Congressman James Gallagher has introduced a federal bill that would force states to identify and publicly map out communities before drawing congressional district lines, a direct response to California's bruising redistricting fight over the past year. The Representation Act would require states to document communities of interest ahead of time and explain, on the record, why any documented community gets split apart when final maps are adopted. Gallagher, whose district covers much of the North State, said the legislation is meant to keep politicians from being the ones who decide which communities stay together.
The bill, filed as H.R. 10089 on August 14, was referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary, according to BillTrack50. As reported by Action News Now, Gallagher said the redistricting issue extends beyond any one state or political party, framing it as a national problem rather than a partisan grievance. Under the bill, a documented community of interest generally could not be divided between congressional districts unless doing so is required by law or necessary to preserve another community of interest.
The Representation Act defines a community of interest as a geographically connected population sharing cultural, historical, economic, or social characteristics. It would also give residents a formal process to submit their own communities for consideration and would include a private right of action, letting people in a split community, or whose proposal was ignored, sue the state in federal court, per BillTrack50.
North State Groups Say Their Communities Get Overlooked
The Chico Builders Association is among the organizations supporting the bill. Katy Thoma, the association's executive director, said North State residents deserve representation that understands their region and economy, according to Action News Now. The North State encompasses agriculture, higher education, small businesses, natural resources, water, transportation, and rural communities, all factors Gallagher's bill would require states to weigh before redrawing lines.
In Glenn County, Superintendent of Schools Ryan Bentz said the county's communities are closely connected and should be considered together when congressional maps are drawn, per the same report. Paradise Mayor Steve Crowder said small towns like his deserve a voice when maps are drawn, noting that rural and fire-impacted communities face many of the same challenges. Gallagher said communities across the country deserve to know how redistricting decisions are made and why neighborhoods end up divided.
A Fight Rooted In California's Redistricting Battle
Gallagher's push for federal standards did not emerge in a vacuum. In November 2025, California voters approved Proposition 50, a constitutional amendment letting the Democratic-controlled state legislature bypass the independent Citizens Redistricting Commission and adopt new congressional maps through 2030, according to the California Secretary of State. Hoodline previously covered the Democratic redistricting push that targeted five GOP-held House seats and set the stage for this fight.
As Assembly Minority Leader that same month, Gallagher had already introduced Assembly Joint Resolution 23, a symbolic proposal to split 35 inland California counties into a separate state in protest of the Democratic redistricting effort, as detailed by CalMatters. Gallagher later won a June 2 special election to represent California's 1st Congressional District following the death of longtime Republican Rep. Doug LaMalfa, taking office June 11, according to Ballotpedia. Hoodline also reported on the overlapping special election ballots that decided the seat.
How The Federal Standard Would Compare To California's Rules
California already has its own definition of community of interest under Article XXI of the state constitution, describing a contiguous population sharing common social and economic interests while explicitly barring consideration of political parties, incumbents, or candidates, per the California Citizens Redistricting Commission. Nationally, 15 states currently require mapmakers to consider preserving communities of interest for state legislative boundaries, though definitions and procedures vary widely, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Gallagher's bill would direct the U.S. Election Assistance Commission to develop national standards and mapping tools to help states identify these communities. The commission, created under the Help America Vote Act of 2002, already functions as a clearinghouse offering local election administrators technical guidance and districting tools, per the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.
A Crowded Field Of Redistricting Proposals In Congress
Gallagher's measure is not the only redistricting reform bill moving through Congress. In September 2025, Senator Alex Padilla and Representative Zoe Lofgren introduced the Redistricting Reform Act of 2025, a competing Democratic proposal that would mandate 15-member independent commissions nationwide, according to the Office of Senator Alex Padilla. Unlike Padilla's bill, Gallagher's Representation Act focuses on transparency around community mapping regardless of who ultimately draws the lines.
Whether H.R. 10089 can gain traction in the House Judiciary Committee alongside Padilla's proposal remains an open question, as does how the Election Assistance Commission would technically standardize communities of interest without infringing on state districting authority. For now, the bill gives North State leaders in Chico, Paradise, and Glenn County a fresh vehicle to argue that their communities keep getting split apart by mapmakers in Sacramento who, they say, do not understand the region.
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