JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - A bipartisan commission has agreed to new boundaries for Missouri's 34 state Senate districts after making some adjustments to an earlier proposal to smooth population differences.
Commissioners approved the plan 10-0 on Monday. Chairman Doug Harpool says the changes are designed to distribute population more evenly and are not likely to affect the political characteristics of the districts.
This is the second attempt to draw new Senate districts based on the 2010 census. A different bipartisan panel deadlocked on a map last year, handing the task to a special panel of appellate judges. The Missouri Supreme Court in January rejected the panel's map.
The tentative redistricting plan had been criticized by some St. Louis Republicans was challenged in a federal lawsuit.