LANSING – Details of a proposed map from House Republicans for the chamber as part of redistricting began to unfold Friday with Ottawa and Washtenaw counties gaining clout, Gongwer News Service has learned.

House Republicans said Friday they will release their legislative redistricting maps June 17 with committee work to follow the week after.

And they asked House Democrats also to have their maps submitted to the clerk at that time.

The House Redistricting and Elections Committee will then hold hearings on the legislative maps June 21 and 22. A hearing on the congressional map was not yet scheduled.

“We have held numerous open hearings over the past two months to ensure Michigan’s redistricting plans would be completed fairly and in accordance to state and federal law,” said Rep. Pete Lund (R-Shelby Twp), the committee’s chair. “As we begin the consideration of specific plans, state and federal law will continue to guide our decisions.”

Approval of new legislative, congressional and judicial maps are due by November 1, but legislative leaders have said they want to get the maps done by July (except for judicial seats).

GOP leaders in the House started meeting with members this week to discuss what the potential map could look like, but those meetings will continue into next week and could shift how some of the seats are structured.

Sources told Gongwer that on top of the legal requirements for redrawing the lines, Republicans are trying to avoid creating primaries between their members, as well as between Democratic incumbents.

Much of what will happen with the city of Detroit, which lost significant population in the 2010 Census, is still up in the air.

Members of the Legislative Black Caucus, which drew their own maps for Detroit and Saginaw, but plan to have a statewide map completed next week, met with House Republicans to talk about majority-minority districts, said Rep. Fred Durhal Jr. (D-Detroit), the caucus chair.

House Republicans were not shown the Detroit map, Durhal said, but House Democrats have seen it.

A source with House Democrats said they were waiting to see what the black caucus presents as a statewide map since the Detroit and Saginaw-only versions would affect the rest of the legislative seats.

Durhal said the Detroit map shows the loss of one House seat, with the city maintaining 10 districts on its own. An 11th seat would continue to include parts of the city and the Grosse Pointe/Harper Woods area, which currently comprises the 1st House District.

Durhal said under their Detroit map, none of the incumbent lawmakers eligible for re-election would face a primary against one another.

Under the House Republican map currently circulating, Washtenaw County would have four self-contained seats. Currently, three House districts take up most of the county, with a fourth seat, the 55th House District, covering parts of Washtenaw and Monroe counties.

Livingston County, which added population in the last Census, would have two self-contained House seats. Currently, the 66th House District covers parts of Livingston and Oakland counties.

Ottawa County also would have three self-contained seats. Currently, there are two full seats in Ottawa County and then another two House seats span Ottawa and either Muskegon or Kent counties (the 91st and 74th House Districts).

Grand Traverse County would also have a self-contained seat. The 104th House District currently spans Grand Traverse and Kalkaska counties.

The makeup for the Upper Peninsula largely reflects the current map.

This story was provided by Gongwer News Service. To subscribe, click on Gongwer.Com

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