House committee recommends plan to keep Chilton in 6th District
Published 3:25 pm Tuesday, May 31, 2011
An Alabama House committee recommended a redistricting map Tuesday that would keep Chilton County in the 6th Congressional District.
The recommendation follows a Senate bill that was passed Thursday that would move the county into the 3rd district.
The Constitution and Elections Committee voted 7-2 to reject the Senate’s map. Instead, the committee recommended adopting the district first proposed two weeks ago by the Legislature’s reapportionment committee — a plan that would have kept the 6th District largely in tact and Chilton County completely within it.
The full House could vote on the districts as early as Wednesday. If the House passes the map recommended by its committee, the changes would go back to the Senate to work on the differences.
State Rep. Kurt Wallace said he had spoken with House Speaker Mike Hubbard and he thinks the House will pass the committee’s recommendation.
State Sen. Cam Ward, who represents Chilton County and served on the reapportionment committee, said he’s optimistic the Senate will vote differently a second time around. Eighteen votes are needed to pass bills in the Senate.
“We are working on (getting) these votes right now,” Ward said.
This year’s legislative session expires next Thursday.
