Senate leaders praise passage of new Senate district maps

OKLAHOMA CITY - Senate leaders praised the bipartisan and near-unanimous passage of new Senate district maps. Senate Bill 1x passed on a 46-1 vote Wednesday and now moves to the Oklahoma House of Representatives for consideration.

By law, the Legislature must redraw legislative district boundaries to reflect changes in population every 10 years following the decennial Census.

“Our open and transparent process, coupled with public input, yielded good maps that passed out of the Senate with overwhelming, bipartisan support. I appreciate Senator Lonnie Paxton, the members of the Senate redistricting committee, and the redistricting staff for their diligent work. Equally as important was the unprecedented level of engagement from Oklahomans, which lead to better maps,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City.

Sen. Lonnie Paxton, chair of the Senate Select Committee on Redistricting, said the Senate and House redistricting committees held 30 public meetings, both in-person and virtual, and solicited public comment for more than a year.

“Over a year ago, the Senate promised to have an open and transparent redistricting process, and we kept that promise. I am proud that Oklahomans answered our call for input into what was important to them in redrawing the Senate district boundaries. The process and public input yielded good Senate district maps that are more compact than the current maps. I am proud of our process and proud of the maps it produced. I appreciate the members of the Senate for their cooperation throughout the process of redrawing the Senate district boundaries. I also want to thank the redistricting staff for their hard work and commitment," said Paxton, R-Tuttle.

The Senate on Wednesday also approved other redistricting measures including Senate Bill 2x, Senate Bill 4x, and Senate Bill 5x. Those measures also head to the House for consideration.