Senator Eliot Shapleigh - El Paso, Texas

Establishing a bipartisan commission to draw congressional districts in Texas got another boost Monday. The Senate State Affairs Committee approved the bill 6-3 and sent it to the full Senate.

That's a positive sign for a bill that has been introduced in each legislative session for the past 15 years but has never made it to the governor's desk. However, the wounds from the bloody mid-census redistricting fight of 2003 are still fresh enough to bring some new love for a bill that would take the worst politics out of the always-fraught redistricting process.

The 2003 debacle was foisted on the Legislature by a determined then-U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, the Sugar Land Republican, and embraced by a compliant GOP majority in the Legislature. The effort had Democrats scurrying to hideouts in New Mexico and Oklahoma, but DeLay's forces won in the end and sent more Texas Republicans to Congress.

But so much political blood was spilled that creating a bipartisan commission to establish congressional lines has gained traction. A similar bill passed the Senate in 2007 but failed in the House. Today, the two-vote Republican majority in the House is so shaky that the commission idea might get a floor vote there this time.

Long before the 2003 redistricting battle, state Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, had championed a bipartisan commission to set this state's congressional districts. It makes sense because it's fair and about as nonpartisan as redistricting can be.

A commission also should create more sensible congressional districts for Texas. If you want to see gerrymandering at its worst, study this state's congressional map some time. The DeLay map is a classic example of redistricting as a power play. Austin, long contained in the 10th Congressional District, was split into three districts — one based in San Antonio, one stretching to the Houston suburbs and one meandering to the far south and east.

Wentworth's Senate Bill 315 would establish a nine-member commission to draw congressional district lines. Two members would be appointed by the House majority party and two by the House minority party. Two would be named by the Senate majority and two by the Senate minority. The ninth member, appointed by the other eight, would preside but not vote.

None of the members could hold elective office or participate actively in party or electoral politics while serving on the commission. The commission would establish congressional districts based on results from the 2010 census. It would have no authority over redrawing state legislative districts.

Texans would truly benefit from a bipartisan redistricting commission because one of the most overt demonstrations of partisan power would be taken out of the hands of the political parties in the Legislature.

Witnesses have testified for years about the value of a redistricting commission. Even Gov. Rick Perry has indicated he would sign it if it reaches his desk, Wentworth said.

That would be an important contribution to bipartisanship from the 81st Legislature. We hope it comes to fruition.