INDIANAPOLIS -- As the session reconvened Monday, House Minority leader Phil GiaQuinta (D-Fort Wayne) said reconvening today violates the rules. He and other house democrats said that in order to change the reconvening date from Jan. 5, there needs to be agreement between the house speaker and minority leader.
"We shouldn't be here at all today. We have rules. We have rules again, that govern this house, and we have rule and we should follow them," said GiaQuinta.
After a vote, the session continued. House Bill 1032 was brought up soon after, which allows the general assembly to make changes to congressional districts outside the usual ten-year cycle.
There was a motion to reject HB 1032 on its first reading, but it moved forward and was referred to the committee on elections and apportionment, to be discussed at 9 a.m. Tuesday in the house chamber.
Democratic Representative Randy Novak represents Michigan City and spoke about redistricting with ABC57 after the house adjourned for the day.
"The majority of the people in Indiana don't want this. I truly believe that the majority of my colleagues in the house and in the senate don't want this, but they're being forced to do this because the pressure is so great on them, or else they'll be caucused by their own party," said Novak.
Novak says after today, he thinks there will be enough votes to move redistricting forward to the senate. Indiana's senate is set to reconvene Monday, Dec. 8.
A 2025 congressional draft plan was posted to the Indiana House Republicans website.
Democratic representative Maureen Bauer, who represents South Bend, says she got a look at a map today. She said the republican proposal shortens the second congressional district and it takes away a lot of the voice of northwest Indiana and the first district.
"I have not received one message from a constituent who is in favor of mid-decade redistricting, and that includes individuals who identify as democrat, republican, and independents alike. Most of the polling that's been done in the state reveals the same," said Bauer.
Bauer says after this is discussed in committee Tuesday, there will be no business on Wednesday, on Thursday the bill will move to second readings on the house floor, with a final third reading vote on Friday.
ABC57 reached out to all the democratic and republican representatives in our area for interviews Monday but did not hear back from most of them.