An influential state legislator testified Friday in a trial to decide the fate of Florida's disputed Congressional map.
State Sen. Tom Lee, R-Brandon, refuted allegations he sought to draw a U.S. House district he could later run in.
Florida House leaders have suggested Lee used his role on the Senate's reapportionment committee to reconfigure a Congressional district to include eastern Hillsborough County, where he lives. The charge played a key role in the legislative impasse that derailed a special legislative session last month.
"They're trying very hard not to mention anybody by name, but that is exactly what they're implying," Lee said after his testimony. "That's why I was glad to be here today and would've actually preferred to get more into it than we did."
Courts have struck down the two latest iterations of the congressional map, ruling they violate the 'Fair Districts' amendments, which outlaw gerrymandering district lines to benefit political parties and incumbents.
Having failed to reach a legislative compromise on new boundaries, the House and Senate and a coalition of voter groups are arguing for their respective map designs to be adopted by the Florida Supreme Court.
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