West Virginia lawmakers took the first step to prepare for redistricting.
The Senate and the House of Delegates each voted today to create select committees on redistricting, which is a process to establish new legislative districts after the 10-year federal Census.
One big issue will be how to divide West Virginia’s congressional districts. Early Census data concluded that West Virginia will lose one of its three seats in Congress. So how legislators split the remaining districts would determine which current representatives might wind up having to face off against each other.
Representatives of West Virginia’s Republican majority Legislature will also map out revised districts for the state Senate and House of Delegates.
Lawmakers have been talking about actually pulling together the new districts during a special session next fall. The state is still awaiting final data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
“This process is monumental, and it’s important that we have as much time as possible to gather feedback from our citizens this summer and ensure the process is interactive, transparent, and productive,” said Senate President Craig Blair, R-Berkeley.
Each chamber will now appoint members to the committee, which will be approved by a motion during Tuesday’s meeting of the of the Joint Committee on Government and Finance.
“Appointing this Joint Committee now will allow us to plan for public meetings this summer and give West Virginians the confidence that they will have the opportunity to be heard as we shape our House, Senate, and Congressional districts for the next 10 years,” said House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay.
The Joint Committee on Redistricting will be led by Senator Charles Trump, R-Morgan, and Delegate Gary Howell, R-Mineral.
Trump discussed the process a bit during a Senate floor session on Monday. He described a longer-than-usual wait for Census data.
“That’s normally done by now. It’s normally April when legislatures and the states have the full data from the Census bureau. As I understand it, we do not,” he said. “What I do understand is we’re to get some data in mid- to late-August and then maybe the full, final set of data on the Census in West Virginia by the end of September.”