Berry: Redistricting

THIS WEEK….

Every ten years, when the Census data comes in, the Missouri Legislature is tasked with redrawing the voting districts for our United States Representatives. Unfortunately, this year Missouri’s population did not grow as fast as the rest of the country, and we lost a congressional seat, taking us from 9 to 8. With this reduction in seats, one member of our congressional delegation will literally lose their seat. With nine current members of Congress, and eight districts, a tough choice had to be made.

As part of this process, the House Redistricting Committee has spent the past month traveling around the state holding hearings. Citizens were invited to testify concerning how they wanted to be represented in the new districts, which should be included, and what the districts should look like on the map.

Taking this valuable input into consideration we then sat down to draw a map that was both fair and representative. People have the right to vote for a representative of their choice. Part of this right is the guarantee that the district within which they live is drawn so that their vote counts.

Additionally, Missouri’s Constitution requires that districts be drawn so as to be “contiguous and compact.” This means that have to be mostly contained within the same spot on the map – which they shouldn’t look like spider webs, snakes, or blobs on a map in what is referred to as gerrymandering. Our approach was first to look at the old districts and then try to keep the ones that had enough people in them to support their own congressman intact – trying to meet the needs of the citizens who came to testify at our hearings.

The end result is what we think is a fair way to make the adjustments that are required because of our loss of a Congressional district. Every district's population increased significantly. The proposed map meets the requirements of the Missouri Constitution and splits only eight counties into different Congressional districts. Redistricting is a long process, and the map may look different than this when everything is said and done.

For a look at our map, you can visit:
http://monewshorizonblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Screen-shot-2011-03-31-at-7.10.58-AM.png

As always if you have any questions or concerns feel free to contact my office at (573) 751–2238 or by email at TJ{dot}Berry{at}house{dot}mo{dot}gov.

Bill Information

If you would like to track legislation you may log on to www.house.mo.gov and select “Bill Information” and then select “Bill Tracking”. You may search by topic or bill number. If you want to track the bills that I have either sponsored or co-sponsored, just enter my last name and you will be able to look at each of those also.

Co-sponsored Bills

HB73; HB146; HB199; HB200; HB209; HB247; HB280; HB284; HB340; HB352; HB364; HB423; HB437; HB467; HB468; HB470; HB511; HB528; HB580; HB629; HB639; HB648; HB658; HB736; HB748; HB749; HB755; HB760; HB772; HB774; HB778; HB786; HB789; HB795; HB799; HB874; HB875; HB888; HB901; HB924; HB940; HB957; HB980; HB1008; HCR9; HCR30; HCR33; HCR46; HCR47; HCR48; HCR52; HJR26; HJR27; HJR31; HJR33

Important Tax Information

The tax deadline is soon approaching; make sure you take advantage of the opportunity to file your taxes for free. Taxpayers making $58,000 or less can visit http://www.irs.gov/efile/ to prepare and E-File federal tax returns, for FREE, through a landmark partnership between the IRS and tax software providers.

Visitors

The last week we had a visit from Greg and Daughter Sarah Sackett. If you ever find yourself in or around Jefferson City at any time during the year, please feel free to visit us!

Until our next update, I am, and remain, in your service