A south-central Kentucky state lawmaker says he'll find out Monday what House Republican leaders are proposing for next month's special session on redistricting.
Butler County Republican Representative C.B. Embry, Jr., has a major stake in the new legislative maps that will come out of that session. Embry and two other GOP Representatives--Jim DeCesare of Warren Countyand Michael Meredith of Edmonson County--were placed in the same district under maps that were passed earlier this year by the House, but rejected by the Senate.
Embry told WKU Public Radio he's not sure next month's special session will be the last word on the redistricting issue.
"I hope this doesn't happen, that the passing of the redistricting plan might again be unconstitutional and wind up in the courts," said Embry, whose district covers Butler and Grayson counties, as well as part of Hardin County. "If that should happen, I think the courts will draw the lines rather than the General Assembly."
The state Supreme Court threw out maps passed last year by lawmakers, finding that the plans were unconstitutional because they weren't balanced by population. Lawmakers tried, and failed again, during the 2013 General Assembly to get new legislative boundaries passed.
The Democratic-led House passed maps that placed Embry, DeCesare, and Meredith in the same district. Those plans were rejected by the Republican-led Senate.
A special session to deal with the redistricting issue begins Aug. 19 in Frankfort. Embry says House Republican leadership, led by Rep. Jeff Hoover of Jamestown, will share their redistricting proposals with GOP lawmakers when they gather for a meeting at the state capitol Monday.
WKU Public Radio asked Rep. Embry what he would do if the legislative maps that are ultimately put in place once again put him in the same district as Reps. DeCesare and Meredith.
"I will be very interested in how the Senate district boundaries turn out, before I make any decision on what I would do," said Embry. "I would need to know the final boundaries for both the House and Senate."
"I do not believe that in the end--no matter how things turn out--that all three of us will be in that race."
