Florida Senate partisan admission

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TALLAHASSEE -- In an unprecedented concession, the Florida Senate on Tuesday admitted it violated the state constitution by allowing partisan politics and the protection of incumbents to guide the drawing of state Senate districts in 2012.

As a result of that admission, legislative leaders agreed to a second special session on redistricting that will start in mid-October and involve the redrawing of district lines for the 40 state Senate seats that were being challenged in a lawsuit.

The Senate redistricting session will follow a 12-day special session that begins Aug. 10, where lawmakers will be redrawing districts lines for eight of the 27 congressional seats, after the Supreme Court ruled the 2012 redistricting map violated the state constitutional prohibition against partisan line-drawing.

The Senate districts faced a similar legal challenge in a trial that was set to start Sept. 25, with the trial judge signaling the Senate map could face the same fate as the congressional map since both came from “the same kitchen.”

Against the backdrop of the looming trial and the July 9 court ruling on the congressional districts, House and Senate leaders reached an agreement to redraw the Senate maps with the groups, including the Florida League of Women Voters and Common Cause, which had alleged the Senate line drawing was unconstitutionally tainted by the behind-the-scenes work of Republican operatives.

David King, an Orlando lawyer representing the challengers, called the admission “unprecedented,” noting the Senate had vigorously defended the districts for the last three years in a costly legal battle.

“During that time, the Legislature defended the indefensible,” King said. “They spent millions of dollars in defense and it comes to naught today because the Senate has admitted that the map violated the constitution.”

Pamela Goodman, president of the League of Women Voters, called Tuesday’s announcement “a huge victory” and an affirmation of “the belief that we all have a right to honest, open government.”

Instead of heading toward a trial, lawmakers will hold a 19-day special session from Oct. 19 to Nov. 6 to redraw the lines under the dictates of the state Supreme Court ruling. The session will coincide with two already scheduled committee meeting weeks for lawmakers who are preparing for the 2016 regular session, which begins in January.

In their latest filings, the challengers alleged some 28 of the 40 Senate districts violated the state constitution.

Many of the challenged districts involved the top leaders in the state Senate. For instance: n Districts drawn for Senate Majority Leader Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, and Sen. Denise Grimsley, R-Sebring, were amended so the two lawmakers did not have to run in the same district.

n Districts were rearranged in the Orlando area so Senate President Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, and Sen. David Simmons, R-Altamonte Springs, did not end up in the same district.

n The city of Daytona Beach and an African-American community were split to help GOP candidates.

n A district in Southeast Florida split four counties in an effort to help Sen. Joe Negron, R-Stuart.

Unlike the congressional map, where the Supreme Court laid out a detailed remediation plan, King said there is no specific plan for the Senate map other than senators have agreed to follow the constitutional guidelines. Once passed, the Senate map could face another trial “if necessary,” King said.

Like the procedures outlined for the congressional redistricting session, legislative leaders said legislative staff will create a “base map” for the revised Senate districts that will “avoid any assessment of the political implications of any map either before or during the special session,” except where it is necessary to comply with minority voting rights.

The base map will then be the subject of open debate and amendments during the special session while lawmakers configure the final Senate plan.

In reaching the agreement with the challengers, the Senate essentially absolved the House from any participation in the original 2012 Senate map, which has been the basis of the legal challenge.

“The House did not intend to favor or disfavor any political party or incumbent and had no knowledge of any constitutional infirmities relating to the enacted plan,” Senate President Gardiner and House Speaker Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, said in their joint announcement on Tuesday.

The House 2012 redistricting map has not been challenged under the 2010 “Fair Districts” amendments that prohibit partisan line drawing and the creation of political districts to favor either legislative or congressional incumbents.

Peter Butzin, chairman of Florida Common Cause, which also challenged the Senate districts, said in adopting the amendments voters “sent a very clear message that they wanted to rein in partisan manipulation of legislative districts.”

"(This) just brings us one step closer to fairer elections in 2016,” Butzin said. “But obviously it’s not over until the fat lady sings and the fat lady has a lot of singing to do.”

Zac Anderson of The Herald-Tribune contributed to this report.

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Lloyd Dunkelberger

Lloyd Dunkelberger is the Htpolitics.com Capital Bureau Chief. He can be reached by email or call 850 556-3542. ""More Dunkelberger" Make sure to "Like" HT Politics on Facebook for all your breaking political news.
Last modified: July 28, 2015
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