House Redistricting Committee members strongly rejected last-minute remapping efforts offered by the group behind the voter-approved method to reduce political gerrymandering as new congressional and legislative lines were pushed forward on Friday.
Committee members, whose proposals now head to a full floor vote next week, criticized the offerings from the Fair Districts coalition, saying the group has been noticeably absent since the Legislature conducted a statewide tour last summer to gather input on the once-a-decade redistricting based upon the changes required in Amendments 5 and 6.
Rep. Chris Dorworth, R-Heathrow, called it frustrating that the group accusing them of not being transparent, submitted maps 60 hours before the meeting.
The committees legal consultants were even more critical, claiming the coalitions maps would reduce minority representation and violate the 2010 voter-supported amendments, which prohibit lawmakers from drawing state House, Senate and congressional lines that favor any incumbent or political party, keep counties and cities within a single district whenever possible, and protect minority voting strengths.
Committee Chairman Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, said he agreed, as a courtesy, to submit the map proposals from the coalition to the committee.He had received the coalition maps earlier in the week.
The coalition -- comprised of the League of Women Voters, the National Council of La Raza and Common Cause of Florida -- had a lobbyist at the meeting, but declined to participate in the workshop.
In a 12-page letter to Weatherford on Thursday, the coalition stated that their proposals comply with the Fair Districts amendments, while those under consideration by the committee and already approved by the Senate fail to comply with the wishes of the voters.
Although we have only had a day to analyze the committees latest congressional and House maps, it appears that they, like previous submissions and like those passed by the Senate, do not comply with the Fair Districts amendments, the coalition stated in the letter.
Specifically, it appears that all maps under consideration were drawn with an intent to gain partisan advantage and/or to protect incumbents.
The coalition, which has accused legislators of favoring incumbents and ignoring public input since before last summers statewide workshop, goes on to claim that the Legislatures proposals fail to use geographic boundaries where feasible, as is mandated by the amendments.
Moreover, our districts contain far more whole counties and whole cities than do the Legislatures proposed maps, the coalition continued.
Weatherford called the coalitions map proposals a January surprise.
When we first put out our maps, people recognized the amount of incumbents that would be running against each other. Many members within this room did not believe these were going to be the real maps; they thought surely members would not draw maps that would take themselves out of their districts, Weatherford said.
They thought surely there'll be some January surprise or February surprise that would come into the process and will save everyone.
Little did we know that not only were we going to stay the course and do what we said we were going to do since March (2011), that the January surprise would come from the very organization that told us that they didnt think wed be transparent or open; or that we wouldnt follow the law.
According to a Miami Herald report on Thursday, the redistricting lines for the House could pit at least 38 of the 120 sitting House members into races with a colleague.
For anyone to say --and this is what I took most issue with in that letter --for anyone to say that any type of political and/or incumbent protection was considered in this map is just wrong, Weatherford said.
Committee staff noted that the House proposals for new House districts would split 30 counties, while the coalition's effort has lines cross within 32 counties. In the congressional map, where the state is picking up two additional seats, the House proposal splits 21 counties, while the coalition splits 22.
The coalition map further has lines that cut across 70 municipal lines, while the House effort causes 75 municipalities to have more than one representative.
The committees legal staff claimed the coalition even failed to follow Section 5 of the federal Voting Rights Act, which requires that district lines do not discriminate against minority communities.
If this map had been proposed on Dec. 6, or any day after that, I would have advised this committee that it violates Amendment 5; it violates the Voting Rights Act, said George Meros, the committees legal consultant.
In October, Weatherford set a Dec. 5 deadline for outside groups to submit proposals on how to redraw the states congressional and legislative districts. Just in Central Florida, the coalition map would shift 80,000 African-Americans from a minority-majority district into surrounding solidly white majority districts, Meros noted.
That cannot be justified by me as a matter of law or as a matter of common sense, Meros said. It ignores public testimony, it ignores tier one standards, it ignores what the proponents said would never be a diminishment.
Miguel de Grandy, also legal counsel for the committee, said the coalitions map could have returned Floridas Hispanic minority-majority districts to pre-1992 levels, when there were seven seats considered Hispanic.
The current district lines, set in 2002, created 11 Hispanic minority-majority seats. The coalitions plan would create nine Hispanic minority-majority seats.
Under the House map, Democrats could pick up two to four seats, based upon voter registration numbers.
Currently, Republicans hold 19 of the states 25 seats.
Due to Floridas increased population in the past decade, two additional seats will be created, one each in Central and South Florida.
The Central Florida seat would have a Hispanic minority-majority and -- while the political make-up is mixed -- is considered the Democrats to lose.The South Florida seat is expected to go Republican.
Competitive seats now held by Reps. Dan Webster, R-Winter Park, Sandy Adams, R-Orlando, and Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Miami, would pick up more Republican voters, while re-election efforts in 2012 for Rep. Allen West, R-Plantation, and Rep. Steve Southerland, R-Panama City, may be considered more competitive.
The committee proposal will now go before the full House next week.
The Senate, which has already approved its maps, is expected to quickly approve the House proposals.
The Florida Supreme Court would then have 30 days to review the maps before they are presented to the governor.
The process is already being fought in the courts. A challenge is anticipated once the maps are approved.
Reach Jim Turner at jturner@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 215-9889.
