RICHMOND -- The Virginia Senate voted 22-18 this afternoon to amend the state Constitution to create a bipartisan process to draw new legislative districts every 10 years.

Sponsored by Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Bath County, Senate Joint Resolution 352 would change the Virginia Constitution to establish a 13-member redistricting commission to draw district lines based on population and not protection of incumbents or a party majority.

Currently, redistricting is controlled by members of the General Assembly's majority party. And a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court allows them to draw district lines so as to protect incumbents and, as a result, their party dominance.

Similar bills have been repeatedly introduced in the past, including by Republicans when the Democrats controlled the majority in both General Assembly houses, but such proposals have never made it to the floor of either house before.

The bill now heads to the House of Delegates, which killed a similar redistricting proposal in committee earlier this month.