NEW ORLEANS — Days after a heated exchange with the Louisiana Senate committee chair over redistricting, Sen. Gary Carter has stepped away from the committee weighing proposed changes to the state's voting districts map.

Carter, a Democrat, was replaced on the Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee by Sen. Royce Duplessis, also a Democrat.

In a statement, Carter said he took a voluntary leave of absence from the committee for the betterment of the committee and to help restore decorum. He said his voice in the legislative process will remain strong and unwavering.

The move came after the committee heard four bills on Friday that redraw Louisiana's congressional districts following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling. Three bills by Sen. Jay Morris would either eliminate one of Louisiana's Black majority districts or both of them.

Carter questioned Morris about his bills and asked what he would tell people who think his actions are racist, given that he passed bills affecting the jobs of elected Black officials in New Orleans. Morris then left the witness table and could be heard telling people in the audience, "y'all need to shut up."

On Monday, Carter apologized to Morris before the Senate and urged fellow lawmakers to remain level-headed in debates over contentious topics.

"As we debate those bills, and especially contentious matters like redistricting, it's very important that as we have those conversations, we do so with cool heads and cool minds, even-tempered," Carter said. "And I'll be the first to tell you that I lost my cool, I lost my temper, during a hearing we had Friday."

Morris subsequently thanked Carter for his apology before elaborating on his experiences since the heated Friday hearing. 

"The falsehoods attributed to me have been very hurtful to me and my family," Morris said. "I don't want to whine about this, but the rhetoric has consequences."

Morris said his office received 150 voicemails over the weekend, and several that were “vile and outrageous.”

“One of those voicemails called for a mass shooting at my office,” Morris told his colleagues on the Senate floor. “Now, 99.999% of the people in the world would never take any action, but there are a few. … I'd readily quit this job than have one hair hurt on any member of my family.”

The committee is expected to take up the proposed new congressional districts map on Tuesday afternoon.

"The attacks on Black political representation in Louisiana are serious, coordinated and consequential. But we will not be intimidated, divided or distracted from the fight to ensure fair representation in Congress and equal political power for our communities," Duplessis said in a statement. 

Duplessis said that he will step into the role "fully prepared to continue standing firmly against efforts that undermine fair representation and Black political power in Louisiana."

Rep. Edmond Jordan, chairman of the Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus, praised Duplessis, saying that the Senate President "could not have chosen a better replacement" for Carter.