State redistricting bill gains support in the N.C. House

The latest proposal to create a nonpartisan redistricting process in the state has received overwhelming support in the N.C. House of Representatives — but its overall passage is far from certain.

State legislators say the bill, which also failed to pass the N.C. Senate in 2011, will again face an uphill battle in the other chamber.

House Bill 606 outlines a redistricting process modeled on a similar plan that has been in place in Iowa for nearly 35 years.

The bill establishes tight deadlines for developing the plan and voting on it, which is designed to encourage an apolitical process.

Rep. Deborah Ross, D-Wake, said she expects the bill to pass the N.C. House of Representatives because it has been implemented successfully in other states.

“The idea would be to remove partisan politics from the redistricting process,” she said.

But Ross said the Senate’s support of the bill is not guaranteed.

Jane Pinsky, director of the N.C. Coalition for Lobbying and Government Reform, said the bill aims to alleviate many of the problems associated with redistricting.

Republicans gained control of both chambers of the N.C. General Assembly for the first time in more than 100 years in 2010 — along with the ability to draw new districts.

Those new districts again helped the GOP achieve major electoral victories last year, but the maps continue to be contested in court.

The bill states that all new districts must be compact and contiguous, complying with the whole county provision of the N.C. Constitution.

“I think it is the least partisan way to reform the process, and is the one to date we have found to have the best results,” Pinsky said.

Rep. Chuck McGrady, R-Henderson, said the bill would establish an advisory commission of outside professionals to draw the districts, which would then be submitted to the legislature.

Public hearings would also be conducted, he said.

“Our hope is that a new process would get us to a different place,” McGrady said.

He said after three unsuccessful proposals, the legislature would have the authority to draw the maps — but the Iowa commission has never had to do more than two rounds of proposals.

“Democrats had a century of redistricting, Republicans had a decade to do it their way, now let’s get it out of partisan political bickering,” he said.

Contact the desk editor at state@dailytarheel.com.