ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — A Maryland House panel has voted against Gov. Larry Hogan’s congressional redistricting reform bill, but a Senate committee has passed a bill to create a mid-Atlantic compact for drawing congressional district lines.
The Republican governor’s bill, which was voted down Monday, would have put congressional and state legislative redistricting in the hands of an independent board in Maryland to take the politics out of the process of drawing districts.
Leaders in the Democrat-controlled legislature say partisan gerrymandering is a national problem. But they say with the federal government failing to lead, they support a regional approach.
The bill passed Monday would create a compact with New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina. If all six states agree, they would have a non-partisan independent commission draw congressional lines.
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