Reapportionment Committee misses Sept. 15 deadline

HARTFORD — Taking advantage of an available option that was expected to be used this year, the state Reapportionment Committee formally decided Tuesday to extend the decennial redistricting process and form a new committee to complete the task of redrawing state and national legislative districts.“We have made every practicable effort to meet the legislative deadline of Sept. 15,” said House Minority Leader Lawrence Cafero (R-142), who led the committee’s meeting Tuesday. “Despite these efforts, unfortunately it has become clear that we will not be able to reach a bipartisan agreement by that time and thus we will have to move to the second phase of this process.”Cafero and other members of the Reapportionment Committee stressed that partisan differences were not the cause of the delay, noting that redistricting is a complicated process. In 2000, redistricting resulted in the state losing one of its congressional districts. The process also invariably includes a reworking of state legislative districts to account for population shifts.This year, the Reapportionment Committee had a deadline of Sept. 15 to recommend district changes to Gov. Dannel Malloy. In the event of an impasse, the state Constitution allows for the committee to appoint a new board to continue working on the process. The state Senate and House majority and minority leaders may reappoint the current committee of eight members, and must agree upon a ninth appointee who is expected to be nonpartisan, in the spirit of previous committees.“It is the intention of the legislative leadership to formally notify Gov. Malloy of our commission selections immediately after the Sept. 15 deadline passes,” Cafero said. “Coming to a bipartisan agreement on a 10-year districting plan that represents the principle of one person, one vote and brings balance to the voters’ expressed preferences is a daunting task; however, we have taken great care to maintain a respectful and productive level of discourse in our dealings, consistent with the bipartisan spirit of this constitutionally mandated process.”At the outset of their meeting, members of the Reapportionment Committee held a moment of silence for former Connecticut Speaker of the House Nelson Brown, who died on Sept. 8. Members said they hoped their redistricting committee would echo the late legislator’s spirit of bipartisanship.“When it comes time for a ninth member to be appointed it will be critically important for us to find someone who fits the profile of the late Nelson Brown — somebody who was extraordinarily well-respected by both parties,” said state Sen. Martin Looney (D-11).State Senate Minority Leader John McKinney said that the Reapportionment Committee has not been plagued by partisan battles yet this year. “Our inability to find a conclusion by the 15th is not because of any partisan rancor or acrimony,” he said. “Meetings have been cordial and friendly. We are focused on a very important task. It’s not because of any partisan differences.”Once the new redistricting committee is formed, the group will have a new deadline of Nov. 30 to complete its task. Members said they are currently working on borders for the state House and Senate districts and have not yet begun to tackle congressional redistricting for the state. Members said they expect Connecticut’s General Assembly to retain its 151 House and 36 Senate seats this time around.According to the U.S. Census, Connecticut’s population has increased to 3.57 million people as of April 2010, a 4.9 percent increase over the past 10 years. Committee members said the greatest population increases took place in the northeastern portion of the state.