Redistricting Committee Ready to Send Plan to Floor of Texas House

The Laredo (TX) Morning Times ^ | 05-06-03 | Staff Report

[Theodore R.]

Panel ready to send redistricting plan to House

Times staff reports and the Associated Press

AUSTIN - After days of impassioned public testimony on one plan to redraw congressional districts, the House Redistricting Committee seemed ready to send the House another plan that some members of the panel had not seen until it was introduced and accepted Monday.

But, after a short recess, the committee withdrew the substitute by Rep. Phil King, R-Weatherford, and planned to take it up again on Tuesday.

King spent the weekend polishing his map while at the same time listening to testimony against another map previously accepted by the committee.

"This map is new to the public and hasn't been seen by anyone except the Republicans who have been in the backroom working on it," said Raymond, a Laredo Democrat who sits on the committee. "We've had hearings on a map that is not going to be considered, and I believe never was going to be considered."

King said his map better reflects the voting patterns of Texas, while increasing the number of Republican districts to 20, leaving Democrats with 12 districts. It would also add two Hispanic districts and one black district.

The first plan accepted, offered by Committee Chairman Rep. Joe Crabb, R-Kingwood, also would increase the number of Republican districts to 20.

Texas currently has 17 Democrats and 15 Republicans in the U.S. House, but Majority Leader Tom DeLay believes there should be 20 Republicans to reflect the state's GOP majority. A federal court drew Texas' congressional districts after state lawmakers failed to do so in 2001. That left open the possibility that the districts could be redrawn by the Texas Legislature.

DeLay has implored the Texas Legislature to redraw the lines, saying they have a constitutional duty to do so. Democrats argue that they are not required by the Constitution to redraw district lines.

Some lawmakers have said they're concerned that another map, being kept secret by DeLay, will be the final version to get to the floor - too late for public testimony.

Crabb introduced his map last week, angering many Austin Democrats who say they won't be adequately represented by splitting up Travis County. They showed up at the weekend hearings in droves, along with a handful of Texas congressmen arguing against taking up redistricting.

Crabb repeatedly pounded his gavel, demanding order from the rowdy crowd.

Delay and other Republicans have touted their redistricting plan as a boon to minorities in the state because it would add up to two Hispanic districts and one black district.

But Democrats have argued that the loss of five Democrats, who historically vote in favor of minority interests, would counteract the addition of minority members.

05/06/03

[ken5050]

Very interesting......DeLay is just awesome.....please ping me when you post further on this topic.....thanks..BTW....what's the chance that this will will encourage or induce some Dem Texas congress critters to cross the aisle....I know Marty Frost isn't..but there are a few pretty conservative ones....

[deport]

The real questions lie in what will the Texas Senate do.... It may never see the light of day over in that body....

Theodore have you seen anything as to what the Senate reaction maybe?

[deport]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/906299/posts?

Redistricting plan has Democrats in uproar (Texas) ^

[Theodore R.]

Under state Senate rules, as you probably know, it takes 21/31 senators to bring an issue to the floor. Then it takes only 16 votes to pass a bill. If the 12 Democrats stick together, along with a defecting liberal Republican here or now, they can keep the redistricting from being voted on in 2003. That is the expected scenario.

Senators such as former Acting Lt. Gov. Bill Ratliff of Mt. Pleasant in East Texas seem to ally with Democrats on redistricting. Ratliff was a member of the Legislative Redistricting Board in 2001-2002 and sided with the Democrats in redrawing the state legislature. Ratliff and former Democrat House Speaker Pete Laney of Hale Center were outvoted 3-2 by the Republican majority on the Redistricting Board: then Land Commissioner David Dewhurst, then Attorney General John Cornyn, and current Comptroller Carole Strayhorn.

The "Rodney King Republicans" seem likely to keep the TX congressional majority Democrat.

[deport]

The last I'd seen/heard was sometime back where one of the south Texas Senators had mentioned he maybe for bringing it to the floor if it included another South Texas district. But that still left one vote short if all the Pubs voted together... I"m guessing this will never surface in the Senate......

[Theodore R.]

The House plan would divide Democrat Laredo (now in the Bonilla district) between two existing Democrats. That is what Rep. Richard Raymond, D-Laredo, strongly opposes. So Hispanics are divided over the plan. Perhaps a black member could be induced to support the plan, for it would create a potentially new black district. It really takes a supermajority to do anything in the TX Senate, much as with the U.S. Senate.