What to expect when you’re expecting a redistricting session
On Monday, at 4:00 p.m., the Louisiana legislature will gavel in for an eight-day redistricting special session. The topline priorities appear to be redrawing Louisiana’s congressional map, State Supreme Court map, and moving from an open to a closed primary system. But there are a total of 14 items listed on the official call, including campaign finance laws, so the actual outcome of the session could be much more expansive than originally expected.
As of this writing (Friday at 3:00 p.m.) there haven’t been any bills publicly filed, which makes it that much harder to anticipate what’s to come over the next week and a half. Will the legislature successfully pass congressional and State Supreme Court maps that accomplish Gov. Landry’s stated goals of expanding Black political representation to the extent they will render several pending Civil Rights lawsuits moot? If so, whose congressional district will go from Safe Republican to Likely Democrat?
But in this case, in particular, the process is just as important as the outcome. So we’d like to try to help Louisianans navigate their way through following and potentially participating in the session. Below are some tips and tricks for citizen engagement in the upcoming session:
The session is set to kick-off at 4:00 p.m. on Monday, January 15th, and end by 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 23rd. Although, the first afternoon/evening is likely to be more of an introduction, with the real action beginning the next morning in committee hearings.
The legislature’s website (legis.la.gov) is your friend.
You can track bills (maps) as they are filed and/or as they move through the process by selecting the “Bills” dropdown at the top of the page and clicking on ‘2024 Extraordinary Special Session’.
Most bills will be debated in the House & Governmental Affairs Committee or the Senate & Governmental Affairs Committee, unless they require extra spending or a constitutional amendment. If they require spending, they’ll go to the House Appropriations Committee. If they require a constitutional amendment, they will go to the House Civil Law Committee, where members will debate the amendment language.
You can also watch live broadcasts of committee hearings on the site and/or watch recordings of those committee hearings. Live feeds will be available on the Home page, and recordings will be available to watch by selecting the ‘Broadcast Archives’ tab on the side of the page. When you hover over that tab, you’ll get to choose whether to watch House or Senate archives (choose which one depending on which of the committees you’d like to watch), then select the date in the new window once you’ve made your selection.
If you would like to attend in-person, all hearings will take place at the Louisiana State Capitol (900 North Third St., Baton Rouge, LA 70802). You can enter through either of two sets of doors, one to the left and one to the right, of the main staircase that leads up the front of the building. Upon entering, you will go to the middle of the main hallway, go through a set of doors and enter a foyer. In that foyer are TV screens listing which room(s) hearings are taking place.
When in a hearing, make sure to silence your cell phones and other devices and remain quiet and respectful. You may submit your support or opposition to a bill by filling out a green card (support) or red card (oppose) and handing those cards to a Sergeant-At-Arms. Make sure to fill out all of the requested information on the card.
We will keep our louisiana.redistrictingandyou.org website updated throughout the week. It’s a simple, intuitive tool that makes it easy to compare current maps to proposed maps.
As always, if you have any questions please reach out to us at info@louisianaprogress.org.
