Independent redistricting commission proposed

The Legislature’s redistricting process would include the help of an independent commission under a bill heard by the Executive Board Feb. 27.

Currently, the Legislature is responsible for drawing new governmental boundaries every 10 years after the decennial census for districts pertaining to the U.S. House of Representatives, the Legislature, Public Service Commission, University of Nebraska Board of Regents and the state Board of Education.

LB580, introduced by Gretna Sen. John Murante, would create the Independent Redistricting Citizen’s Advisory Commission to assist in the process beginning in 2021.

Murante said the bill is the result of a year’s worth of research into how to effectively draw Nebraska’s districts.

“This is the first step in a very complicated process,” he said. “At the end of the day, the creation of an independent redistricting commission is the goal.”

The commission would be established by Jan. 30 of each redistricting year. Each of the three legislative caucuses would appoint three people to serve on the commission, with no more than two with the same political party affiliation from each caucus.

To be eligible for service on the commission, a person must be a Nebraska resident and a registered voter who, at the time of appointment, had not changed political party affiliation within the previous 12 months.

Residents registered as lobbyists within the previous 12 months, public officials, candidates for elective office and those holding a political party office in Nebraska or the United States would not be eligible.

The commission would develop and adopt redistricting maps according to guidelines adopted upon creation of the commission. Legislative bills containing the commission’s recommendations would be delivered to the Executive Board no later than March 10, after which at least four public hearings in different geographic regions would be scheduled.

Omaha Sen. Heath Mello spoke in favor of the bill, saying it would be a fair and representative solution.

“We’re trying to create a process and system that will yield results that the Legislature and the state can be proud of,” he said. “This is a very good start, a good foundation, to come to a consensus from a bipartisan perspective.”

Gavin Geis, executive director of Common Cause, also spoke in favor of the bill. He said research shows that states with an independent redistricting commission inspire more trust in the state’s citizens.

“Forty-five percent of people in those states [with an independent redistricting commission] trusted the results of the process,” Geis said. “In states without an independent commission, only 25 percent felt that they could trust the process.”

The committee took no immediate action on the bill.