Ryan Ray
The Florida House of Representatives briefly gaveled into Session Monday and Speaker Steve Crisafulli told his 120-member chamber to expect to take a back seat to the state Senate, who like the House returned to Tallahassee this week for the third time this year.
“Since the subject of this session is the Senate map, we’ve established the Senate to proceed first,” Crisafulli said. “I think it is wholly appropriate that body takes the lead on sending a compliant map to us.
“If we receive a map that [redistricting] Chair [Jose] Oliva and our House counsel deems compliant with the constitution, I’d expect us to show appropriate deference to our Senate partners.
“Interjecting our specific preferences that are not tied to tier one or tier two concerns would give the courts an opportunity to find reason for improper intent. And so members, after the concurrent meeting this afternoon where the map-drawers present the base map, the Senate will proceed and the House will receive the maps passed by the Senate in week three of this Special Session.”
Yet, said Crisafulli, the House will not entirely eschew its hand in the process, leaving the door open to final-house changes according to objections in the lower chamber.
“Members, the House will not be a rubber stamp for just anything that the Senate sends over to us,” Crisafulli said, “but I do expect us to be good partners in passing a constitutionally compliant map.”
The House emerged as the relative good guys after the state Supreme Court swatted down eight Congressional districts drawn by the Legislature and forced the Senate into a consent judgment admitting it violated the state’s “Fair Districts” amendments that prohibit gerrymandering earlier this year.
Still, Crisafulli sounded a conciliatory note Monday afternoon:
“There’s not only one right way to draw a map, but there are definitely standards that must be followed, and members, we will follow those standards.
“If we’ve learned anything throughout these Sessions, it’s that map-drawing is a complicated process and the standards are certainly subject to interpretation,” Crisafulli said.
