In an effort to carve up fairer congressional districts, the GOP-dominated Florida Senate on Monday offered renderings that would create a new Hispanic-heavy district in Central Florida, while The Villages could be the heart of the states second new district.
Florida Democrats were not pleased.
Meanwhile, a number of sitting members of Congress, such as Allen West, R-Plantation, and Steve Southerland, R-Panama City, could find they have many new constituents from across the aisle to focus on. Their district lines have been shifted to include, or exclude, political strongholds.
Still, political experts say it's too early to surmise what the Senate map, if approved in its current form,could mean for Florida's congressional delegation.
The Senate Reapportionment Committee released drafts of its once-a-decade proposed congressional and state Senate redistricting maps Monday.
The committee is expected to decide Dec. 6 if the changes outlined, roughly following the voter-approved Fair Districts amendments, should be proposed in a bill that would go before the full Senate in January.
Months ahead of past redistricting schedules and after the most open, transparent and interactive process in Florida history, the Senate committee has produced a product which is fair, sensible and faithful to the law, committee chairman Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville,stated in a release.
See the Senate proposal here.
Florida Democratic Party Chairman Rod Smith was quick to contend that the Senate map thwarts the will of the 63 percent of Florida voters who supported the Fair Districts amendments in 2010.
Today, Florida Republicans have taken a state -- which experts have long considered one of the most malapportioned states in the country -- and worsened it, Smith stated in a release. From virtually eliminating the seat currently held by the Democratic Senate leader, to avoiding placing a single Republican incumbent at risk, it is clear the Florida GOP are working overtime to protect their interest ahead of the interest of the people they serve.
The changes shift the Panhandle districts slightly west, compact District 5 and District 16 to just the east coast, yet maintain the wildly gerrymandered District 3, held by Corrine Brown, D-Jacksonville.
Brown and Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Miami, sued to block the voter-approved redistricting effort, contending that the new redistricting guidelines imposed by voters violate the U.S. Constitution's requirement that boundaries be drawn by state Legislature.
While some congressmen, like West, could lose areas of Republican strength, political experts say it's too early to gauge the overallpotential fallout.
Susan MacManus, a University of South Florida political science professor and political analyst who had her students submit redistricted maps to the Legislature as a course exercise this semester, voiced displeasure with the Senate's proposal. She noted that the satistics accompanying the release failed to include a breakdown of voter registration in the new districts.
"I have spent most of my time on the congressional map ... but suffice it to say that many citizens who are interested in the maps will be frustrated because there is no data that allow any assessment of whether partisan neutrality or incumbent protection prongs of Amendment 5 have been met," MacManus said.
According to a release from the Senate, the bills contain districts providing voting opportunities for racial and language minorities" in areas of fast-growing population in and around Orlando.
They were inspired by testimony and proposals from Hispanic groups and citizens based on exceptional increases in primarily Puerto Rican population in the area in recent years," the release states.
Consistent with Amendments 5 and 6 added by voters to the state constitution, the Senate plans protect minority voters from diminishment in the ability to elect candidates of their choice.
While the amendments require the new boundaries to be drawn along city, county and geographic lines, Gaetz stated that they are not always able to do so in dense urban areas or to avoid retrogression of existing racial or ethnic minority voting strength.
On the House side, redistricting members were expected to review the options next week, when legislators return for another committee week. However, Rep. Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, the chairman of the House redistricting effort, decided more time is needed to prepare the various options, said Katherine Betta, spokeswoman for House Speaker Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park.
Chairman Weatherford expects that the redistricting subcommittees will 'workshop' all of the various committee proposals during the December committee week, Betta noted. At this point, no members have filed individual redistricting bills. However, if any member bills are filed, they will be workshopped during the December committee week, as well.
Legislators received 157 map proposals from the public.
The final congressional Senate and House maps the House and Senate members settle upon must be approved by state and U.S. courts before the 2012 qualifying period -- June 4-8 -- for Congress and the Legislature.
Florida will pick up two congressional seats in 2012 because of its population growth over the past decade.
Under the Senate plan, District 26 would include all of Citrus and Sumter counties, along with northwestern Lake and central Marion counties.
The district would be 82 percent non-Hispanic white, 9 percent black and 7 percent Hispanic.
In District 27, non-Hispanic whites would make up 44 percent of the voters, yet the district would have more than 40 percent Hispanic voters.
District 27, under the Senate plan, would cover Osceola County, along with parts of Orange and Polk counties.
The Senate maps can be found here.
The public can continue to provide input: Call (850) 487-5757 or (855) FLA-MAPS; visit the committees Facebook page; email RedistrictFlorida@flsenate.gov ; tweet @Redistrict2012; post video feedback on www.youtube.com/SenateRedistricting; write 103 Senate Office Bldg., 404 South Monroe St., Tallahassee, FL 32399-1100; attendthe Dec. 6 committee hearing.
Among the proposed Congressional changes:
District 1: Jeff Miller, R-Chumuckla
Old: Includes all of Escambia, Holmes, Washington, and Santa Rosa counties and portions of Okaloosa and Walton counties.
New: All of Escambia, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa and Walton counties, and most of western Holmes County.
District 2: Steve Southerland, R-Panama City
Old: All of Bay, Calhoun, Dixie, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Jackson, Lafayette, Liberty, Suwannee, Taylor, and Wakulla counties, and portions of Jefferson, Leon, Walton, and Okaloosa counties.
New: All of Bay, Calhoun, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Jackson, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, Taylor, Wakulla and Washington counties, the southeastern portion of Holmes and western half of Madison counties.
District 3: Corrine Brown, D-Jacksonville.
Old: Portions of Alachua, Clay, Duval, Lake, Marion, Orange, Putnam, Seminole, and Volusia counties.
New: Portions of Alachua, Clay, Duval, Lake, Marion, Orange, Putnam and Seminole.
District 4: Ander Crenshaw, R-Jacksonville
Old: Concentrated mostly on Jacksonville, the district includes all of Baker, Columbia, Hamilton, Madison, Nassau, and Union counties and portions of Duval, Jefferson, and Leon counties.
New: All of Baker and Nassau counties and the majority of Duval County.
District 5: Rich Nugent, R-Spring Hill
Old: Running from Tampa to Orlando, the district includes all of Citrus, Hernando, and Sumter counties and most of Lake, Levy, and Pasco counties and portions of Marion and Polk counties.
New: All of Pasco and Hernando counties, with a portion of Polk County.
District 6: Cliff Stearns, R-Ocala
Old: Gerrymandered from the St. Johns River to Gainesville and Orlando, the district includes all of Bradford and Gilchrist counties and portions of Alachua, Clay, Duval, Lake, Levy, and Marion counties.
New: All of Union, Bradford, Gilchrist, Levy, Dixie, Lafayette, Suwanne, Hamilton and Columbia counties, the eastern portion of Madison and portions of Clay, Alachua and Marion counties.
District 7: John Mica, R-Winter Park
Old: Running from Orlando to Daytona Beach, the district includes all of Flagler and St. Johns counties, a very small portion of eastern Putnam County, parts of Volusia County, western Seminole County, and a portion of Orange County.
New: All of St. Johns and Flagler counties, most of Volusia and Putnam counties.
District 8: Daniel Webster, R-Orlando
Old: Parts of Orange County, Lake County, Marion County and Osceola County.
New: Southern Lake County, northern Polk County and western Orange County.
District 9: Gus Bilirakis, R-Palm Harbor
Old: Eastern Hillsborough County, northern parts of Pinellas County, and the Gulf coast of Pasco County.
New: Northern Hillsborough and Pinellas counties.
District 10: Bill Young, R-St. Petersburg
Old: The district is entirely within Pinellas County.
New: Still all within Pinellas County.
District 11: Kathy Castor, D-Tampa
Old: Portions of Hillsborough, Pinellas and Manatee counties.
New: Portions of Hillsborough, Pinellas and Manatee counties.
District 12: Dennis Ross, R-Lakeland
Old: Most of Polk County, eastern Hillsborough County and a piece of western Osceola County.
New: All of Hardee, Highland, Glades.
District 13: Vern Buchanan, R-Sarasota
Old: All of Sarasota, DeSoto, and Hardee counties and most of Manatee County, and a small part of Charlotte County.
New: All of Sarasota County, most of Manatee County and a portion of Charlotte County.
District 14: Connie Mack, R-Fort Myers
Old: All of Lee County and portions of Charlotte and Collier counties.
New: Most of Lee County, western Collier county.
District 15: Bill Posey, R-Rockledge
Old: All of Indian River County, most of Brevard and Osceola counties, and a small portion of Polk County.
New: All of Indian River and Brevard counties, and part of Orange county.
District 16: Tom Rooney, R-Tequesta
Old: Includes parts of Charlotte, Glades, Hendry, Highlands, Okeechobee, St. Lucie, Martin, and Palm Beach counties.
New: Northern Palm Beach County, eastern Okeechobee County and all of Martin and St. Lucie counties.
District 17: Frederica Wilson, D-Miami
Old: Southern parts of Broward County and the eastern parts of Miami-Dade County.
New: Southern parts of Broward County and the eastern parts of Miami-Dade County.
District 18: Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Miami
Old: Includes portions of Miami-Dade and Monroe counties, including most of Miami and all of the Florida Keys.
New: Portions of Miami-Dade and Monroe counties, including most of Miami and all of the Florida Keys.
District 19: Ted Deutch, D-Boca Raton
Old: Parts of Palm Beach and Broward counties, including the cities of Coral Springs, Margate, and Greenacres.
New: Parts of Palm Beach and Broward counties,
District 20: Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston
Old: Parts of eastern Broward and Miami-Dade counties, including Fort Lauderdale.
New: Parts of eastern Broward and Miami-Dade counties, including Miami Beach.
District 21: Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Miami.
Old: Located in Miami-Dade County and includes many of the western suburbs of Miami such as Hialeah, Olympia Heights, and Cutler.
New: Western Broward and Miami-Dade counties and eastern Hendry and Collier counties.
District 22: Allen West, R-Plantation
Old: Northern Broward County to the central Palm Beach County.
New: Eastern Palm Beach and Broward counties.
District 23: Alcee Hastings, D-Miramar
Old: Highly gerrymandered from Pompano Beach to Fort Pierce, the district includes parts of Broward, Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie counties.
New: Parts of eastern Hendry, southwest Palm Beach and northern Broward counties.
District 24: Sandy Adams, R-Orlando.
Old: Includes portions of Brevard, Orange, Seminole, and Volusia counties.
New: Includes portions of Orange, Seminole and Volusia counties.
District 25: David Rivera, R-Miami
Old: Includes parts of Collier, Miami-Dade, and Monroe counties.
New: Limited to just Miami-Dade counties.
District 26: Newly created, would include all of Citrus and Sumter counties, along with northwestern Lake and central Marion counties, under the Senate plan.
District 27: Newly created, would cover Osceola County, along with parts of Orange and Polk counties.
Reach Jim Turner at jturner@sunshinestatenews.com, (850) 727-0859, or (772) 215-9889.
