FRANKFORT —
It’s a uniquely political act to comply with a uniquely American constitutional requirement: redrawing legislative districts every 10 years to reflect population changes and ensure equal representation.
That doesn’t make it easy as demonstrated Wednesday in the Kentucky House of Representatives, which voted along largely party lines – 53 to 46 – to approve a new plan that the minority Republicans declared unfair and based on manipulated census data.
That’s because Democrats didn’t count federal prisoners housed in Boyd, Clay, Fayette, Martin and McCreary counties – which is legal as Speaker Greg Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, pointed out. But it’s not how those prisoners were counted last year when maps were drawn for congressional and judicial maps.
No Republican voted for the bill while one Democrat – Rep. Mike Denham of Maysville – voted against it because it removes Fleming County from his district and adds Lewis County.
After Stumbo said other states have drawn districts without counting federal prisoners, Minority Leader Jeff Hoover, R-Jamestown, said they did so through legislation prior to actually drawing the new maps.
Hoover also said Democrats should be consistent in the way they counted federal prisoners – either count them in all the maps or none.
Republicans offered several amendments, some to make minor adjustments in the plan and one to substitute their own plan. All were defeated.
The House plan pairs 13 incumbents against others – 12 of those are Republicans. The other is Majority Leader Rocky Adkins, D-Sandy Hook, against Republican Jill York of Grayson. It creates seven new districts where no incumbent lives and it splits 24 counties, the minimum number allowed by prior court rulings.
The ideal district size is 43,308 and no district varies more than 5 percent from that amount, according to Stumbo, another court requirement.
Stumbo said the court ruling last year, which threw out a previous plan by the Democratic-controlled House and Republican-controlled Senate, “makes (redistricting) a more mathematical calculation,” but conceded it is inherently a political act.
Among the incumbent Republicans placed in the same district were Rep. Marie Rader of McKee and first-term Republican Toby Herald of Beattyville.
The Democrats’ plan managed to pair three Republicans in the same district centering on Warren County: Jim DeCesare of Bowling Green, C.B. Embry of Morgantown, and Mike Meredith of Brownsville.
It also splits Laurel County four ways and Graves County three ways.
It creates seven new districts: 1 – Fulton, Hickman, Carlisle, Ballard and part of Graves; 19, in Warren County; 36, in Jefferson; 49, in Bullitt; 54, in Anderson, Shelby and part of Bullitt; 88, in Fayette; and 96 in Powell, Estill and part of Madison.
The ultimate fate of the bill remains uncertain because the Republican-controlled Senate has said it wants to wait until next year to take up redistricting. Typically, each chamber draws its own map (designed to benefit the majority’s incumbents) and the other chamber accepts it.
But Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, has questioned why the Senate would pass the Democratic House plan and then rely on the assurances of Stumbo that the House would then pass the Republican Senate plan next year.
Homepage
Related Photos
-
2013 House District Plan
House approves redistricting plan
- Homepage
-
McCreary County Judge-Executive Doug Stephens and Kentucky Treasurer Todd Hollenbach announce the Treasure Finders event coming Thursday to Whitley City.
-
$how Us The Money!
WHITLEY CITY — Did you know that more than $300 million worth of unclaimed property is languishing in Kentucky coffers waiting to be returned to the rightful owners?
One of those rightful owners could be you and you’ll have the opportunity to find out this week. - Disgruntled school employee arrested
- Litton charged with vehicular murder
- Kung Fu Kidd
- BREAKING NEWS: Disgruntled school employee arrested
-
$how Us The Money!
- Local News
-
-
$how Us The Money!
WHITLEY CITY — Did you know that more than $300 million worth of unclaimed property is languishing in Kentucky coffers waiting to be returned to the rightful owners?
One of those rightful owners could be you and you’ll have the opportunity to find out this week. -
Disgruntled school employee arrested
STEARNS — A Stearns man is being held in the Laurel County Correctional Center without bond after making threatening statements while on the job last week at Pine Knot Primary School.
James M. Paulson, 50, was arrested last Tuesday evening on one count of second-degree -
Litton charged with vehicular murder
SOMERSET — A Somerset man was indicted last week on murder charges stemming from a March automobile accidents which left a McCreary County native dead.
A Pulaski County Grand Jury on Wednesday handed down murder charges for Justin I. Litton, -
Kung Fu Kidd
WHITLEY CITY — When Kenny Kidd was a boy, his hero was martial arts icon Bruce Lee.
Kidd recalls trying to emulate Lee’s fast and furious moves around the house. “I drove my mom crazy,” he laughs. “When I was a kid, I was obsessed with martial arts.” -
BREAKING NEWS: Disgruntled school employee arrested
STEARNS — A Stearns man is being held in the Laurel County Correctional Center without bond after making threatening statements while on the job at Pine Knot Primary School.
James M. Paulson, 50, was arrested Tuesday evening on one count of second-degree Terroristic
-
$how Us The Money!
- Local Sports
-
-
McCreary Powers to 6-0 District Sweep
After clinching the top seed in the district tournament with a 3-2 win over Wayne County on May 2 the Lady Raiders finished up their regular season district schedule with a final game at Wayne County last Tuesday.
- McCreary Edges SW and Wayne Co. to Claim District’s Number 1 Seed
- McCreary Rallies in 7th Inning to Stun Southwestern
- Lady Raiders Hold Off Southwestern in Extra Innings for District Win
- Raiders Win 100th Game Under Coach Taylor
-
- Obituaries
-
-
Larry Dale Murphy
Larry Dale Murphy age 66 years, 3 months, and 29 days of Whitley City,
- Edna M. Vanover
- Laura Jean Campbell Jackson
- Verna Lee Cobb
- Albert Phillips
-
Probe Begins After Conn. Commuter Trains Crash
NTSB Begins Investigation Into Conn. Train Crash
Lotto Fever Sweeps the Country
Conn. Commuter Trains Collide; 60 Go to Hospital
Coffee Run Leads to Hatchet Hitchhiker Arrest
Fmr. IRS Head Insists No Politics in Targeting
CDC: Fecal Bacteria Common in Swimming Pools
$1 Million in Jewels Stolen at Cannes Film Fest
NM Mom Chases Down Child Abductor
Raw: Crash Sends Car Into Fla. Pool
Raw: Obama Sits Down With Elementary Kids
Raw: Bear Falls From Tampa Tree
Ousted IRS Chief: Errors Not Caused by Politics
Terror Suspect Due in Court in Idaho Friday
Raw: Driver Ejected From Truck, Over Bridge
Could Tobacco Be the Next Biofuel?
Wash. State Releases Draft Rules for Legal Pot
Dying Man's Blinks Lead to Murder Conviction
Officials: Texas Tornado Likely Had 200 Mph Wind
Brothers Arrested in NOLA Parade Shooting
