Redistricting Bill Fails
Air Date:02/02/2011
The legislature is about to take up redrawing of district lines. Redistricting occurs once every decade after the US Census. The Senate State Affairs Committee killed a bill to create a bi-partisan non-legislative committee to complete the redistricting.
SDPB's Charles Michael Ray has this story.
The bill intends to remove legislators from the process to insure fairness in the creation of districts. Those in favor of the measure cite a lack of diversity in the legislative committee that completed redistricting in 2001. Democratic Senator Jason Frerichs supports the measure.
"It's pro democracy to involve the people and the people are who make up our districts, the people are the ones who send us to Pierre and it's only fair that the people are represented in as non-partisan and as balanced as possible," says Frerichs.
But other Lawmakers like Republican Senator Bob Gray take offense to the idea that legislators cannot draw fair district lines.
"To insinuate that we are unseemly and unethical I won't have it and I will not support this bill.
The bill failed by a vote of seven to one.
Download Audio Here
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
