E-mail update from Indiana State Senator Tom Wyss (15th-R), sent January 11, 2010:
Elections committee approves bill creating guidelines for drawing legislative districts
Bill seen as ‘first step’ in providing historic, objective reforms
Members of the Senate Committee on Elections today took the first step toward redistricting reform in Indiana by approving legislation establishing in law, objective guidelines the state would follow in creating legislative boundaries after the 2010 census.
“Having new objective principles in place will be useful when lawmakers reconstruct legislative districts next session,” said State Sen. Tom Wyss, a member of the committee. “This is an important step forward in a lengthy legislative process.”
Wyss said Senate Bill 80 will provide lawmakers with the following guidelines to keep in mind when drawing legislative districts in the future:
- Preservation of traditional neighborhoods;
- Preservation of local communities of interests;
- Protection of minority voting rights;
- Simply-shaped, compact districts; and
- Respect for county and precinct lines.
Senate Republicans recently unveiled a package of sweeping redistricting reforms that included the new guidelines, an in-depth bipartisan study of best practices of other states and the establishment of an independent commission to draw both state and federal districts in Indiana.Senate Bill 80 passed the committee by a vote of 6-2 and now moves to the full Senate for further consideration.
The Senator’s website