The big takeaway from the first U.S. Census numbers is that Florida — like the rest of the country — is growing and becoming more diverse. NBC 6’s Phil Prazan reports
The Senate Reapportion Committee approved a new Florida congressional map Thursday with no discussion or debate.
Only one committee member, Democratic Sen. Audrey Gibson, voted against the plan, which adds a new 28th district in central Florida which should favor Republicans.
With nearly all Democrats on the committee voting for the map, it's a sign that the plan meets the state's constitutional requirement that districts be contiguous and drawn without benefitting a political party or candidate.
The plan will now go to the full Senate. The House Redistricting Committee still needs to approve it's version of the congressional map.
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Florida’s population growth of 2.7 million new residents between 2010 and 2020 led to the new seat in the once-every-decade redistricting process.
The Senate vowed to follow the constitution. That promise was made after a three-year court battle the last time the state drew political maps.
The state Supreme Court threw out the Republican-led Legislature’s maps, which were drawn with the help of state Republican party consultants.
