Senate committee passes Indiana redistricting bill
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Anti-redistricting protestors in the Statehouse Monday. Photo: Arika Herron/Axios
Indiana's redistricting bill has passed its first hurdle in the Senate.
Why it matters: It's still unclear if Republicans in that chamber have the votes to pass House Bill 1032, which would give the GOP an advantage in all nine of Indiana's congressional districts and fan the flames of the national redistricting war.
Driving the news: The Senate's Elections Committee passed the bill 6-3 Monday evening.
- Greg Walker, one of the lawmakers who has been swatted and intimidated, was the lone Republican to vote against the bill — though several said they wanted to keep vetting the idea and reserved the right to change their vote on the floor.
- "I refuse to be intimidated," Walker said. "I made a choice. I will not let Indiana or any state become subject to the threat of political violence in order to influence legislative product."
- Walker, who has said he won't run for reelection, added "whether the maps are a good idea or a bad idea, the idea ... did not originate with any legislator or citizen that I'm aware of anywhere in the state of Indiana."
State of play: For months, Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray resisted calls to return to the Statehouse ahead of the usual January start to redraw the congressional map.
- On Monday, though, Bray told reporters that the decision had caused too much strife and overshadowed the conversation about the policy itself.
- "So, we just decided to come in and vet the issue," he said. "We'll vote and answer the question."
Between the lines: The energy at the Statehouse was subdued last week — either because it was considered a foregone conclusion that the House would pass the redistricting bill or because of the poor weather conditions when it was heard in committee.
That was not the case on Monday.
- The hall outside the Senate chamber was packed with anti-redistricting protestors who wielded signs and chanted throughout the afternoon.
- Inside the chamber was packed with national media.
Yes, but: More people testified in support of the bill on Monday than during the House committee last week.
- Senators heard from more than 100 people over about four hours.
- "Other states shed their sense of fairness long ago," Char Foss-Eggemann said in support of the redistricting effort.
The other side: The majority of people still opposed HB 1032 for the way it carves up communities of interest like Indianapolis, its partisan nature, the dilution of minority voting power and myriad other issues.
What we're watching: A number of Republican senators have yet to publicly state their position, so we'll see if a concerted effort to drum up support for the bill gives them reason to come out in support.
What's next: The committee report will be adopted tomorrow, a procedural step.
- It is expected to be heard on the Senate floor for amendments on Wednesday and receive a final vote in that chamber on Thursday.