Mo. Senate panel OKs proposed congressional map

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A Missouri Senate committee has endorsed a House plan to redraw the state's congressional districts.

Missouri is losing one of its nine seats in the U.S. House, and state lawmakers are in charge of drawing the eight new districts.

A map approved by the House last week won approval Monday by a Senate committee on a 4-3 vote. But the same committee had previously endorsed a different proposal, and the chairman -- Sen. Scott Rupp -- says the House version is just one more alternative to be considered.

Proposed maps developed by the Republican-led House and Senate have largely been similar with some differences around the margins. Generally, the proposals merge two congressional districts in St. Louis city and split up nearby Jefferson County.