|
|
"A comprehensive, collaborative elections resource."
|
Grass-roots redistricting effort dealt a setback
|
|---|
| Parent(s) |
Issue
|
| Contributor | Jason |
| Last Edited | Jason Aug 03, 2009 02:30am |
| Logged |
0
|
| Category | Legal Ruling |
| Author | Cathy Mckitrick |
| Media | Newspaper - Salt Lake Tribune |
| News Date | Friday, July 31, 2009 08:00:00 AM UTC0:0 |
| Description | The Utah Supreme Court ruled Friday that the $1 million price tag required to establish an independent redistricting commission still sticks.
That cost, calculated by legislative fiscal analysts at the request of the Governor's Office of Planning and Budget, was based on the premise that lawmakers would run their own parallel process.
The state Constitution assigns that task to the Legislature, but some charge that it gives elected officials the chance to choose their voters instead of the other way around.
At issue is a ballot initiative effort, sponsored by the grass-roots Fair Boundaries Coalition, to establish an advisory panel to reshape Utah's 29 Senate and 75 House districts -- and the state's congressional slots -- after the 2010 Census.
"We reject the petitioners' arguments," wrote the high court. "We do not read the plain language of the initiative to prohibit the Legislature from undertaking separate research and analysis of redistricting issues at any time."
To do so would require a constitutional amendment, which cannot be achieved through a ballot initiative. So the proponents stopped short of taking the final decision out of the Legislature's hands, relegating the 11-member panel to an advisory role. |
| Share |
|
|
2¢
|
|
| Article | Read Full Article |
|
| Date |
Category |
Headline |
Article |
Contributor |
|
|
