Redistricting Reform Passes Senate with Overwhelming Bipartisan Support

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 4, 2008

Senate Bill 38 Now Heads to the House of Delegates

RICHMOND-For the second consecutive year Senator R. Creigh Deeds has won Senate passage of a proposal to remove partisanship from the redistricting process: The full Senate on a 33-5 vote approved Senate Bill 38 today. [See: SB 38, 2008]

"I believe the wind is at our backs and the momentum is here to make this important change to end the bitterness and bickering that for too long have dominated state politics," said Deeds following the vote. "The House of Delegates now has before it a bill that has been endorsed by Mark Warner, George Allen, Tim Kaine and Bill Bolling-and today an overwhelming bipartisan coalition in the Senate. I hope my colleagues in the other chamber will carefully consider this legislation and support its passage."

This is the sixth year that Senator Deeds has carried a proposal to reform the partisan process where legislative districts are drawn to protect incumbents and maximize the strength of the ruling party. SB 38 would create a commission with an equal number of members appointed by leaders in both political parties. A seventh independent member would be chosen by a majority vote of the six appointees. The commission would be bound by criteria for drawing legislative districts that excludes the use of previous voting results, demographic data, or the addresses of incumbents.

For the last six years, Deeds has proposed the creation of a redistricting commission-chaired by a non-partisan member-that would remove partisanship and incumbent protection from the drawing of legislative and congressional districts. Last year's proposal, Senate Joint Resolution 352, made history when for the first time a bi-partisan redistricting proposal passed a chamber of the General Assembly. SJR 352 passed the Senate with the support of seven Republicans but was defeated on an unrecorded vote in a House of Delegates subcommittee. [See: SJR 352, 2007]