Ashley Moody, Lenny Curry want court to settle CD 5 redistricting question

Attorney General Ashley Moody says the Florida Supreme Court should weigh in on a redistricting concern raised by Gov. Ron DeSantis. The Florida Legislature agrees. But groups that successfully challenged maps passed by the Legislature a decade ago say it’s improper for the courts to consider the constitutionality of new maps before they even pass.

DeSantis last week asked the court to advise him on whether Florida’s 5th Congressional District must be preserved as a minority access district on a new congressional map. A brief filed Monday by the Governor’s Office reiterated DeSantis only wants an opinion on the impact of Florida’s “minority-voting-protection provision, including whether it requires a district in northern Florida that stretches hundreds of miles to connect a black population in Jacksonville with a black population in Gadsden and Leon Counties so that they can elect a candidate of their choice, even though not a majority.”

In a legal brief filed Monday, Moody doesn’t take a side on that argument. But she does say that because the Governor holds veto power over Florida’s congressional map, the high court has a responsibility to provide an opinion.

“When the Court has been confronted with assessing the validity of a statute or proposed statute in response to the Governor’s request, it has exercised its discretion to do so when an unanswered question would lead to chaotic results, undermine the stability of state government, or significantly affect the Governor’s constitutional powers and duties.”

CD 5, a Tallahassee-to-Jacksonville jurisdiction represented now by Democratic U.S. Rep. Al Lawson, appears in some form on all draft congressional maps published by Florida Senate or House committees. But it does not appear on a public submission sent by the Governor’s Office in an unprecedented move in January.

Democrats in the Legislature have accused DeSantis of inserting himself into the legislative process when his role should be only to sign or veto legislation. Rep. Fentrice Driskell, a Tampa Democrat, said asking for the opinion is effectively having the Supreme Court consider if his map complies with the law before it ever sees a map produced by the Legislature.

“We don’t yet have a congressional map,” she said. “We have a workshop map.”

Unlike state legislative maps passed last week that will go straight to the court for review, the Governor may sign or veto any congressional map approved by the Legislature. But there’s a tight time frame. A new congressional map, which will have one more U.S. House district thanks to population gains reflected in the U.S. Census, will be in effect for the 2022 election cycle. Candidates for the U.S. House must qualify by noon on June 17.

Once the Legislature approves a congressional map, it goes to the Governor’s office. If it becomes law, the map must be sent immediately to the state Supreme Court for a high-level review. The court has 30 days to opine on the maps before it approves or rejects them.

Lawmakers have worked to approve maps early with the hope that if the Supreme Court finds any problems, they can be addressed before the end of Session. The Senate already approved a congressional map, but must come together with the House on final cartography. In the House, the process has basically gone on hold as DeSantis has involved himself in the mapmaking effort.

The court had requested interested parties in the question on CD 5 file briefs by Monday at noon.

The Florida Legislature agreed the court should offer an opinion to the Governor.

“The Florida Legislature stands with Gov. Ron DeSantis in asking the Florida Supreme Court to weigh in on a narrow, critical question related to congressional redistricting,” read a joint statement released by Senate President Wilton Simpson and House Speaker Chris Sprowls, both Republicans. “We appreciate the Governor utilizing his constitutional authority to seek an advisory opinion, and we hope the court will act expeditiously upon his request.”

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry also filed a brief, saying it was important for North Florida residents to learn once and for all whether the district, in place since a Supreme Court ruling in 2015 threw out a prior map drawn by the Legislature, was constitutional.

“Indeed, given its ‘unique history,’ District 5 very well may face such a challenge in the absence of clear constitutional standards,” wrote an attorney for Curry.

But Common Cause and Fair Districts Now, who were involved as plaintiffs in the 2015 case throwing out the Legislature’s map and proposing the existing CD 5 configuration adopted by the court, argue the Supreme Court needs not answer the Governor’s request.

“The Florida Constitution does not provide the Governor with the right to ask this Court to advise him whether he should veto a hypothetical congressional redistricting bill that may, or may not, be enacted by the Legislature,” reads a brief filed by the organizations.

The groups argue even hearing the Governor’s argument now sets a dangerous precedent.

“If the Governor’s argument were accepted, a Governor could ask this Court to opine about each and every matter the Legislature was considering, now or in the future — even though this Court has no jurisdiction to render advisory opinions to the Legislature,” the brief reads.