The state legislature will hold meetings starting Monday to draft new congressional maps in response to a court order, House Speaker Tim Moore announced Friday afternoon. Moore and Senate leader Phil Berger said in a news release that they still hope the U.S. Supreme Court will issue a stay that allows them to avoid a lower court’s deadline next week to produce new maps. But the court doesn’t act, the full House and Senate will return to Raleigh on Thursday and Friday for a rare special session. “Due to the extremely tight deadline imposed on us by the federal trial court, we are being forced to hope for the best but prepare for the worst,” Rep. David Lewis and Sen. Bob Rucho said in a joint statement. “Hopefully, this is an unnecessary exercise since the overwhelming majority of times our redistricting plans have been reviewed, they have been validated as fair, legal and constitutional – and we remain confident that the U.S. Supreme Court will issue a stay.”n U.S. District Judges William Osteen of Greensboro and Max Cogburn of Asheville along with U.S. Circuit Judge Roger Gregory of Virginia ruled last week that the GOP-led legislature relied too heavily on race to draw the boundaries for the 12th and 1st Congressional Districts.
The court has ordered the legislature to approve new maps that address the concern by the end of next week. Legislators have appealed the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, and Chief Justice John Roberts has given plaintiffs in the lawsuit until Tuesday to file a response. He hasn’t yet taken action on the legislators’ request to stay the lower court ruling – if Roberts grants the request, legislators won’t need to draw new maps until after the Supreme Court takes up the case.
The map drawing process will begin Monday with public hearings set for 10 a.m. at six sites across the state, including the Legislative Office Building in Raleigh and the Central Piedmont Community College campus in Charlotte.
No redistricting proposals will be released before the hearings, which are a legal requirement to gather input into how districts will be drawn. Legislators will also accept written comments submitted online at ncleg.net.
Full Article: Legislature to begin work on new congressional maps Monday | News & Observer.