(AP) — Louisiana lawmakers completed work on a congressional remap Wednesday, breaking a stalemate in the final hours of a redistricting special session.
With the last-minute action in the three-week session, Gov. Bobby Jindal won’t get the delay he requested until next year, but he’ll get a map similar to what he sought. Jindal’s office said the governor will sign the measure.
The plan will shrink the state’s U.S. House districts from seven to six because of slow population growth and will preserve five Republican districts and one majority black district.
The district represented by GOP Rep. Jeff Landry will be split apart, and he will be forced to run against Republican Rep. Charles Boustany in a district that most closely resembles Boustany’s current seat, if Landry seeks re-election.
Black lawmakers called the map discriminatory against minority voters and were expected to challenge it.
The Senate backed the redesign proposal 25-13, and the House voted 63-34 for it.
Sen. Mike Walsworth, R-West Monroe, called the map “the most compromise we’ve got. Not everybody is made whole. When we’ve got to go from seven to six, we’ve just got to make some tough decisions.”
The Louisiana Legislature was redrawing political boundary lines to account for population shifts in the last 10 years as reflected in the latest census data. The state is losing a congressman because its population growth didn’t match that of other states.
A redesign for the congressional map had bogged down in disputes over partisan politics and regional ties since before the special session began last month. The issue became so contentious that five of the state’s congressmen and Jindal over the weekend urged postponement until 2012.
Lawmakers rejected that idea, saying they spent taxpayer dollars for the special session, they are required to redraw the lines and voters should know their congressional district for next year’s elections.
Even supporters of the map said they weren’t necessarily pleased with its design.
“I’m willing to go back home and tell the people in my area that I compromised,” said Sen. Ben Nevers, D-Bogalusa, whose area would be split among two congressional districts.
Little public argument emerged over which congressmen to combine into one district, with Landry the newest GOP member. The only other freshman member of Congress from Louisiana was Democrat Cedric Richmond of New Orleans, but lawmakers agreed they had to maintain the majority black district represented by Richmond to comply with federal law.
The most heated disagreement was over whether to maintain two north Louisiana-based districts, even as the area continues to lose population. Maintaining those districts to protect Republican incumbents Rodney Alexander of Quitman and John Fleming of Minden forces a carving up of south Louisiana to make the numbers work.
Jindal said he would veto any bill that didn’t keep the two northern seats.
The map approved by the Senate, based on a design offered by Sen. Neil Riser, R-Columbia, would keep the two northern districts.
 
The redesign would split Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes in the southeast. Baton Rouge and its suburbs would be represented by three congressmen. The northeast Louisiana-based district would stretch east across the Florida Parishes.
Sen. Norby Chabert, R-Houma, said the people of Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes have been tied together for decades, and he said the Senate-backed map would carve them “up like a Thanksgiving turkey.” The city of Houma would be split between two districts, he said.
“Give a little. Please. Help me out,” Chabert pleaded to no avail.
Lawmakers rejected the creation of a second minority district, despite complaints from black lawmakers that minorities weren’t properly accounted for in a state where one-third of residents are black.
“African-Americans have been underrepresented in this state, minorities have been underrepresented in this state since the state was created, and it’s a sad, sad thing that in this day and age we continue to have to fight for what’s fair,” said Sen. J.P. Morrell, D-New Orleans.
Members of the black caucus have suggested they will challenge several of the maps drawn during the special session when they are filed with the U.S. Justice Department for approval. Federal officials must sign off on Louisiana’s maps to ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act, which guards against discrimination.