Redistricting proposal could move boundaries
Flathead Valley residents could have new House and Senate representatives for 2014 should the 2011-12 Districting and Apportionment Commission’s proposal pass in the legislative session later this month.
Under the proposal as it currently stands, Somers residents will move from Senate District 5 to Senate District 6, Lakeside’s current district. Bigfork, Woods Bay and Ferndale residents will all be moved from House District 9 to House District 10, and Somers and Lakeside residents will move from House District 10 to House District 11.
The proposed plan has to be introduced in the 2013 legislative session before Jan. 17 and would take effect for Montana citizens starting Nov. 1, 2014. Once the plan is introduced, the legislators have 30 days to provide recommendations to the commission. From there, the commission has another 30 days to make changes before filing the plan with the Montana Secretary of State.
The state and federal Constitutions require redistricting after every census, every 10 years, to accommodate for population changes. In order to ensure a nonpartisan map is drawn, an independent commission was formed by majority and minority leaders of each house of the legislature in April 2009. There were two Republican and two Democratic appointees and one neutral chairman either appointed by the four, or appointed by the court.
Former Justice Jim Regneir was unanimously selected by the Court as the fifth districting commissioner and presiding officer when Helena’s Linda Vaughey and Joe Lamson, Missoula’s Pat Smith, and Clancy’s Jon Bennion were unable to agree on their fifth commissioner.
The commissioners used 2010’s census data and geography to determine new boundary lines for the House and Senate districts.
“The key is each district has the same amount of people, that is one of the big bounding factors,” Rachel Weiss, research analyst who worked with the Montana legislature, said.
County commissioner districts are typically redrawn following state-wide redistricting for the House and Senate. However, Flathead County commissioners missed the deadline by about a month according to Flathead County commissioner Pam Holmquist. But if LC 1413 passes, that deadline would be eliminated and the county commissioners could begin the redistricting process for Flathead County.
“That would be a good thing I think,” Holmquist said. “I know GIS had the draft map we were thinking about doing but didn’t get it done in time. It’s not a done deal, but it may end up that way.”
Although the possibility for redistricting county commissioner boundaries is contingent on LC 1413, residents of Bigfork, Woods Bay, Ferndale, Somers and Lakeside are too far from current boundary lines to have their current commissioner districts change.