House GOP backs plan to give majority more districting power

HARRISBURG » Republicans on a Pennsylvania House committee voted on Wednesday to give more power over redistricting to the majority party in the Legislature, breathing life into efforts to substantially change how General Assembly and congressional districts are drawn.

The House State Government Committee split along party lines on a proposal to amend the state constitution to create a six-member commission to produce new boundaries for legislative and congressional districts every decade. The vote follows the state Supreme Court-ordered redrawing of the state’s 18 congressional districts, raising calls from some Republicans to impeach the Democratic justices who backed the decision.

The Republican and Democratic caucuses in the two chambers would each pick one member, and the fifth and sixth members would be voted on by the full House and Senate.

Five of six members would need to approve the maps. If they would be unable to

agree, lawmakers would vote on the commission’s draft maps without amendment.

“There is no greater citizens’ commission than the General Assembly of this state,” said Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, R-Butler, the committee chairman.

The vote on Wednesday to approve the Republicandrawn amendment did not move it out of committee, and Metcalfe did not indicate when he plans to have the committee vote to send the proposal to the House floor.

Metcalfe said an objective was to remove “unaccountable judges” from the process, although there would be a role for the Commonwealth Court to hear legal challenges.

Republicans currently hold majorities of 121-82 in the state House and 34-16 in the Senate.

Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, issued a statement calling the Republican move “partisan politics at its worst.”