Kentucky holds redistricting special session
August 31, 2013
By Geoff Pallay
LEXINGTON, Kentucky: Kentucky held a week-long legislative session as a last-ditch attempt to address redistricting. Gov. Steve Beshear signed the redistricting bill into law on August 23 after it garnered 35-2 approval by the Senate and 79-18 in the House.[1]
Final approval must now come from three federal judges tasked with overseeing the process, who stated beforehand they would not hesitate to create their own maps should the legislature fail to reach an agreement. If accepted by the three-judge panel, the new boundaries will take effect following the 2014 election. Critics from Northern Kentucky believe the maps do not proportionally reflect the population growth of their region: though it rose 13 percent in the 2010 census, the 3 counties gained no further legislative representation.[2]
The legislature had previously struggled to come to an agreement over new maps because of the split nature of the two chambers. Republicans are the majority in the Senate while Democrats control the House.
See also
|
Footnotes
| |||||
