RSVP for Summer Redistricting Meetings

Our friends in the Florida Senate created this helpful website to RSVP for this summer’s public hearings on redistricting:

• Public Hearing RSVP Form (Optional)

RSVPing in advance of meetings is optional, but it does help us ensure that we adequately prepare for the number of Floridians who wish to present their ideas for redistricting.

• Complete Public Meeting Schedule

Everyone is welcome at the public hearings to speak directly to the Senators and Representatives about redistricting.  Our sole purpose is listening to learn how you want the standards governing redistricting to be implemented and how you think districts in your area can work best for all voters and constituents.

Meetings will convene promptly at the scheduled start time and will adjourn upon the completion of business or the scheduled end time, whichever occurs first.  We will carefully budget time to hear as much public testimony as possible, and citizens are welcome to supplement the record with written materials.  Please let us know if you plan to attend and if you wish to speak at the meeting, so we can arrange enough seating and allot adequate time.

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Guidance for Public Participation

With public meetings on redistricting about to begin throughout Florida, we are getting questions about what kinds of public testimony are appropriate at those public meetings.  How can Floridians express the interests of their communities without running afoul of state and federal redistricting laws?  How can Floridians talk about redistricting in a way that positively reflects the standards in law?

While it is the goal of the Florida House of Representatives to consider any public testimony that is offered at the public meetings, via the House’s MyDistrictBuilder application, or through any other means, it is equally important to address the reality that – by law – some kinds of input simply cannot be considered in the crafting of Florida’s new state legislative and congressional district maps.

We created the handout below, Guidance for Public Participation, as a reference to the concepts that are promoted and prohibited in federal and Florida redistricting laws.  Guidance for Public Participation can also be found at www.floridaredistricting.org (or directly at http://bit.ly/mTaxBj).

The handout gives general guidance for the kinds of public testimony that will be considered, and also the kinds of public testimony that will not be considered.  For a greater understanding of these legal issues, visit the Legal Resources section at www.floridaredistricting.org.  Our Redistricting Concepts & Terminology document at http://bit.ly/i1DpDu may also be a helpful guide.

We hope you find the handout helpful, but please feel free to email us at mydistrictbuilder@myfloridahouse.gov if you have any questions.

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