The House map, however, keeps the southern half of eastern Hillsborough in the 16th District, now held by Republican Vern Buchanan.
Advertisement
House leaders, however, refused to go along with that proposal and suggested the court would question whether the move was done for some parochial interest.
With the failure of the legislature to produce new maps, the job of shaping Florida’s 27 Congressional districts now falls to state Judge Terry Lewis.
Republicans have battled each other for months over health care, the budget and a recent mandate by the Florida Supreme Court to redraw congressional district lines to adhere to constitutional requirements that they not favor a party or incumbent.
Top GOP legislators held a meeting on Friday to discuss their differences but senators walked out on their House counterparts.
The Senate soon after proposed extending the special session through next Tuesday, hoping to reach a deal with the House.
Further, the meltdown may add fuel to efforts to create an independent commission that would decide future redistricting.
The crisis engulfing the Legislature greatly complicates the members’ next responsibility to redraw Senate boundaries after senators acknowledged that the 2012 lines were illegally gerrymandered.
“I have no desire to do anything but continue to serve the people of my community in the Florida Senate”, said Lee, who served as the 2004-06 Senate president during his previous stint in that chamber.
Three legislative staffers, hunched over computers in a Capitol cubicle, devised a so-called base map that followed the court’s orders, such as drawing a new east-west 5th District from Jacksonville to Tallahassee.
This was the Florida legislature’s third attempt to draw congressional maps that comply with the state Constitution.
Advertisement
The latest meltdown was complicated by two more factors: limits on private communication among lawmakers in line with the court’s instructions and the impending court review of the new map. The court ruled in July that the current districts don’t meet a voter-approved constitutional amendment that requires districts be compact and not drawn to benefit a political party or incumbents. I am extremely proud of the manner by which the House conducted itself during Special Session, and I again wish to commend Chair Oliva for his outstanding service.
