State releases new proposed 2017 House redistricting plan

RALEIGH, North Carolina (WTVD) -- The North Carolina General Assembly released its new proposed 2017 house redistricting plan on Saturday.

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One of the things that changed was the addition of more compact districts.

Representative David Lewis, R-Harnett County, said that they were releasing the plans early so if people want changes they can let representatives know.

"We followed the criteria closely so the public will be pleased with them," said Lewis, senior chairman of the House redistricting committee.

Lewis also said that one thing that would need to change is called "Unavoidable Pairings," meaning two representatives would right now be representing the same overlapping areas.

Those unavoidable pairings include Guilford and Lee Counties.

After the release, Senator Angela Bryant expressed her discontent on the proposal. Bryant said that she did not agree with what was on the proposal.

North Carolina Democratic Party Executive Director Kimberly Reynolds was also critical of the plan.

"Republican leaders continue to show they are more concerned with maintaining their supermajority than fairly representing North Carolina," Reynolds said. "We'll wait to see more details before examining individual districts, but we continue to be concerned by Republicans' insistence on using the same dark arts gerrymandering expert who drew the previous unconstitutional maps, and their refusal to conduct this process in a transparent and bipartisan fashion."

The first public meeting is Tuesday; the committee will meet Thursday.

"People will be able to draw conclusions for themselves," Lewis said. "We feel like we have complied with the wishes of the judges."

LOCATIONS FOR TUESDAY'S PUBLIC HEARINGS

All hearings begin at 4 p.m.

Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute (Caldwell County)

Building B, Room 104

2855 Hickory Blvd., Hudson, NC 28638

Central Piedmont Community College (Mecklenburg County)

Hall Building, Rooms 215/216

1112 Charlottetowne Ave., Charlotte, NC 28204

Fayetteville Technical Community College (Cumberland County)

General Classroom Building (GCB), Room 108

2817 Fort Bragg Rd., Fayetteville, NC 28303

Guilford Technical Community College (Guilford County)

Medline Campus Center, Room 360

601 E Main St., Jamestown, NC 27282

Halifax Community College (Halifax County)

Building 100, Room 108

100 College Dr., Weldon, NC 27890

Legislative Office Building (Wake County)

Room 643, 300 N Salisbury St., Raleigh, NC 27603

Beaufort Community College (Beaufort County)

Building 9, Room 953

5337 US Hwy. 264 East, Washington, NC 27889

The Associated Press contributed to this report.