House committee votes to intervene in redistricting lawsuit

House Apportionment and Elections Committee hires Jackson attorney Rob McDuff

REP. TOMMY REYNOLD

JACKSON (Monday, March 21, 2011) – Members of the state House Apportionment and Elections Committee voted today to request the federal court allow the panel to intervene in a lawsuit the NAACP filed over legislative redistricting.

Committee Chairman Tommy Reynolds said intervening, or becoming a party in the lawsuit, will allow his panel to ensure the state House’s interests are heard. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People filed suit Thursday after the Senate failed to approve the House redistricting plan.

“We want to make sure that the interests of the state House are represented in this lawsuit,” said Reynolds, who led House efforts to redraw district lines based on the 2010 Census.

Speaker McCoy statement on legislative redistricting: ‘The matter is settled’

SPEAKER BILLY McCOY

JACKSON (Wednesday, March 16, 2011) – The state House has had it. Leaders are tired of the political games and stonewalling of Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant, who does not want the Senate to approve the House redistricting plan.

Bryant, who serves as president of the 52-member state Senate, is more interested in playing partisan politics with redistricting. He appears to be willing to sacrifice a solid, fair redistricting plan approved by the state House and drag this issue to court.

And Bryant appears ready to force taxpayers to foot the costly and unnecessary bill of funding two legislative elections, one under the current plan in November 2011 and another under new districts that likely would be held in November 2012.

Hmmm. Something doesn’t feel right about this. Let’s see.

Bobby Moak: The real reason Republicans oppose the House redistricting plan

REP. BOBBY MOAK

By BOBBY MOAK

JACKSON (Tuesday, March 8, 2011) – Here’s the truth about why Republicans are upset about the House redistricting plan. Listen to Arnie Hederman, chairman of the Mississippi Republican Party: “The Democrats in the House released their redistricting proposal yesterday, an unfair plan that happens to severely limit our ability to elect a Republican Speaker in 2012.”

Despite Gov. Barbour’s complaints and his misplaced comments about deviations and splits, Republicans are upset our plan does not gerrymander the districts to help them. The House plan is fair to everyone. Our plan doesn’t tilt the balance of power one way or the other.

There’s a conflict between the GOP members in the Legislature and GOP party activists.

The Clarion-Ledger: Senate panel rejects House redistricting plan

JACKSON (Tuesday, March 8, 2011) – Well, Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant got his way: A state Senate panel rejected the state House-approved redistricting plan AND passed a Senate map drawn by – guess who??? – Bryant himself.


We haven’t seen this kind of heavy-handed ruling and arm-twisting in the state Senate in more than 20 years. It seems that the lieutenant governor is intent on throwing himself full-force in executive AND legislative issues. This makes you wonder if he ever heard of “separation of powers.”

The Clarion-Ledger: Phil Bryant balks at plan to put Hattiesburg in majority black Senate district

JACKSON (Tuesday, March 8, 2011) – Witness this incredibly interesting report that paints Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant for what he is – an extremely partisan elected official intent on throwing redistricting into the courts and forcing voters to elect lawmakers for two years in a row.

The Clarion-Ledger reports on Bryant’s motives today. And this is something you have to read to believe. For example, Bryant is balking at a plan to create a black-majority state Senate district in black-majority Hattiesburg.

Why? Because he prefers his own redistricting map that would keep three GOP-friendly districts by splitting Hattiesburg.

The Clarion-Ledger: Contrary to Phil Bryant, redistricting needs oversight

JACKSON (Tuesday, March 8, 2011) – So, our esteemed Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant – who is throwing around his weight like no other lieutenant governor has done in more than 20 years – has a problem with the Voting Rights Act and Section 5.

Hmmm. Well, The Clarion-Ledger took Bryant to task – rightfully so. The Ledger, in an editorial published today, also commented on the blatant partisan politics the Republican Party has infused into the fight over redrawing House and Senate districts.

An excerpt:

It's beginning to be clear why Bryant may not want too close scrutiny of Mississippi's redistricting plans.

State House OKs redistricting plan

JACKSON (Friday, March 4, 2011) – After about an hour of debate, the state House approved its redistricting plan by a vote of 65-56. House members will return in session at 8 a.m. Saturday and could vote to send the plan to the state Senate for a vote.

The redistricting plan is the culmination of months of hard work by the redistricting committee and its staff. The end plan is fair to everyone – and adequately reflects population shifts over the past 10 years. The Clarion-Ledger was one of the first news organizations to file a report on the vote – as well as a roll call of the votes.

House Redistricting Plan: At a Glance

Here is a closer look at the state House redistricting proposal

Redrawing Districts: State House members redraw their 122 districts every 10 years using data from the U.S. Census Bureau; the new districts will reflect population shifts and changes over the past decade.

Voting Rights: Changes to state House districts must meet requirements of the Voting Rights Act of 1965; the U.S. Justice Department must approve a redistricting plan that passes the Legislature.

Public Hearings: The joint Legislative Committee on Legislative Reapportionment hosted 12 public hearings on redistricting during August and September 2010; four follow-up hearings took place Feb. 11 and 12 after the U.S. Census Bureau released finial population data.

State House to consider legislative redistricting plan fair to everyone

TOMMY REYNOLDS

JACKSON (Thursday, March 3, 2011) – A plan lawmakers will consider to redraw state House districts accurately reflects population shifts, protects the rights of minority voters statewide, protects communities of interest, and is fair to everyone.

The proposal, which would redraw all 122 state House districts, cleared the Joint Legislative Committee on Legislative Reapportionment and the House Legislative Reapportionment Committee today. The full House is expected to consider the proposal on Friday.

“This is a fair redistricting plan that uses the latest Census data to adequately reflect population changes over the past 10 years,” said state Rep. Tommy Reynolds, who co-chairs the Joint Legislative Committee on Legislative Reapportionment and chairs the House Legislative Reapportionment Committee.

A few notes about state House redistricting

JACKSON (Tuesday, March 1, 2011) – As soon as we can, we plan to post a quick overview of the state House redistricting plan – including maps that you can view and possibly download for your review and use. We suggest checking back with our Web site often for the latest news regarding redistricting.

Just to clarify how things will work: The Standing Joint Legislative Committee on Legislative Reapportionment will consider the state House and state Senate redistricting plans. After the joint committee gives its OK, the proposals will head respectively to the House and Senate Elections Committees.

Because we are focusing here solely on the House plan, let’s talk about what happens to that proposal. Once the House plan clears the joint committee and then the House Elections Committee, it will head to the full House for consideration. It’s possible the full House could consider the plan the same day or a day later than the full Elections Committee.