House delays Senate redistricting

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - The House showdown over a surprise redistricting bill that Senate Republicans strong-armed to passage will have to wait for another day.

The amended bill that triggered an angry partisan standoff between the Senate's 20 Republicans and 20 Democrats was deferred for the day Wednesday in the House. It passed on a party line 20-19 vote Monday after Senate Republicans caught Democratic Sen. Henry Marsh absent attending the presidential inauguration.

House Bill 259 threatens to stalemate the 2013 General Assembly and wreck Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell's transportation and education reform initiatives.

House Republicans are uneasy about the measure. Some of them agree with House Democrats that Republican Speaker Bill Howell should rule the radically rewritten bill is not germane to its initial purpose of minor adjustments to district boundaries.