Florida Supreme Court Shoots Down Senate Redistricting Plan, Setting Up Special Session

On Friday, last day of the legislative session, the Florida Supreme Court offered a split decision to the state Legislatures redistricting plan, ruling unanimously that the plan for the House seats passed constitutional muster but the plan for the Senate lines failed to do so.

While the court ruled 7-0 that the House districts were constitutional, five of the justices ruled against the proposed Senate map, while two -- Chief Justice Charles Canady and Justice Ricky Polston -- supported the lines the Legislature passed.

Writing for the majority of the court, Justice Barbara Pariente cited two constitutional amendments Florida voters approved in 2010 that changed how the Legislature could draw up districts in the Sunshine State. Arguing the new districts contained too many minority voters or did not adhere to the geographic requirements mandated by the amendments, the court found that eight of the 40 state Senate districts were unconstitutional.

With the advent of the Fair Districts amendment, the Florida Constitution now imposes more stringent requirements as to apportionment than the United States Constitution and prior versions of the state Constitution, Pariente wrote in the 234-page opinion the court released on Friday.

Gov. Rick Scott will now have to call a special session of the Legislature specifically to tackle redistricting.

In the Senate the ruling is under review, according to Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, but he said that incoming Senate President Don Gaetz's, R-Niceville, will review the matter.

"Once the governor convenes us for an extraordinary session, the Senate Committee on Reapportionment, led by Sen. Gaetz, will work diligently to adjust the areas that the court has expressed concern over, and we will, once again, do this in an open and transparent manner, Haridopolos stated in a release.

After the ruling, House Speaker Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park, praised the House team -- led by incoming Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel -- that handled the redistricting process.

"We appreciate the preparation, thorough review and thoughtfulness of the courts response. Throughout the redistricting process, the House demonstrated a commitment to following the letter of the law, and I am proud of Speaker-designate Weatherford and all of our members who worked so hard to craft this new map, Cannon said. We understand the difficulty of the courts duty to review the application of new constitutional language.We appreciate the court providing input as their guidance will provide a great deal of help moving forward."

Weatherford complimented the work of his committee on the House-crafted maps.

"The House map is the product of an unprecedented level of public outreach, committee meetings with members on both sides of the aisle, and a careful and thorough review of our constitutional redistricting requirements," Weatherford stated in a release. "Our map prioritizes sound principles over politics and Im proud of my colleagues for producing a legally compliant map that accurately reflects the wishes of residents from around the state.

Senate Democratic Leader Nan Rich of Weston cheered the rulings in a statement on Friday.

The ruling by the Florida Supreme Court rejecting as unconstitutional the proposed Senate district lines underlined all of the warnings which went unheeded during the Redistricting Committee hearings and the ultimate vote, said Rich. The Supreme Court saw the same troubling issues of discrimination and favoritism as the Senate Democrats who voted against these maps, and which go against every fiber of the Constitutions new anti-gerrymandering amendments overwhelmingly passed by the majority of Floridas voters. I urge the Senate, as it returns in a special session to redraw the rejected maps, to carefully heed that will, and submit fairer maps as the voters demanded.

House Majority Leader Carlos Lopez-Cantera, R-Miami, weighed in as well, and threw a jab at the House Democrats.

The Florida Supreme Court has spoken loud and clear. Todays unanimous decision affirming the constitutionality of the Florida House of Representatives' redistricting map is a testament to our hard-working Republican leadership and their insistence to follow the law," Lopez-Cantera said.

We were continually falsely accused by House Democrats of injecting partisanship into the reapportionment process. It is evident now that their only goal was to advance their own political agenda, in contrast to our commitment to produce a constitutional House map for the people of Florida.We followed the law and respected the will of the voters, and today the House Democrats claims and the attacks of outside partisan groups about the House map have been completely and utterly discredited by the Supreme Court of Florida."

Reach Jim Turner at jturner@sunshinestatenews.com. Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com. They both can be reached at (850) 727-0859