Indiana lawmakers consider watered-down redistricting reform bill

People gather to rally about redistricting reform, on Organization Day at the Indiana Statehouse, Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2017.

A redistricting reform bill is heading to the Senate floor, but it’s not what good-government advocates have been asking for.

For years, advocates have called for an independent committee to draw the Indiana's legislative and congressional maps, instead of the General Assembly. Senate Bill 236, however, would create criteria lawmakers must consider when they redraw the maps every 10 years.

Bill author Sen. Greg Walker, R-Columbus, said his bill was just a “baby step” in the right direction. He said that the criteria used to draw maps was far more important than who was drawing the maps.

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“I felt like the question about who draws the maps was taking all of the oxygen out of the room,” Walker said. “… It may not be the ultimate solution, but it is a beginning where we have nothing today.”

Those supporting redistricting reform all supported Walker’s bill during testimony as a “path forward.”

However, time is running out for the Republican-led legislature if they want to change Indiana law in order to use an independent commission. Lawmakers will redraw the maps in 2021 following the census.  

“No one is buying Republicans' sudden interest in taking ‘baby steps’ toward an independent redistricting commission,” said Indiana Democratic Party Chairman John Zody. “They’re running out the clock to draw the maps in 2021 and lock in their political power for another decade."

In 2016, an interim legislative study committee recommended lawmakers reform the process, but the subsequent bills were never voted on in committee.

Last year Rep. Milo Smith, the chair of the House elections committee, didn’t let his committee vote on a bill that would have created an independent redistricting commission. House Speaker Brian Bosma was one of the coauthors on the bill.

Two similar bills have landed in Smith’s committee this year. He didn’t respond to questions about whether he would give either bill a hearing.

So for now, Walker’s bill might be the only chance for any redistricting reform in the state. His bill will likely be voted on this week. 

“We’re asking 150 legislators to give up some power,” Walker said. “So I hope you appreciate the position my committee is in at this point.”

Senate leader David Long, R- Fort Wayne, said that not everyone in his caucus is on board with redistricting reform.

“There’s a mix of opinions on that in our caucus obviously,” Long said. “Some people feel it’s a political stunt by the other party. Some people passionately believe in it and some people just don’t believe in it.”

How states draw their maps has come under fire recently as courts have begun ruling on the matter. The same day Walker’s bill unanimously passed through his committee, Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court ordered the state to redraw all 18 of its districts because of a constitutional violation.

The U.S. Supreme Court is a set to rule on a similar case in Wisconsin, and earlier this month GOP-drawn North Carolina maps were also struck down in a federal court.

"It's interesting to me that the mindset has seemed to shift in the Senate and there seems to be this awareness," said Julia Vaughn, the policy director for Common Cause Indiana. "I think there is a growing sense that if they do something they can ward off litigation."

There aren’t any statewide court cases on gerrymandering in Indiana, but government watchdogs still say the process is flawed.

Republicans hold 70 percent of Indiana House seats and 82 percent of the Senate seats. But even Attorney General Curtis Hill, the statewide Republican candidate with the highest percentage of votes in 2016, received just under 62 percent of the vote. Gov. Eric Holcomb received 51 percent of the vote and U.S. Sen. Todd Young won 52 percent.

This summer, an Associated Press study found that there should be 65 Republicans, instead of 70, in the Indiana House using the "efficiency gap" method — the same tool used in the Wisoncoln case.

"There's this frustration that I can go to vote every two years and nothing ever changes," Vaughn said. "People have this feeling that their voice isn’t being heard in elections."

Public opinion is split on whether the redistricting process needs to change in Indiana. The 2017 Hoosier Survey found that 44 percent of Hoosiers favor the current redistricting process compared to the 47 percent who would favor an independent commission. 

Walker’s bill would set up certain criteria for lawmakers to follow when drawing the maps, such as determining how many people could be in each district and minimizing the number of counties and cities divided up. It does not address changing who makes the decisions, the thing that reform advocates are clamoring for.

“We really do believe that the players cannot also be the umpires, so we would hope there would be some neutral body that could develop the standards,” said Debbie Asberry, a representative from the League of Women Voters.

She still supported Walker's bill because "small steps are first steps."

“It has been said that perfect is the enemy of good,” Asberry said. “Senate Bill 326 is a good bill.”

Call IndyStar reporter Kaitlin Lange at (317) 432-9270. Follow her on Twitter: @kaitlin_lange.