ST. PAUL, Minn. – Today, the Minnesota House considered the Republican majority’s omnibus finance bill encompassing several subjects including state government, the environment, jobs, energy and agriculture. Ahead of the 2020 census and subsequent reapportionment, the bill contained a rather partisan set of redistricting principles that would expressly preclude the establishment of an independent commission to oversee the redistricting process. The bill would also establish new principles the courts would use if the Legislature and the Governor fail to agree on new boundaries for congressional and legislative districts.
During the debate, Rep. Jen Schultz (DFL – Duluth) offered an amendment to replace the redistricting principles in the bill with an independent redistricting commission comprised of five retired district or appellate court judges and four citizens representing the diversity of the state’s population. The Republican majority then essentially scrubbed the Schultz proposal, creating a commission of legislators and reinserting the Republicans’ principles, going so far as to omit diversity as a factor
Rep. Schultz released the following statement:
“With the level of shameless gerrymandering we’ve seen across the country, a new approach is overdue for legislative and congressional redistricting. A bipartisan, non-political commission could be counted upon to deliver fair maps and we could expect them to operate with the utmost transparency. Instead, Minnesota Republicans want to go the opposite direction, creating principles clearly designed to protect incumbents.
“Voters should choose their elected officials; elected officials shouldn’t choose their voters. It’s time for us to have an accountable, bipartisan redistricting framework which is fair to all Minnesotans, and an independent commission would ensure just that.”