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Connecticut's state Senate redistricting plan is approved by bipartisan committee

The Connecticut state Capitol building in Hartford.
Danielle Wedderburn
/
WSHU
The Connecticut state Capitol building in Hartford.

A bipartisan committee of eight legislative leaders and one former lawmaker has voted unanimously for a new map that redraws the boundaries of the Connecticut Senate, accommodating the population growth that has occurred in the Stamford area.

Tuesday's vote comes on the heels of last week's unanimous approval of new boundaries for House of Representatives districts. Senate Minority Leader Kevin Kelly, R-Stratford, credited the process with being a “truly bipartisan effort” that should be replicated across the U.S.

“We didn't always see eye to eye, but you know, that's part of the process,” he said. “I think (the process) should be emulated throughout the country.”

The same group is expected to seek an extension from the Connecticut Supreme Court of its Nov. 30 deadline so it can finish redrawing the state’s congressional district boundaries. Commission members said they need extra time because they received U.S. Census data late due to the pandemic.

Under the new Senate map, the city of Stamford will now have three state senators instead of two representing it in the General Assembly. The 27th Senate District had 11,000 more people than the targeted population of 95,000 to 105,000, due in part to the large number of newcomers that moved to Stamford during the pandemic.

While most of the Senate districts across the state remained relatively unchanged, the 7th Senate District in north-central Connecticut, which includes about 3,600 prison inmates, was slightly expanded to accommodate a new state law. It requires inmates to be counted as residents of the city or town where they had lived before being incarcerated.

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