The heads of the House and Senate redistricting committees on Tuesday asked their staff to start developing remedial plans to fix the congressional redistricting plan but added a caveat: they must refrain from any conversation with congressmen and their staff and may not discuss the maps with anyone other than the legislature's legal counsel.
The warnings from state Sen. Sen. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton Republican, and Rep. Richard Corcoran, R-Trinity, come after legislators were stung by a ruling from Circuit Court Judge Terry Lewis last month who concluded that lawmakers allowed Republican political consultants to hijack the redistricting process in 2012 and create a shadow process that "made a mockery" of legislators claims of transparency.
Legislators have convened a special session starting Thursday to fix two districts on the congressional map that Lewis ruled were drawn with unconstitutional partisan intent and were invalid.
Galvano, a former state House member who did not serve in the Legislature when the first congressional map was passed, said in an email to members said he has asked staff "to refrain from discussing their map drawing efforts with anyone outside of the Legislature except our legal counsel and not to share their work product with any outside interests."
Corcoran, R-Trinity, said that "any member wishing to offer a plan or amendment should be prepared to explain in committee or on the House floor the identity of every person involved in drawing, reviewing, directing, or approving the proposal; the criteria used by the map drawers; and the sources of any data used in the creation of the map other than the data contained in MyDistrictBuilder."
Meanwhile, both expect a quick fix to the map -- a sign they are unlikely to make any significant changes -- and the session is expected to be adjourned on Monday or Tuesday.
Here's Cororan's memo. Download Procedure for Special Session on Congressional Reapportionment
Here's Galvano's memo:
From: Secretary of the Senate
Sent: Tuesday, August 05, 2014 12:12 PM
To: +SDIST26 (Sen & Staff); +SDIST31 (Sen & Staff); +SDIST07 (Sen & Staff); +SDIST09 (Sen & Staff); +SDIST24 (Sen & Staff); +SDIST03 (Sen & Staff); +SDIST10 (Sen & Staff)
Cc: !ALL SENATE; Ward, Bob
Subject: Memo from Chair Galvano
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THE FLORIDA SENATE COMMITTEE ON REAPPORTIONMENT Location 103 Senate Office Building Mailing Address 404 South Monroe Street Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1100 Professional Staff: John Guthrie, Staff Director Senate’s Website: www.flsenate.gov |
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Memorandum |
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To: |
President Don Gaetz, All Senators |
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From: |
Senator Bill Galvano, Chair of the Senate Reapportionment Committee |
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Subject: |
Schedule and Procedure for Special Session on Congressional Reapportionment |
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Date: |
August 5, 2014 |
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This morning I filed Senate Bill 2-A, which merely reenacts the congressional plan adopted by the Legislature in 2012. In essence, it is a “shell bill” that allows the bill to be introduced and referenced. It is also intended to be the Senate’s legislative vehicle for enacting legislation consistent with the Joint Proclamation issued August 4, 2014.
In order to facilitate the process for the upcoming Special Session, and to meet the accelerated timeline imposed by Judge Lewis in his August 1 ruling, it will be necessary for the Senate to proceed deliberately and expeditiously. In that spirit, I have asked the staff of the Reapportionment Committee, in consultation with our legal counsel and in collaboration with their House counterparts, to begin work on a remedial plan that meets the requirements of our State Constitution and federal law and addresses the circuit court’s concerns with Districts 5 and 10, along with any necessary conforming changes to impacted districts. I have additionally directed our staff to refrain from discussing their map drawing efforts with anyone outside of the Legislature except our legal counsel and not to share their work product with any outside interests in advance of the public release of the remedial plan.
To ensure the Legislature fulfills its obligation set out in the Joint Proclamation, I had suggested to President Gaetz and respectfully request that President Gaetz, the full Senate, and the Committee on Reapportionment consider and adopt the following proposed schedule with amendment deadlines:
· Thursday, August 7
o 12:00 noon – Special Session convenes.
o 15 minutes after adjournment – Special Order Calendar group meets to place Senate Bill 2-A on the Special Order Calendar, if received, for Monday, August 11, and Tuesday, August 12 (if necessary).
o 2:30 - 6:00 PM – Simultaneous meeting of the Senate Committee on Reapportionment and the House Select Committee on Redistricting in 412 Knott. At this meeting we will hear a briefing by legal counsel regarding Judge Lewis’ July 10 and August 1 orders and discuss the options available to the Legislature as well as hear public testimony. All Senators are invited, but not required to attend.
- · Friday, August 8
o 8:15 AM – Amendment deadline for amendments to be filed to Senate Bill 2-A for the Senate Reapportionment Committee meeting, including a “Chairman’s Amendment” drafted at the direction of the committee. Please give due consideration to the time it takes to process and file a redistricting plan as an amendment and allow members ample opportunity to review any proposed alternative maps.
o 10:15 AM - 6:00 PM – Senate Committee on Reapportionment meeting in 412 Knott.
- · Saturday, August 9
o 5:00 PM – Amendment deadline for filing timely floor amendments to Senate Bill 2-A on the Special Order Calendar for Monday, August 11.
- · Monday, August 11
o 10:00 AM – Convening Senate Session no earlier than today to consider Senate Bill 2-A on the Special Order Calendar.
- · Tuesday, August 12, through Friday, August 15
o Senate Session and Conference Committee meetings, if necessary.
If you have any questions, thoughts, or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.
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