Little more than a month after lawmakers left Tallahassee, they’ll be back Tuesday for a special session to pass a congressional redistricting plan.
DeSantis vetoed a congressional map approved during the regular session that ended March 14, triggering the need for a special session as part of the once-a-decade reapportionment process.
DeSantis’ office on Wednesday released a proposed map that likely would increase the number of Republicans in the state’s congressional delegation. Legislative leaders earlier in the week had announced that DeSantis would propose the map. It is highly unusual for the governor to take the lead on proposing maps.
DeSantis’ proposed changes to North Florida’s Congressional District 5 have drawn the most controversy. The district, which currently stretches from Jacksonville to west of Tallahassee, was drawn in the past to help elect a Black candidate. It is held by U.S. Rep. Al Lawson, a Black Democrat.
Related: Democratic U.S. Rep. Lawson Denounces Gov. DeSantis For Redistricting Plan, Proposal Threatens His Job He Doesn’t Really Do Anyway
DeSantis on Tuesday said the district would be redrawn in a “race-neutral manner” and has proposed placing it in the Jacksonville area.
Democrats cried foul.
“As proven by the proposed map released today, Gov. DeSantis is hell-bent on eliminating congressional seats where Florida’s minority communities have the ability to elect representatives of their choice and he is imposing his own partisan political preferences on Florida’s congressional map,” Florida Democratic Party Chairman Manny Diaz said in a statement Wednesday.
But the governor’s plan received key backing in the Senate.
Related: Democratic U.S. Rep. Lawson Denounces Gov. DeSantis For Redistricting Plan, Proposal Threatens His Job He Doesn’t Really Do Anyway
Senate Reapportionment Chairman Ray Rodrigues, R-Estero, endorsed the map.
“After thoroughly reviewing the governor’s submission and a discussion with our legal counsel, I have determined that the governor’s map reflects standards the Senate can support,” Rodrigues wrote in a memo to senators.
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