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Three takeaways from the special session

 
Published Aug. 17, 2015

It's Day 8 of the Florida Legislature's 12-day special session on congressional redistricting. Here are three takeaways at the start of the session's second week:

A full House: The 120-member House meets at noon Monday to debate the base map of Florida's 27 districts and consider amendments. But based on a House committee vote last week and statements by House leaders, it appears unlikely the House will alter the map crafted by House and Senate staff members.

Off the reservation?: It will be interesting to see how many members of the House Republican majority publicly oppose the base map in preparation for voting against it. A bipartisan coalition of business and political leaders from Palm Beach and Broward counties has barnstormed lawmakers with the message to leave those counties' districts alone in their current vertical configuration rather than changing to a "stacked" horizontal shape in the base map that would split coastal areas. House Republicans who represent those coastal areas include Reps. George Moraitis of Fort Lauderdale, Bill Hager of Delray Beach, MaryLynn Magar of Tequesta and Patrick Rooney of Palm Beach Gardens.

Senate 'composite': The Senate Reapportionment Committee also meets at noon to consider a series of amendments proposed by various senators to the base map. The changes would, for example, put most of Tallahassee's Leon County in one district; restore Sarasota County to a single district; and increase the African-American voting population in the Tampa district of U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor. The tricky part will be to blend all of these proposals into a single revised map that is capable of getting at least 21 votes in the 40-member Senate.