House committee advances redistricting plans

As lawmakers aim to send redistricting proposals to the governor by Saturday, bills containing the new maps, as well as a change to the filing deadline, passed the House Elections, Constitutional Amendments, and Intergovernmental Affairs Committee Wednesday.

House Bill 2, which contains the newly drawn House maps, passed with small changes to some precincts presented in a House Committee Substitute.

Rep. Jerry Miller, sponsor of House Bill 2, said the plan meets all constitutional requirements and pitted few incumbents against each other.

Under the proposal, two sets of Republican incumbents and two sets of Democratic incumbents would have to run against each other if they all choose to run for re-election.

RELATED: Kentucky state Senate and Congressional redistricting maps introduced and passed through committee

House GOP releases redistricting maps with some incumbent matchups, legislature plans to work through Saturday first week of session to get plans passed

A bill to change the maps for Kentucky Supreme Court districts, sponsored by Rep. Jason Nemes, also passed through the committee. Nemes noted there are seven Supreme Court districts with two Court of Appeals judges and one Supreme Court justice in each.

He said the current maps are unconstitutional, as they have not been changed in decades, and added if the legislature does not make changes in this session based on population changes, the maps will remain the same for another 10 years.

The proposal, Nemes said, is similar to a new map proposed by the courts in 2012 but with changes reflecting population growth.

House Bills 2 and 179 all move to the House floor.

Stay tuned to The Bottom Line for updates on this issue and others throughout the 2022 session.