The Tennessee State Capitol stands apart from newer buildings in Nashville, Tenn.The Tennessee General Assembly
99 House members: 64 Republicans, 34 Democrats and one independent33 Senate members: 20 Republicans and 13 DemocratsPay: $19,009 annuallyDaily expense reimbursements: $173 a day when the legislature or committees meet in Nashville, down from $176 last year.Source: Tennessee Legislature
NASHVILLE — Tennessee Republicans are roaring back to the state Capitol today, where they will kick off the General Assembly’s annual session with a partisan bang.
One of the first orders of business this week is acting on controversial redistricting plans that heavily favor majority Republicans as state House, state Senate and congressional districts are redrawn.
The maps are drawn every 10 years to reflect population growth based on the latest U.S. census figures. House Republicans hope to bolster their current 64-38-1 majority while the Senate GOP plans to boost its 20-13 edge over Democrats.
Republicans hope to finish redistricting by week’s end. In fact, they’d like to get in and out of Nashville as quickly as possible in preparation for 2012 elections later in the year. Some leaders say they want to keep time-consuming controversies to a minimum and bolt for the door sometime in May.