JEFFERSON CITY – The members of the Missouri House have approved and sent legislation to the Senate that will establish new boundaries for Missouri’s eight congressional districts. The House approved the congressional redistricting plan (HB 2117) Wednesday morning by a vote of 86-67.
State Rep. Dan Shaul, who chairs the House Special Committee on Redistricting, said the map approved by his committee and the House of Representatives was created with input from legislators representing their constituents, public testimony from citizens across the state of Missouri, and 2020 census data. He stressed that the map contains compact and contiguous districts as required by the constitution while also keeping communities of interest and like-mindedness together.
“We took the data from the Census and the input of Missourians from around the state to create a fair bill and a fair map. This is a map that keeps communities of interest intact, that abides by our constitution, and that provides a fair and accurate representation of voters in Missouri,” said Shaul, R-Imperial.
With the approval of the House, the bill now moves to the Senate for consideration. Shaul reminded members that the Senate will now go through the same process the House undertook, which could mean changes to the map.
“We had an honest and open debate amongst the members of the House. This vote today is simply a vote to say this is our product, we went through the process, and now it is your turn to take to the process and do what you want with the bill,” said Shaul, who stressed to his colleagues his commitment to the process of creating a fair and constitutional map.