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On the first day of a special session, the Maryland General Assembly took steps to advance聽聽that is likely to replicate the current split in the state鈥檚 U.S. House delegation 鈥� seven Democrats and one Republican.
After more than two hours of public testimony, the House Rules Committee voted 18-6 on Monday in support of聽House Bill 1, setting the stage for further action later in the week.
HB1 was crafted by the Legislative Redistricting Advisory Commission (LRAC), a panel made up of House and Senate leaders 鈥� four Democrats, two Republicans and a non-voting chairman, a former top staffer.
In its current form, the measure would make a series of noticeable changes to the state鈥檚 current 鈥� and controversial 鈥� congressional map. But like that map, in use since 2012 and the subject of much litigation, several districts wander the state in circuitous fashion.
Republicans and gerrymandering foes have criticized the proposal, saying it still comes off looking like a map drafted by politicians in search of electoral advantage.
Undaunted, House Majority Leader Eric G. Luedtke (D-Montgomery), a member of the LRAC, told his colleagues the proposal represents an improvement over the current map.
鈥淭his map is more compact and contiguous and continues our decades-long commitment to diverse representation鈥�,鈥� he said. 鈥淪ix of the eight districts under this map are more competitive than they are under the current map.鈥�
Luedtke also said HB1 (and the companion Senate Bill 1) 鈥渒eeps significant majorities鈥� of voters in their current districts.
Karl Aro, former head of the Department of Legislative Services and the chair of the LRAC, said voters 鈥渄on鈥檛 necessarily like current lines, but they do like their current representation.鈥�
The full House could act on the measure as early as Tuesday.
Monday鈥檚 vote in House Rules followed a joint hearing with the Senate Reapportionment and Redistricting Committee. The lopsided nature of the vote reinforced the strong hand that Democrats hold in the politically charged process of redrawing the state鈥檚 congressional districts.
Republicans 鈥� including Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. 鈥� have acknowledged for weeks that Democrats have the numbers to work their will at this stage in the process. If the map preferred by legislative leaders and their allies in Congress is to be stopped, it is likely to be in the courts, GOP officials have said.
A map crafted by a second panel, the Hogan-created Maryland Citizens Redistricting Commission (MCRC), differed greatly from the legislature鈥檚.
The nine-member MCRC consisted of an equal number of Democrats, Republicans and independents and adopted a start-from-scratch approach. Their proposal,聽/, contains districts that are far more compact and intuitive.
Stanford University law professor Nathaniel Persily, a nationally-recognized redistricting expert who assisted the MCRC, praised the panel for the way it went about its business 鈥� and the map it ultimately produced.
At Monday鈥檚 meeting he said the panel鈥檚 maps achieved Voting Rights Act compliance 鈥渨ithout having to sort of draw contorted districts鈥� and minimizing county splits.
鈥淚t is refreshing to see this kind of bipartisan and independent work being done in the public interest,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t really is a model for how this work could be done in the future.鈥�
House Bill 2 did not receive a vote on Monday. Members of the Senate Republican Caucus told reporters that they intend to introduce the MCRC alternative as a substitute when the legislature鈥檚 preferred bill reaches the Senate floor later this week.
In an interview, Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City), who served on the LRAC, appeared unmoved by complaints that the commission鈥檚 work product isn鈥檛 鈥減retty.鈥�
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think that pretty is a standard in any statutory or constitutional authority,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hat it is about is ensuring that communities of interest are protected and that Marylanders are accurately reflected in the maps that are passed.鈥�
Many of the people who testified on Monday said they prefer the tighter, cleaner approach taken by the MCRC.
鈥淭he citizens commission did a fantastic job defining a fair map for everyone,鈥� said Deb Rey, a former Republican state delegate from St. Mary鈥檚 County. 鈥淚t鈥檚 bipartisan. They quickly responded to citizen input. The districts are compact, keeping all but five counties whole and in one district. And each district total is within one person. I am amazed by that.鈥�
District 1鈥檚 Bay Watch
The most high-profile change the LRAC map makes is the inclusion of parts of Anne Arundel County in the 1st District, the seat currently held by conservative Rep. Andrew P. Harris (R).
The LRAC鈥檚 1st District has a 51% edge for Democrats and has the potential to make Harris鈥檚 re-election bid more competitive. A Trump-aligned conservative, he is the lone Republican in the Maryland congressional delegation.
A handful of 1st District residents told lawmakers they should include even more of Anne Arundel County in the 1st Congressional District, to create a true Bay-centered district.
鈥淭he eastern shore has a lot more in common with Annapolis鈥� than some of those northern areas that are close to Pennsylvania,鈥� said Louise Miller, a Chestertown resident, a reference to the district鈥檚 current lines.
She said she regularly visits Annapolis and noted that many Eastern Shore residents commute there.
Luedtke insisted that the LRAC proposal has a lot going for it:
- Western Maryland鈥檚 6th District, which he dubbed a 鈥淧otomac district,鈥� 鈥渨ould pull in more of Frederick County while uniting communities along the river.
- Anne Arundel and Baltimore Counties would be split into three ways, instead of the current four.
- The lines in Baltimore City 鈥渁re significantly more functional.鈥�
- Fast-growing Howard County 鈥渂ecomes the center of a newly-drawn 3rd District鈥� and Columbia is united into a single district.
- Prince George鈥檚 County dominates two districts.
鈥淐ounty lines drawn by colonial surveyors 300 years ago simply aren鈥檛 an accurate reflection of how people live their lives in modern-day Maryland,鈥� Luedtke said.
