Ohio House hears GOP redistricting bill

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A key Republican senator has been called to testify in the Ohio House on his plan to create a bipartisan board to draw Ohio’s future legislative and congressional districts.

State Sen. Jon Husted’s committee appearance in the Democrat-led House today came a day after Speaker Armond Budish expressed skepticism that there’s enough time before the Feb. 3 deadline to get redistricting reform on the May ballot.

Husted says he has offered to help rally Republican votes in the House, where he preceded Budish as speaker. His bill would take the power of drawing legislative districts away from whichever party controls the state Apportionment Board and give it to a seven-member bipartisan panel.

The proposal passed the GOP-led Senate in September.