GOP Lawmakers Introduce Redistricting Bill That’s Likely to Sit on the Shelf

In what is likely a ceremonial gesture, Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) introduced a bill this week in the General Assembly that would redraw the lines between Maryland’s 6th and 8th congressional districts.

The proposed map was created by an emergency commission on redistricting convened by Hogan after last year’s federal court order declaring the 6th District contours unconstitutional.

A U.S. District Court panel had ruled that the state needed to produce a new map by March 7 and suggested that it be drawn by a bipartisan commission. The court’s judgment, however, was stayed until the outcome of the case at the Supreme Court, which heard arguments this week.

Nevertheless, the Hogan Administration introduced House Bill 1430 and Senate Bill 1050 to change the congressional map on Thursday, with just over a week left in the 2019 General Assembly session. The Senate voted 47-0 and the House of Delegates voted 136-1 to allow the late introduction of the bill; Montgomery County Del. Gabriel Acevero (D) cast the lone dissenting vote in the legislature.

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