The House Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting voted 12-6 to report House Bill 4 favorably without amendments, advancing the governor-backed mid‑decade congressional map to the full House.

The vote came during a Saturday morning session the chair called to order at 9:02 a.m.; the clerk later recorded there were 12 ayes and 6 nays and the motion prevailed. The chair moved that HB 4 be “reported favorably without amendments with the recommendation that it do pass and be printed.” The committee then called the roll and recorded the vote.

The bill redraws U.S. congressional districts for the state. Democratic members sharply objected during the committee discussion, saying the map dismantles multiple majority‑minority districts and violates the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Representative Turner said the committee meeting, which was announced less than 10 hours earlier, was “a travesty” and called the map “a discriminatory and racially motivated congressional map.”

Representative Manuel said earlier redistricting conflicts in 2002 and 1994 had harmed his area’s representation and economic engines, and warned the current map would break up “communities of interest.” Representative Wu said the process had been conducted "in secret and in the dark," criticized the lack of clear justification for mid‑decade redistricting and urged inquiry into the governor’s intent. Representative Feister Rosenthal warned the action was another demonstration of why the Voting Rights Act mattered and said public comment overwhelmingly opposed the maps.

Democrats pointed to a Department of Justice letter referenced in the discussion and to published statements by proponents that an outside legal team drew the maps; several speakers said proponents had claimed not to know who prepared the specific lines. Representative Turner noted the scale of representation affected, saying the bill would change how “more than 30,000,000 Texans will be represented.”

Committee procedure: the chair laid out the bill as pending business, asked for amendments and comments, heard several Democratic members criticize the map, then moved the favorable report. The clerk called the roll and the motion passed. The chair then adjourned the committee subject to the call of the chair at 9:27 a.m.

Votes at a glance: the clerk recorded the motion to report HB 4 favorably without amendments as passing 12 ayes to 6 nays; the transcript records individual roll‑call entries for members and the final tally. The committee’s favorable report sends HB 4 to the full House for further consideration.