The Florida Legislature will meet in special session in August to deal with congressional redistricting, the leaders of the two chambers announced Monday.
Senate President Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, and House Speaker Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, announced the special session will start in Tallahassee on Monday, Aug. 10, and conclude Friday, Aug. 21. Earlier this month, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that eight of the current congressional districts fail to pass constitutional muster after voters amended the state Constitution in 2010 to limit gerrymandering.
Gardiner and Crisafulli sent out a memo to members Monday explaining their initial plan, which is to have staff work with attorneys to create the first draft of the districts while limiting the role of legislators, members of Congress, political consultants and political parties.
“In preparation for the Legislature’s important work during an expedited special session, we are instructing professional staff of the House Select Committee on Redistricting and the Senate Committee on Reapportionment to work collaboratively with House and Senate legal counsel to develop a base map that complies with the Florida Supreme Court’s recent ruling and all of the relevant legal standards,” they noted in their joint memo. “This map proposal will be drafted solely by staff in collaboration with counsel, without our participation or the participation of any other member, and will be provided simultaneously to all members and the public prior to the convening of the special session. Our specific direction to staff is to begin their work by redrawing Congressional Districts 5, 13, 14, 21, 22, 25, 26, and 27 in compliance with the recent ruling of the Florida Supreme Court and to make any necessary conforming changes consistent with Article III, Section 20, of the Florida Constitution.
“We believe that presenting a base map that follows the Supreme Court order to you and the public will make it easier to discuss all legislative actions in an open and transparent manner,” Gardiner and Crisafulli added. “On Tuesday, Aug. 11, the House Select Committee on Redistricting and the Senate Committee on Reapportionment will meet jointly to receive a briefing from legal counsel regarding the recent judicial determination that eight of Florida’s 27 congressional districts must be revised. At the same meeting, committee staff will present and explain the base map developed to comply with the Supreme Court ruling and all relevant legal standards.
"We are specifically instructing staff of the House Select Committee on Redistricting and the Senate Committee on Reapportionment to avoid any assessment of the political implications of any map either before or during the special session, except where consideration of political data is legally required to assess compliance with state and federal minority voting-rights provisions,” the leaders added. “Consistent with Section 11.26(1), Florida Statutes, we are instructing redistricting staff to have no interactions with any member of the Legislature, a member’s staff or aide, political consultants or others concerning their work on the base map prior to its public release. Furthermore, staff will be instructed to have no interactions with any member of Congress, any congressional staffer or aide, any political consultant, or any state or national political party personnel at any time before or during the special session.
“If any member of the House or Senate suggests to staff that a plan be changed with the intent to favor or disfavor any incumbent or political party, staff should disregard the suggestion entirely and report in writing the conversation directly to the speaker or the president, respectively," the legislative leaders continued. “After the base map is introduced, every member will have a full opportunity to review, discuss, debate, and offer amendments to the base map.”
Gardiner and Crisafulli also called on members to be careful with documentation and asked for members to send their communications on redistricting to their offices.
“In its recent decision, the Florida Supreme Court made procedural recommendations to conduct all meetings in which the Legislature makes decisions on the new map in public and to record any nonpublic meetings for preservation,” the leaders wrote in the memo. “While every citizen of Florida has a guaranteed constitutional right to petition their government, we encourage members to be circumspect and to avoid all communications that reflect or might be construed to reflect an intent to favor or disfavor a political party or an incumbent.”
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN.
