The Senate Governmental Affairs Committee will begin public discussion on a new Congressional district map on Friday. Chairman Caleb Kleinpeter says several proposals were previously filed in case the Supreme Court ruled during the legislative session that the current Congressional map is unconstitutional. Kleinpeter says Friday’s meeting will give the public a chance to weigh in.
“Give the public the opportunity to come to the able and to discuss the maps and say why they’re for it or against it,” Kleinpeter said.
Three state senators have bills that propose a new Congressional map.
Republican West Monroe Senator Jay Morris’ is proposing to eliminate either Cleo Fields or Troy Carter’s district, and he has a bill that would eliminate both majority-minority districts.
Senator Ed Price, a Democrat from Gonzales, has a proposal that attempts to keep the two majority Black Districts.
Kleinpeter’s legislation would revert the Congressional map back to the one approved by the legislature in 2022. It has five Republican districts to one Democrat district.
Kleinpeter expects Senate Governmental Affairs to approve a new Congressional district map early next week.
“Then we can hear it on the floor and send it on over to the House, and that gives them 2 to 3 weeks to pass it out of there,” Kleinpeter explained.
State lawmakers are facing a June 1st deadline as that’s when the current legislative session must end. Kleinpeter says there are several factors to consider when drawing up a new Congressional district map and one of them is how the population in the state is shifting from 2020 to 2030.
“What we also have to look at is, we will be redistricting again in the next 4 to 5 years, with the new Census,” Kleinpeter noted.