DENVER Just as the partisanship over new congressional districts has reached a fever pitch, its time to redraw lines for state legislative districts.
An 11-person panel five Democrats, five Republicans and an unaffiliated chairman has the task of drawing new districts for the state House and Senate. It started its work in earnest Monday.
So far were off to a bipartisan start, said Rob Witwer, a Republican former state representative who serves on the panel.
The Congressional redistricting fight started out on a bipartisan note, too, but it landed in court after a stalemate at the Legislature.
For a number of reasons, though, the outcome could be different this time.
For one, state law requires the commission to produce a map for legislative districts. Legislators always had the option to go to court if they couldnt agree on a congressional map.
You have to do it, so its different that way, said Rep. Matt Jones, D-Boulder. It tends to be less partisan.
Jones served on the legislative reapportionment commission 20 years ago, and hes on the same panel again this year.
Legislative leaders, Gov. John Hickenlooper and state Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael Bender appointed the panel.
The group has to draft a plan and hold public hearings around the state late this summer and early fall. By Oct. 7, it has to submit a plan to the state Supreme Court, which has until Dec. 14 to approve the new maps.
Big changes will be needed to reach the ideal House district size of 77,372 people. District 48, which hugs Interstate 25 north of Denver, has to shed nearly 35,000 people. And District 4 in Northwest Denver has to add 16,000 people.
Southwest Colorados House districts need fewer changes than most others. Both District 58 and District 59 have about 1,000 too many people.
But that does not mean the Four Corners districts will stay the same, because changes to other districts will ripple around the state.
For example, Durango and Cortez could be put into separate House districts. Right now, almost all of the Cortez area is in District 59 with Durango.
An ideal Senate district will have 143,691 people.
An early dispute within the commission is an echo of the congressional fight. Democrats want to look at voter registration and voting history to try to draw competitive districts, while Republicans say the law does not require the commission to look at partisan factors.
Why do we have to look at partisan voter registration and performance data? It doesnt seem relevant, Witwer said.
The laws and directions from the state Supreme Court are more prescriptive for legislative districts than for Congress.
First, the districts must have roughly equal populations, varying by up to 5 percent from the ideal size, said Jerry Barry, a lawyer for the Legislature.
Also, the districts should be as compact as possible.
Next, county lines have to be respected whenever possible, followed by city boundaries,
The panel will meet every Monday at least through June.
Just like Congressional districts, legislative maps have to be redrawn every 10 years after the Census, to balance the population.
Reach Joe Hanel at joeh@cortezjournal.com.