Senate Committee Redistricting Hearing Gets Heated

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Senate leaders are urging their colleagues to be respectful after a redistricting committee hearing marked by heated exchanges over maps.

The Senate's number two ranking member — Senate President Pro Tem Sharon Broome, a Democrat from Baton Rouge — took to the chamber floor Tuesday to remind her colleagues they are being closely watched as they redraw the state's political boundaries. She asked them to work together.

During a daylong hearing Tuesday, Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Bob Kostelka, a Republican from Monroe, admonished one senator to stop talking and he interrupted testimony of others. Voices grew tense, and interactions got testy.

Senate President Joel Chaisson, a Democrat from Destrehan, says redistricting is an emotional process. He says he is advising senators to "step back and respect each other."