When the Florida State Legislature convened this past Monday for its 3rd Special session of the 2015 term to draw up a new State Senate map, there were clashes immediately between the two chambers over whether all 40 State Senators would have to run for re-election in 2016.
On Friday, the Senate announced that one of six maps drawn up by three legislative staffers had been approved by the Senate redistricting committee, and that indeed all State Senators would have to run for reelection in 2016. Senate redistricting Chair Sen. Bill Galvano (R-Bradenton) apparently choose one of the maps, called S9090, without prior consultation from any of his committee members; members of his own party expressed concerns with the plan, and strongly encouraged input and possible changes when the map comes to the full Senate floor for consideration on Monday.Senator Tom Lee (R-Brandon) said “I don’t want the full body of this Senate to view this work product to having any air of superiority”. Senate democrats are disappointed that thus far, none of hte maps had any input from the Senators themselves. Sen. Oscar Braynon (D-Miami Gardens) had this to say, “I can’t support just a map produced by staff, because I do not want to send a message to the other members that that’s what we are going to do”, adding it is the job of Legislators to draw up the maps. Others expressed concerns that S9090 may not have properly addressed the concerns of voting rights groups.
Any of the maps under consideration thus far will have implications both for leadership positions within the State Senate and also for Senators in current districts who may find themselves up for reelection in new districts and possibly facing primary contests against Senators from nearby current districts who may fall into new Senate districts.
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Next up for the map(s) will be debate on the full Senate floor. Any map passed by the Senate needs at least 21 votes and of course, House leaders are also working on their own redistricting maps. So S9090 faces a very uncertain future. Realizing all of this, Sen. Galvano concluded, “We are in a very constrained legislative world. The product that comes out of our chamber will not even be given the benefit of the doubt. …I am confident that [the map] is a constitutionally compliant product that is worthy to go to the floor”. Whether the other 39 Senators agree with that assessment remains to be seen.