HARRISBURG – Pennsylvania House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff (R-Centre/Mifflin) at a press conference Friday released an amendment he will be making to the final House map offered by the chairman of the Legislative Reapportionment Commission.
The amendment, which retains 70% of the preliminary map approved by three members of the commission in December, is a vast improvement over the final map that will be proposed in most ways, including:
- A lower population deviation.
- Fewer split municipalities.
- Fewer total municipal splits.
- Fewer total ward splits.
- More majority Hispanic districts.
- More majority-minority districts.
- More Hispanic opportunity districts.
“In the end, this all comes back to the Constitution and giving the people a chance to pick their politicians, rather than the other way around. My amendment does that. It ensures that the commissioners comply with our constitutional obligations, respects the growth of minority groups in the Commonwealth and corrects numerous problems in the proposed final plan,” Benninghoff said.
“This amendment fixes the constitutional, legal and moral problems encompassed in the final commission plan by focusing on compliance with the redistricting principles in our state Constitution. This is not just a real alternative; it is a better map.”