Following House, state Senate tables redistricting measure

Following a similar action in the state House that was criticized by government reform advocates, a state Senate committee on Tuesday tabled a proposal to take politics out of redistricting.

The Senate's State Government Committee put off a vote on the measure, which would have taken elected officials out of the process of redrawing districts.

Known as "gerrymandering," the process most often involves splitting up and redrawing districts to the electoral advantage of incumbents and majority parties. Pennsylvania is the second-most gerrymandered state in the nation.

But critics of the measure called it flawed, in part because the nonpartisan body that would be entrusted with redistricting responsibility is hesitant to take on the task. So the Senate committee put the measure aside less than a week after its House counterpart did the same. It remains unclear when, or if, the issue will come before either chamber again.

State Rep. Babette Josephs (D-Philadelphia), who chairs the House State Government Commitee, used the Senate action to defend her decision to table the measure in the House earlier. 

"I believe that gerrymandering should not have a place in state government, however it makes no sense to change the way the legislative redistricting process is handled simply for change's sake," she said in a statement. "The current proposal that has been offered in both committes in fatally flawed and we would be negligent if we were to advance such a proposal."