S8653A

The New York State Senate passed legislation establishing new congressional district lines for the state's 26 districts, overriding a map submitted by the Independent Redistricting Commission that had been rejected Monday. The bill (S8653A, Calendar 565), sponsored by Sen. Gianaris, passed 45-17 on a party-line vote, with all 17 nays coming from Republican senators. The new map was drawn Monday night after the IRC proposal failed to gain sufficient support. Gianaris argued the changes correct constitutional flaws in the IRC map, including splits of Orange and Rensselaer counties and failure to preserve communities of interest on Long Island and in the North Bronx. However, critics including Sen. Palumbo contended the new map represents a departure from the voters' intent when they approved the Independent Redistricting Commission through a ballot measure. Palumbo noted the IRC map had passed the Senate and Assembly twice and was approved 9-1 by the commission itself. He argued the new map favors incumbents and represents politics overriding a bipartisan process designed to prevent gerrymandering. Sen. Lanza pressed Gianaris on the timeline and decision-making process, establishing that the map was drawn Monday night after the IRC proposal was rejected and questioning who specifically made decisions about district lines. Gianaris acknowledged the bill supersedes a 2 percent statutory limit on deviations from previous maps, arguing constitutional compliance takes precedence over statutory rules.