New bid to carve districts survives

New bid to carve districts survives

Sacramento Bee, The (CA)

March 16, 2006

Legislation to strip California lawmakers of their power to draw state Senate, Assembly and other political boundaries narrowly passed a legislative committee Wednesday.

Supported by Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, the measure comes four months after voters soundly defeated Proposition 77, which also called for independent redistricting but differed significantly in its process and timing.

Sen. Alan Lowenthal, a Long Beach Democrat who helped craft SCA 3, hailed the proposed constitutional amendment as a way to give political power "back to the people."

"We can only depoliticize the redistricting process by working together," Lowenthal said in urging bipartisan support.

Under SCA 3, boundaries for legislative, congressional and Board of Equalization districts would be drawn once every decade, beginning in 2011, after the federal census.

Boundaries would be set by a citizens commission, with legislative leaders choosing a majority of its members from a pool of candidates nominated by a panel of retired appellate judges.

SCA 3 received no Republican votes Wednesday in passing the Senate Elections, Reapportionment and Constitutional Amendments Committee by a bare-minimum 3-1 vote.

Senate Democrats Debra Bowen of Marina del Rey, Kevin Murray of Culver City and Gloria Romero of Los Angeles supported the measure, but Murray and Romero said they were casting "courtesy votes" to keep negotiations alive.

Of the committee's two Republican members, Sen. Jim Battin of Palm Desert voted no but said he hopes that talks can lead to a proposal he can support. Sen. Charles Poochigian of Fresno left the hearing before casting a vote.

SCA 3 is not the only redistricting proposal anticipated this year in the Legislature. Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez and Assembly Republican leader Kevin McCarthy have been working together on a competing proposal.

Outside the Legislature, a coalition of watchdog groups that supported Proposition 77 is gathering signatures for yet another proposal to alter redistricting , this time by an 11-member citizens commission chosen partly by lot and partly by legislative leaders.

Critics say the current system allows incumbents to tilt district lines strongly in their favor, resulting in noncompetitive races and little reason for Californians to vote.

"I think the public is hungry for change," said Sen. Roy Ashburn, R-Bakersfield, a joint author of SCA 3.

Not one of 153 legislative or congressional districts changed party hands in the 2004 election.

"Our current redistricting method certainly puts legislators into a system where they have an inherent conflict of interest," said Trudy Schafer of the League of Women Voters of California.

But Murray called SCA 3 a "classic example of the solution looking for the problem."

"The only people who are interested in this are editorial writers and college professors," he said.

At worst, gerrymanders result in a large majority of voters being placed in districts likely to be represented by legislators of their own political party, Murray said.

"What's the harm?" he asked.

Romero added that creating more competitive races is no cure-all.

"You're actually just creating more money, more special interests and more consultants," she said.

Proposition 77, rejected by 19 percentage points in last year's special election, called for a three-member panel of retired state or federal judges to draw new boundaries immediately, not waiting until the next census.

By contrast, Lowenthal's legislation, SCA 3, proposes that:

* A pool of 55 candidates for the proposed independent redistricting commission would be chosen by a 10-member panel of retired appellate judges.

* Twenty of the commission candidates would be Democrats, 20 Republicans, and 15 would be independents or members of minor parties.

* In selecting candidates, "every effort" would be made to ensure racial, ethnic and cultural diversity.

* From the pool of candidates, legislative leaders would choose eight members - two apiece by the Assembly speaker, Senate president pro tem, and by the minority leaders of the Senate and Assembly.

* The eight members selected by legislative leaders would choose the remaining three members.

* In drawing boundaries, consideration would be given to respecting "communities of interest" - voters who share common bonds - and to factors ranging from geographic compactness to existing boundaries of cities and counties.

* Once boundaries are set by the independent commission, after solicitation of public comment, they would take effect without approval by the Legislature or voters.

The Senate elections and reapportionment committee, in approving SCA 3, asked that a series of public hearings be held to discuss details.

The committee also requested that it be involved in considering future amendments to the bill before it reaches the Senate floor.

Lowenthal and Ashburn hope to qualify SCA 3 for the November ballot.

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The Bee's Jim Sanders can be reached at (916) 326-5538 or jsanders@sacbee.com.

Author: Jim SandersBee Capitol Bureau

Section: MAIN NEWS

Page: A3