[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 20 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 20
Establishing the Select Committee on Electoral Reform.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 7, 2025
Ms. Perez (for herself and Mr. Golden of Maine) submitted the following
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Rules
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Establishing the Select Committee on Electoral Reform.
Whereas approval of Congress is unacceptably low, and this disapproval is in
part caused by the structure of Congress and how it is elected;
Whereas Americans are increasingly turning to electoral reform to improve their
experience of politics and elections, including by adopting proportional
representation, ranked choice voting, open primaries, and various
redistricting reform measures;
Whereas article I, section 4 of the Constitution of the United States gives
Congress the power to enact laws governing the time, place, and manner
of elections for Senators and Members of the House of Representatives;
Whereas the law commonly known as the Uniform Congressional District Act, passed
in 1967, requires every State to elect its delegation to the House of
Representatives exclusively from single-member districts; and
Whereas the law commonly known as the Permanent Apportionment Act of 1929
established that the House of Representatives would permanently have 435
representatives, a departure from the earlier practice of adding members
after each census to reflect the Nation's growing population: Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved,
SECTION 1. ESTABLISHMENT.
There is hereby established the Select Committee on Electoral
Reform (hereafter referred to as the ``Select Committee'').
SEC. 2. COMPOSITION.
(a) Appointment of Members.--The Speaker shall appoint 14 Members
to the Select Committee, 7 of whom shall be appointed after
consultation with the minority leader.
(b) Designation of Co-Chairs.--The Speaker shall designate one
Member to serve as co-chair of the Select Committee. The minority
leader shall designate one member to serve as co-chair of the Select
Committee.
(c) Vacancies.--Any vacancy in the Select Committee shall be filled
in the same manner as the original appointment.
SEC. 3. DUTIES.
(a) In General.--The duties of the Select Committee are the
following:
(1) To examine the current methods by which citizens of the
United States elect Members of Congress.
(2) To examine alternatives to these methods to determine
how such alternatives would affect the responsiveness,
accountability, and functionality of Congress, including--
(A) adopting multi-member congressional districts
with proportional representation;
(B) adjusting the number of Members of the House of
Representatives;
(C) adopting alternative methods of voting, such as
ranked-choice voting and cumulative voting, as well as
changes to ballot design such as fusion voting, in
which parties may nominate candidates also nominated by
another party;
(D) holding open and nonpartisan primaries; and
(E) establishing independent congressional
redistricting commissions.
(3) To conduct hearings to take testimony and receive
evidence from witnesses selected for their relevant expertise,
including--
(A) political scientists;
(B) current and former Members of Congress;
(C) officials from States and local governments
that have previously adopted one or more of the
alternative methods to be examined by the Select
Committee; and
(D) officials from countries which currently use
one or more of the alternative methods to be examined
by the Select Committee.
(4) To examine Federal barriers to State experimentation
with alternative electoral systems, including the Act entitled
``An Act for the relief of Doctor Ricardo Vallejo Samala and to
provide for congressional redistricting'', approved December
14, 1967 (2 U.S.C. 2c), commonly known as the Uniform
Congressional District Act, and its requirement that States use
single-member districts.
(b) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the first meeting of the
Select Committee, the Select Committee shall issue a final report to
Congress and the President, and shall include in the report such
recommendations as it considers appropriate.
SEC. 4. MEETINGS.
(a) Meetings.--The Select Committee shall hold its first meeting
not later than 30 days after all of its members have been appointed,
and shall meet at the call of the co-chairs or a majority of its
members.
(b) Quorum.--Twelve members of the Select Committee shall
constitute a quorum, but a lesser number may hold hearings.
SEC. 5. RULES AND PROCEDURES.
(a) In General.--Except as otherwise provided in this section, the
Select Committee shall have the authorities and responsibilities of,
and shall be subject to the same limitations and restrictions as, a
standing committee of the House, and shall be deemed a committee of the
House for all purposes of law or rule.
(b) Applicability of General Rules for Standing Committees.--Rules
X and XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives shall apply to
the Select Committee except as follows:
(1) Service on the Select Committee shall not count against
the limitations in clause 5(b)(2) of rule X.
(2) Clause 2(m)(1)(B) of rule XI, clause 2(m)(3) of rule
XI, and section 3(r) of House Resolution 5, One Hundred
Nineteenth Congress, shall not apply to the Select Committee,
but the Select Committee may recommend subpoenas and
depositions and submit such recommendations to the relevant
standing committee.
(3) Clause 2(d) of rule X shall not apply to the Select
Committee.
(c) No Legislative Jurisdiction.--The Select Committee shall not
have legislative jurisdiction and shall have no authority to take
legislative action on any bill or resolution.
SEC. 6. FUNDING.
To enable the Select Committee to carry out the purposes of this
resolution--
(1) the Select Committee may use the services of staff of
the House; and
(2) the Select Committee shall be eligible for interim
funding pursuant to clause 7 of rule X of the Rules of the
House of Representatives.
SEC. 7. TERMINATION.
The Select Committee shall terminate 30 days after filing the final
report under section 3.
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