Redistricting study committee bill heads to Pence

A bill that will establish a study committee to consider how to handle redistricting and evaluate the benefits and problems with changing the state’s mapping methods passed the Indiana Senate on Wednesday.

The bill passed 43-7 and moves to the governor’s desk for approval.

Redistricting is the act of redrawing the lines that define legislative and congressional districts. Lawmakers redraw those lines every 10 years after the U.S. Census.

About a dozen states give “first and final authority” for legislative redistricting to a group other than the legislature, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.