Texas House passes new congressional map (HB 4) after heated debate over racial impact

The Texas House voted 88-52 to pass House Bill 4, a mid-decade congressional redistricting plan, after an extended, often contentious floor debate in which lawmakers and witnesses traded legal arguments and sharply divergent claims about the map—s effects.

The bill—s author, Representative Hunter, urged the House to approve the plan, saying it follows recent case law and uses partisan political performance as a lawful factor. "The underlying goal of this plan is straightforward: improve Republican political performance," Hunter said while explaining the proposal and the sources counsel relied on.

Opponents argued the same features supporters say are lawful amount to a deliberate dilution of minority voting strength. Representative Turner, who offered an amendment to strike the bill—s enacting clause, called HB 4 "a radical, racially discriminatory, mid-decade redistricting plan" and urged members to kill the measure. Other Democrats warned the plan would crack and pack Black and Latino communities across Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin and the Rio Grande Valley and predicted prompt federal litigation.

Several members cited recent court decisions that the bill—s supporters also invoked. Hunter and others referenced…