Next Time?

Now that lawmakers have drawn, approved and sent congressional redistricting maps to the governor for approval, the Senate voted to hand future mapmaking to a bipartisan, non-legislative commission.

The Texas Congressional Redistricting Commission would consist of four Republicans, four Democrats and a non-voting chairperson chosen by those eight members.

That's a longtime dream of Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, who'd like to take lawmakers out of the redistricting process. The idea, here and in other states that have already made the change, is that the current system falls prey to lawmakers more interested in protecting themselves and their parties than in drawing districts that make sense for voters and communities. Removing the self-interested lawmakers, the theory goes, will result in fairer lines.

That still has to get past the House and the governor to become law.