Congressional elections conducted under a court-ordered plan drawn by a three-judge federal panel in Balderas v. State of Texas (PLAN01151C).

**2003**
January 14, 2003	78th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, convenes.
January 16, 2003	Senate Committee on Jurisprudence, with jurisdiction over redistricting, is appointed.
January 30, 2003	House Committee on Redistricting is appointed.
June 2, 2003	78th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, adjourns sine die without passing a congressional district plan.
June–August 2003	78th Texas Legislature, 1st and 2nd Called Sessions, adjourn without passing a congressional district plan.
August 2003	Two court actions, Raymond v. State of Texas and Barrientos v. State of Texas, are filed in federal court asserting various Voting Rights Act and constitutional challenges to the redistricting process and to the state's attempt to compel attendance of absent legislators.
August 7, 2003	Two state court actions, Van de Putte v. Dewhurst (Travis County district court) and In re Perry (Texas Supreme Court) are filed, relating generally to the duty of elected lawmakers to attend legislative sessions and the state's authority to compel their attendance.
August 11, 2003	Texas Supreme Court denies In re Perry petition for writ of mandamus with the notation "[t]he Court denies the petition for writ of mandamus without regard to the merits of the constitutional arguments."
October 12, 2003	78th Legislature, 3rd Called Session, adopts congressional district plan (PLAN01374C), which is submitted to the justice department on October 20, 2003, for preclearance under the Voting Rights Act.
December 11–23, 2003	GI Forum of Texas v. State of Texas and Perry, Session v. Perry, Jackson v. State of Texas, and a joint pleading consisting of Balderas v. State of Texas, Mayfield v. State of Texas, and Manley v. State of Texas are consolidated under the title of Session v. Perry and heard by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.
December 19, 2003	U.S. Department of Justice preclears the congressional redistricting plan (PLAN01374C) under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act.

**2004**
January 6, 2004	In Session v. Perry, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas upholds the validity of the congressional plan enacted by the Texas Legislature (PLAN01374C). Various parties in the Session case appeal the district court's decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.
April 2004	U.S. Supreme Court affirms a three-judge panel's decision in Barrientos v. State of Texas, holding that a change in senate practice to allow the senate to require a simple majority rather than a two-thirds vote for enactment of a redistricting plan does not require Section 5 preclearance under the Voting Rights Act.
October 18, 2004	U.S. Supreme Court remands the Texas congressional plan (PLAN01374C) to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas for further consideration in light of the June 2004 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Vieth v. Jubelirer, a partisan gerrymandering case from Pennsylvania.

**2005**
January 21, 2005	U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas hears oral arguments in the remand of Session v. Perry.
June 9, 2005	U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issues an opinion in the remand of Session v. Perry adhering to the court's earlier judgment that there is no basis to declare the plan invalid (PLAN01374C).
December 12, 2005	U.S. Supreme Court schedules a March 6, 2006, hearing on the LULAC v. Perry challenge to Texas' 2003 redrawing of congressional districts.

**2006**
February 14, 2006	Legal briefs filed in the U.S. Supreme Court for LULAC v. Perry. Brief for League of United Latin American Citizens et al. Brief for Travis County et al. Brief for Jackson et al. Brief for GI Forum et al. Brief for Appellee Charles Soechting in Support of Appellants Brief for State Appellees Rick v. Perry et al. Reply brief of Appellee Frenchie Henderson in Support of Appellants
June 28, 2006	U.S. Supreme Court issues a decision finding that the federal district court's judgment was partly correct and partly in error, and returns the case to the district court for further action. The Court finds that Congressional District 23 violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and that the creation of a new District 25 does not remedy the problem.
August 4, 2006	U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issues an opinion in the remanded LULAC v. Perry case ordering changes to five congressional districts (PLAN01438C) to address the Voting Rights Act violation.
November 7, 2006	Special elections for these five districts are held concurrent with the 2006 general election. The five court-ordered districts from PLAN01438C are incorporated into the legislature's 2003 plan (PLAN01374C) to create a statewide plan, PLAN01440C.