DALLAS, June 18 (UPI) -- Republican Gov. Rick Perry has set the stage for another Texas shoot-out over congressional redistricting, the same partisan political issue that sparked a four-day walkout by 51 Democratic legislators in May.
Perry Wednesday called a 30-day special session of the Legislature to begin June 30 with the primary goal of redrawing the congressional lines drawn by a three-judge federal court panel in 2001 after the Legislature failed to agree on new boundaries.
"I believe duly elected officials, not federal judges, should be responsible for drawing district lines," he said in a letter to Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and House Speaker Tom Craddick, leaders of the GOP-controlled Senate and House.
Perry said once legislators had begun their work "on this important issue," he would consider putting other issues on the agenda. As governor he controls the agenda for the session, giving him additional leverage to force the lawmakers to concentrate on the remap.
Democratic Gov. Ann Richards called the last special session in Texas in 1992 to address education issues.
On May 12, a band of House Democrats fled to Ardmore, Okla., where they holed up in a Holiday Inn for four days to prevent action. Craddick ordered state troopers to return them to the Capitol but the officers had had no authority to escort them back.
The boycott denied Craddick the quorum necessary in the House to bring up a Republican-backed redistricting bill and it died when a crucial deadline passed. The maverick Democrats declared victory but the story was not over.
State Rep. Jim Dunnam, chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, said he was disappointed that a $2 million special session was being called for the first time in over a decade for political purposes when the state's budget had not even been certified.
Dunnam would not say if Democrats might walk out again.
"We will meet and discuss the proper response," he said. "We have lots of options, the Senate has lots of options."
Some Democrats say the walkout might not be effective in a 30-day session called only for redistricting. They may have a chance of blocking a redistricting bill in the 31-member Senate because a two-thirds vote is required there to take up the measure and Democrats hold 12 seats.
Dewhurst, who leads the Senate, said he would work to pass a "fair redistricting plan" from the House.
"I do not believe that the current congressional delegation represents the voting patterns of Texas," the Republican said. "While I realize that redistricting is a divisive issue, I believe considering a plan that reflects the wishes of the people of Texas is necessary."
Perry did not comment beyond his letter but Texas Republican Chairman Susan Weddington said there is an urgent need for new district lines.
"The current congressional map drawn by the federal court does not accurately reflect the will of Texas voters," she said. "Fifty-six percent of Texans voted for the GOP congressional candidates in the 2002 elections, yet Republicans received less than 47 percent of the seats. In effect, 10 percent of votes cast by Texans in congressional races are being thrown away."
State Democratic Chairwoman Molly Beth Malcolm called Perry a "puppet" of U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, who has been pushing for new districts in Texas. There are currently 17 Democrats and 15 Republicans in the delegation.
"Even though the U.S. Supreme Court approved a congressional redistricting plan in 2001, Perry has decided to follow Tom DeLay's lead and redraw the lines again. What a waste of time and money!" she said.
Under the Republican plan considered in the regular session the GOP could pick up four to seven seats in the U.S. House, although it might be challenged in court. The additional Republican seats could be important in the U.S. House where the GOP has a 229-205 advantage over Democrats. There is also one independent.
Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University, said calling a special session to address redistricting is "very unusual" because most states redraw their congressional and state districts one time after the federal census every 10 years.
"It's very rare for the political parties in a state to go back in mid-decade and try to redraw the district boundaries simply because they have improved their partisan control of the Legislature," he said.
Colorado was the only other state taking up the issue this year, passing a new congressional redistricting plan.
Jillson said Texas Republicans in a way are "trying to take a second bite at the apple" because they refused to compromise with the House Democrats on redistricting two years ago.
"They thought they would get a better deal by letting judges redraw the lines than by compromising with the Democrats," he said. "That turned out to be bad bet. They turned out to be wrong about that."
Republicans have taken all the major statewide offices in Texas and this year claimed the House for the first time in nearly 150 years. Texas has never gone back and attempted to overturn district lines that were drawn after the census, Jillson said.
