House passes Fla. legislative, congressional maps

The House-passed congressional map increases a district held by Rep. Corrine Brown, one of Florida's three black Democratic members of Congress, from just below a 50 percent black voting age population to slightly above that mark. It also maintains black majorities in the other two districts.

Weatherford acknowledged the House map increases black voting age populations in five minority-majority and minority-access districts, but he said it also reduced the number with more than 60 percent black majorities from three to one.

Overall, the House map has 12 black-majority districts and three with black voting age populations between 30 percent and 50 percent. The Senate map has five districts with more than 30 percent black voting age populations, including two of more than 50 percent.

The House accepted the Senate's map for that chamber's districts. The Senate is expected to do the same for House's map when the legislative plan returns. The two congressional maps differ, but Weatherford is confident the Senate would accept the House version as a compromise.

House Democrats were united against the plan. Senate Democrats, though, were split with most voting in favor of the maps in the initial votes there.

The congressional map (SB 1174) then would go to Gov. Rick Scott and the legislative plan (SJR 1176) to the Florida Supreme Court. Both also must get preclearance from the U.S. Justice Department under the Voting Rights Act.