The Senate’s redistricting committee continued its consideration of congressional maps, and publicly introduced its first proposed senatorial district maps, during a meeting Wednesday afternoon.

The body now has more than two dozen congressional maps and several state Senate maps to consider.

Much of the discussion Wednesday centered around how to ensure that districts be appropriately compact. Senators discussed case law regarding what would constitute a compact district. The committee’s general counsel Liz Schindzielorz explained that compactness is a constitutional requirement, while acknowledging that it’s a difficult challenge in a small state with two panhandles.

Committee chairman Charles Trump (R-Morgan, 15) emphasized the need to keep districts  compact given the fact that West Virginia’s congressional representation is being reduced from three members to two.

“Each member of the House of Representatives is going to go from representing 600,000 West Virginians to representing 900,000 West Virginians,” Trump said. “To me, an important feature is going to be that the districts be reasonably compact.”

Much like last week, the debate on drawing two congressional districts was divided, not by party, but by region. Senators representing southern counties generally favored a north-south split, with senators representing northern counties wanting to keep the growth areas around Morgantown and the Eastern Panhandle separate.

Senators Chandler Swope (R-Mercer, 6) and Mike Woelfel (D-Cabell, 5) reiterated their belief that a north-south split would ensure a high level of representation in the south, and that the culture and history in the south does not align with the panhandle regions.

Senators Glen Jeffries (D-Putnam, 08) and Mike Caputo (D-Marion, 13) preferred an east-west split, keeping the two growth areas in Morgantown and the Eastern Panhandle separate.

“I think you’re going to have a congressperson who represents a vibrant part of the state versus a non-vibrant part of the state in each of those districts (east-west scenario),” Caputo said. “In my opinion, it will be the duty of that congressperson to help that district grow.”

The committee did not make any decisions and plans to meet again today at 3 p.m. Any recommendations coming out of the committee this week will not be final. A special session of the full Legislature is anticipated next week, and the House redistricting committee will also weigh in on this mapping process that occurs every 10 years.

The Senate’s redistricting committee met Thursday afternoon, introducing 12 congressional map options to begin the redistricting process.

Redistricting occurs every 10 years following the results of the new federal Census. The redistricting process is to conform as closely as possible to the ideal of one person, one vote.

West Virginia is losing one of its three congressional districts. There has been a lot of public discussion and debate throughout the summer as to how to appropriately split the state into just two districts. Members of the public sent various map suggestions to Senators over the course of the last few months as lawmakers held a series of redistricting forums across the state to gather input from citizens.

The Senate’s redistricting chairman, Charles Trump (R-Morgan, 15), thanked members of the public who have participated in this process so far and welcomed more participation. Trump has taken a deliberate, thorough and transparent approach with the committee.

Members of the committee spent the majority of the meeting Thursday debating the best way to accomplish splitting the the state into two congressional districts. The debate was divided, not by party, but rather by region. Senators representing southern counties generally favored a north-south split, with senators representing northern counties wanting to keep the growth areas around Morgantown and the Eastern Panhandle separate.

Southern senators  emphasized keeping Cabell, Putnam and Kanawha counties in the same district because of their longstanding economic and cultural connections. They suggested that if southern West Virginia is put in a district with the growing Eastern Panhandle, the south will never receive fair representation in Congress

On the other side of that debate, northern senators expressed a desire to keep the I-79 corridor intact and also voiced concern that if the Morgantown and Eastern Panhandle growth areas end up in the same district and continue to outpace the rest of the state in growth, the resulting district is likely to be out of proportion over the next decade.

The committee agreed to return at a later date to discuss the maps and make decisions, with Trump suggesting the next meeting would likely be sometime next week. Senators still need to explore additional maps of their Senate districts, as well as consider various suggestions from the public.

A special session is anticipated to align with regularly-scheduled legislative interim meetings that begin Oct. 10. During that session, final decisions are expected to be made with regard to congressional, as well as House and Senate districts.

Trump indicated he wants to provide time for more maps to be submitted and for the public to consider those maps.