A state Senate committee has given its approval to establish an independent panel to advise lawmakers on drawing New Hampshire's election districts. The unanimous vote makes it all but certain the plan will reach the desk of Governor Chris Sununu.

This plan would allow lawmakers to vote on redistricting maps and but would keep them out of the process of drawing them.

Instead, maps would be created by a 15-member commission selected from a pool of applicants collected by the Secretary of State. No commission member could have been an elected official or have been a lobbyist in the preceding 10 years.

Sununu has yet to take a clear position on this bill.

In a statement, he said, “I believe the current system works well, but have been encouraged by recent improvements to the legislation. I will review the final language of the bill should it reach my desk.”