Speaker says redistricting could be watchdog's job

Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez proposed Wednesday stripping the Legislature's authority to draw political districts and giving the task to the Little Hoover Commission, a state watchdog agency whose members are political appointees.

Núñez said his proposal will be amended into Assembly Constitutional Amendment 1 on Thursday.

The measure fulfills a promise made by Núñez nearly two years ago to tackle the thorny issue of drawing district boundaries, known as redistricting, which strikes at the heart of political power.

"I think it's fair, I think it's honest, I think it's straight forward," Núñez said of the plan.

ACA 1 will propose that the Little Hoover Commission not only draw legislative and Board of Equalization district boundaries, but also those of Congress, a provision guaranteed to spark controversy at a time when Democrats hold a narrow majority in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.

Núñez was in perhaps a no-win situation on whether to include congressional boundaries, because Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and many Republican state legislators support the notion while many incumbent members of Congress do not.

ACA 1 will require bipartisan support - a two-thirds majority of each legislative house - to qualify for the February ballot.

"If it's good enough for the state Legislature, it ought to be good enough for (Congress,)" Núñez said Wednesday.

Under Núñez's proposal, political boundaries would be redrawn every 10 years, beginning in 2011 after the federal census.

Legislators who serve on the Little Hoover Commission would be excluded from participating in drawing new district maps.

Remaining members of the Little Hoover Commission, which would serve as the redistricting panel, consist of five gubernatorial appointees and two legislative appointees apiece by Núñez and Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata.

Núñez said he supports having the Little Hoover Commission oversee redistricting because the state agency has a solid record as an independent, government watchdog.

Núñez said he will push for a vote on ACA 1 before the Legislature adjourns in September.