LOUISIANA, USA — The Louisiana House approved a plan to redraw the state Supreme Court map to add a second majority-Black district Friday, according to our partners at Nola.com.
However, the map, proposed in House Bill 22, still needs to go to the Senate, which rejected a similar proposal last month during a special legislative session on redistricting. The map could resolve longstanding civil rights ligation over the current districts, Nola.com reported.
Since then, a settlement to a lawsuit between the state and civil rights groups was reached. The lawsuit alleged that Louisiana's existing map does not give Black voters a fair chance at electing candidates of their choice.
House Bill 22 has the support of Governor Jeff Landry and Attorney General Liz Murrill, marking the state's attempt to enact the settlement.
Rep. Mike Johnson, R-Pineville, said approving the bill would "save the state millions of dollars and resolve the issues before the court,".
"If you approve this, it will create a second functioning majority-minority district," he said, citing a floor note from Murrill. "It protects incumbency and follows the basic redistricting principles."
The proposal was approved by the House in a 97-6 vote and the Senate is expected to consider it next week.
Right now only one of Louisiana's seven Supreme Court seats is in a majority-Black district, and critics said the setup does not fairly represent Black Louisianans, who make up one-third of the state's population.
The map Johnson created would set a new majority Black district stretching from Easton Baton Rouge to the northeast corner of the state. His map would also separate Caddo Parish in two, a possibility that has angered some lawmakers in Shreveport.
Democrats would likely win a second seat on the Supreme Court under the new map, Nola.com reported, which currently has only one Democrat, four Republicans and two justices without a party. The map could also push the remaining seats further to the right.
House Bill 22 is an outlier amongst the bills being considered during the special legislative session focused on crime. However, Gov. Landry's 24-point call for the session asked lawmakers to consider Supreme Court redistricting.
If the bill passes, it would be the second time in over a month that lawmakers completed a redistricting process. Lawmakers redrew the state's congressional map to add the second majority-Black district in January, but also in response to a lawsuit.
The state legislative map could be next after a federal judge ruled the map also violates the Voting Rights Act. Murrill appealed that decision.
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