Warren County has been split into two Missouri House districts. The redistricting divided the county into two new districts, the 42nd and 63rd. Nearly all of the county is currently in the 99th District. The new district maps for the Missouri House and Senate, drawn by a six-member panel of appellate judges, was released last Wednesday, Nov. 30. The panel was picked by the state Supreme Court after two bipartisan committees failed to reach agreements earlier this year. Redistricting occurs every 10 years following the census. Based on the 2010 census figures, the state's population increased by 7 percent to 5,988,927. The increase, combined with regional population shifts, required significant changes in the state's 34 current Senate districts and 163 House districts, according to a news release announcing the new legislative districts. The new 42nd District includes all of Montgomery County and a large portion of Warren County. The district boundary extends into southwestern St. Charles County to add Augusta and parts of New Melle. Current 99th District Rep. Bart Korman resides in the new 42nd District. Meanwhile, Wright City and Innsbrook, with the exception of four residents who will continue to vote in the new 42nd District, now reside in the 63rd District. The new district extends into northwestern St. Charles County. That area of St. Charles County is currently represented by Chuck Gatschenberger (R-Lake Saint Louis), who was first elected in 2008. Prior to the redistricting, the 99th District included nearly all of Warren and Montgomery counties, with the exception of small areas around Wellsville and Foristell. "It's pretty similar to the 99th District," Korman said. "It's a little further stretched out, but the communities have the same interest - a lot of river and interstate communities. "I figured in redistricting, if you lose less than 50 percent of the people who elected you, you're doing pretty good." Korman did offer concerns about the confusion the redistricting may cause for local residents, especially since the two new districts representing Warren County will no longer be known as the 99th District. Nonetheless, he said having another state legislator representing a larger part of the county may prove to be an advantage. "For local issues, strength is in the numbers," Korman said. The Constitution requires that districts be as equal in population as practicable. The population difference between the largest and smallest House districts is 7.8 percent. The new state legislative districts take effect for the August primary and November general elections in 2012. Candidate filing for the August primary runs from Feb. 28, 2012, through March 27. County Remains in 26th Senate District Warren County will remain in the 26th Senate District, which includes all of Warren, Franklin, Gasconade and now Crawford counties. The district, however, no longer includes any portion of west St. Louis County. The district is currently represented by Brian Nieves (R-Washington), who is completing the first year of a four-year term. The new Senate map has an overall population difference of 7.46 percent between its largest and smallest districts. Both the House and Senate maps were approved by the commission consisting of Judges Lisa White Hardwick, Roy Richter, Don Burrell, Robert Dowd, Nancy Steffen Rahmeyer and James Welsh. This is only the second time in state history that a judicial panel has redistricted both chambers. Summary maps and demographic reports for the new legislative districts can be found at www.oa.mo.gov/bp/redistricting. Additional map and census descriptions are expected to be posted soon on the website.