February 17, 2022 |
The statewide redistricting bill – HB 100 – sponsored by the Corporations Committee passed first reading in the House Wednesday with three amendments. Speaker Eric Barlow, who supported one of the amendments that fine-tuned his home county of Campbell, said more amendments should be expected as the bill works its way through the process. Barlow said a lot of work has been done so far, and more is to come.
Speaker Barlow reminded House members that the same process is moving forward in the senate, which might go an entirely different direction than the lower chamber. Barlow said he is working with the senate to minimize differences to avoid a loggerhead over any differences, especially nesting house districts inside senate districts.
Another deal breaker could be the overall plan to expand the legislature. Corporations proposed adding two seats to the house and one to the senate, making the so-called 62-31 plan. Not everyone is in favor of it. Representative Clark Stith said he sees no compelling reason to expand the legislature.
Expanding the number of seats in the legislature comes with a cost. Support staff would be need, requiring the expansion of the Legislative Service Office. During discussion month in the Corporations Committee, the estimated cost of the expanding the legislature was pegged at around a quarter-million dollars a years, $250,000. Representative Stith compared expanding the legislature to how lawmakers have cut state agencies for the last several years.
House Majority Leader Albert Sommers, who supports the 62/31 plan, responded to the question posed by Representative Stith, saying HB100 as passed seeks to address the population shifts in the state away from rural areas to bigger towns. Sommers used House District 47 in Carbon and Sweetwater Counties as an example.
Representative Stith said his amendment, which he plans to introduce today,will resemble the backup plan prepared by Senator Charles Scott. Corporations tabled the plan at last week’s meeting. Scott introduced another 60/30 plan in the senate.
HB 100 passed yesterday on first reading in voice vote. The amendments involved changes in the city of Green River, lines in Johnson and Sheridan Counties, and changes across multiple counties from Campbell to Goshen Counties on the eastern side of the state. More amendments are expected today, including the challenge to the 62/31 plan.
