House lawmakers gathered for the first time in years for a committee hearing discussing proposals to overhaul the redistricting process in North Carolina. The state’s legislative and congressional districts have been the subject of repeated lawsuits since Republicans drew the voting lines in 2011 after taking control of the General Assembly in the 2010 elections.

The House Redistricting committee discussed three reform bills on Thursday that were filed in this year’s long legislative session that would change how voting districts are drawn, including possibly starting an independent redistricting commission.

Republican Chuck McGrady is a primary sponsor of two of the proposals.

“I really think at this point if we’re going to move forward on this issue, we need a bipartisan coalition,” McGrady said. “There won’t be any confidence in it if it’s one bill or another where we’ve divided along party lines.”

McGrady has been pushing for changes to the redistricting process, which has drawn support in the House in years past. One measure cleared the chamber in 2011, just after Republicans gained control, but was never heard in the GOP-led Senate. McGrady said there were pros and cons to the different versions being presented Thursday, including whether to enact change through a constitutional amendment.

“Constitutional amendments are hard to pass,” he said, “and once you put them in place, they’re really hard to change. So, if you made a mistake of some sort or you want some clarification, that’s going to be a tough act with a constitutional amendment.”

If the changes were implemented simply through a statutory change, however, McGrady pointed out that future iterations of the General Assembly could change the law and the process.

There is no guarantee that any votes will be held or any particular measure will become law, but Democrat Deb Butler said she was grateful the proposals were receiving a proper hearing.

“I think this is a long-overdue step in the correct direction,” she said.

Republican House Rules chairman David Lewis, who has led the redistricting process in the chamber since Republicans took the majority, said there is no firm timeline of when any bill could move forward.

“We’re trying to find a system that works a little bit better than it has in the past,” Lewis said. “It’s a bit too premature right now to say, ‘I think we can vote on this bill by the end of next month.’ But I do hope we come up with a bill that makes sense.”

While there has been movement in the House in the past to discuss the redistricting process, there has been little indication any proposal would be brought before the Senate.

As the redistricting proposals were being heard in the House, the state’s current Congressional maps were being challenged in state court over partisan gerrymandering. State courts have recently ruled North Carolina’s legislative districts were unconstitutional.

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