Congressional Redistricting

Committee Report to the 2002 Kansas Legislature FEB 0 7 2002 KANSAS STATE LIBRARY 300 SW 10th AVB RM 343 TOPEKA, KS 6G512-1533 Special Committee on Redistricting Kansas Legislative Research Department January 2002 Legislative Coordinating Council Chairperson Senator Dave Kerr. President of the Senate Vice Chairperson Representative Kent Glasscock, Speaker of the House Lana Oleen, Senate Majority Leader Anthony Hensley. Senate Minority Leader Clay Aurand. Speaker Pro Tern Shari Weber. House Majority Leader Jim Garner. House Minority Leader Kansas Legislative Research Department 300 SW 10,h. Room 545-N. Statehouse Topeka. Kansas 66612-1504 Telephone: (785) 296-3181 ♦ FAX: (785) 296-3824 [email protected] ♦ http:/skyways.lib.ks.us/ksleg/KLRD/klrd.html The Kansas Legislative Research Department is a nonpartisan staff agency that serves both the House and Senate under the auspices of the Legislative Coordinating Council. Department staff are assigned to standing and special committees of the Legislature and provide policy and fiscal analysis for those committees and for individual legislators. Ben F. Barrett, Director William G. Wolff. Associate Director Alan D. Conroy. Chief Fiscal Analyst 3 5141 00175079 4 Special Committee on Redistricting The Committee was charged with developing Congressional. Legislative, and State Board of Education redistricting plans based upon the 2000 Census of Population for consideration by the 2002 Legislature. Senate Members Senator David Adkins. Co-Chairperson 0 7 Senator Barbara Allen Senator Lynn Jenkins Senator David Corbin Senator Janis Lee KAN 3/ C. LIBRARY Senator David Haley Senator Edward W. Pugh 1A, f;*V£vFv.f I M ' V 7 W Senator Anthony Hensley Senator Derek Schmidt TGFEKA, K5 66512-1593 Senator Tim Huelskamp Senator Ruth Teichman House Members Representative Michael O’Neal. Co-Chairperson Representative Clav Aurand Representative Doug Mays Representative John Ballou Representative Melvin Neufeld Representative Lisa L. Benlon Representative Rocky Nichols Representative Marti Crow Representative Peggy Palmer Representative John Edmonds Representative Jan Pauls Representative Troy Findley Representative Jeff Peterson Representative Broderick Henderson Representative Tony Powell Representative Andrew Howell Representative Bill Reardon Representative Thomas Klein Representative Bob Tomlinson Representative Carl Krehbiel Representative Jene Vickrey Representative William G. Mason Representative R. J. Wilson Committee Staff Kansas Legislative Research Department Revisor of Statutes Office Mary Galligan Sandv* Sadowski Mary Ann Torrence Bob Nugent Kathie Sparks LuAnn Lawhon Ken HushesW Joseph Wedeking Committee Secretaryjh Cindy O'Neal Special Committee on Redistricting D e v e l o p m e n t o f C ongressional , L e g i s l a t i v e , a n d S t a t e B o a r d o f E d u c a t io n R edistricting P l a n s The Special Committee on Redistricting recommends: Introduction of bills that would enact new districts for Kansas representatives in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Kansas Legislature. A proposed redistricting plan for the State Board of Education will be developed during the 2002 legislative Session. Minority Report: A minority report was prepared and submitted by Democrat Committee members. That report address the Committee’s recommendations for State Senate and congressional districts. Proposed Legislation: SB 378. SB 379. and HB 2625 were introduced as recommended in this report. Background tion districts from contiguous Senate districts. During the regular 2002 Legislative Session, new state House, Senate, Board The House Select Committee on Re- of Education, and congressional districts districting and the Senate Reapportion are to be enacted by the Legislature. The ment Committee, which were appointed goal of redistricting is to equalize popula to serve jointly as the Special Committee tion among districts. By law, the Kansas on Redistricting during the 2001 Interim, Legislature is composed of 125 members adopted guidelines for redistricting prior of the House of Representatives and 40 to the close of the 2001 Legislative Ses Senators. Based on the 2000 U.S. Census sion (Appendix A). Those guidelines of Population, Kansas retains four seats in provided the framework for district draw the U.S. House of Representatives. ing. This report summarizes the Commit tee's activities, conclusions, and recom Article 10. Section 1 of the Kansas mendations. Constitution requires that the Legislature redraw legislative districts each decade in Committee Activities the year ending in 2. Redistricting bills must be signed by the Governor and new Town Hall Meetings legislative districts must be reviewed and approved by the Kansas Supreme Court. The Committee held ten Town Hall The Constitution also directs the Legisla Meetings across the state in May and ture to create the State Board of Educa- June. Panels of approximately ten Com- Legislative Research Department - i - 2001 Redistricting mittee members conducted each Town remaining in the Third Congressional Hall Meeting. In addition, each meeting District: and included an education component devel- oned and presented through the coopera • Support for keeping Lawrence in a tive efforts of faculty and staff of the single congressional district. University of Kansas, Kansas State Uni versity. Fort Hays State University, Johnson County Town Hall Wichita State University, and the Kansas Meeting— May 16, 2001 Legislative Research Department. Dr. Burdett Loomis of the University Virtually all testimony presented at of Kansas presented the education the Town Hall Meetings addressed component and information from the congressional redistricting. The 2000 Census. The focus of the following paragraphs are brief presentation was the Third Congressional descriptions of the testimony and District. education component presented at each meeting. The following points were made in testimony presented to the Town Hall Several proposals for congressional panel: redistricting were presented at the Town Hall Meetings. Senator Anthony Henslev • The importance of retaining the and Representative Troy Findley integrity of communities of interest presented a congressional plan, (including political subdivisions); and Congressional Plan 1, at each of the hearings. (Appendix B:l). Other • Support for keeping Miami County in proposed plans are noted in the summary the Third Congressional District. of testimony for the meeting at which they were presented. A map of each Mrs. Jean Jones, a resident of Johnson proposed plan is included in Appendix B. County, presented a plan at the meeting Minutes of each Town Hall Meeting are (Appendix B:2). (The plan was on file with the Division of Legislative withdrawn from consideration and Administrative Services. replaced by Jones 7-12 (Appendix B:6) prior to the July Committee meeting.) Douglas County Town Hall Meeting—May 16, 2001 Hutchinson Town Hall Meeting— May 23, 2001 Dr. Steven Maynard-Moody of the University of Kansas presented the Mary Galligan of the Kansas education component and information Legislative Research Department about Kansas’ results from the 2000 presented information about the 2000 Census. The presentation focused on Census. The presentation focused on characteristics of the Third Congressional Census information about the Hutchinson District. area. The : owing points were made The following points were made in during te:? ..nony at the meeting: testimony presented at the Town Hall meeting: • Support for the City of Lawrence Kansas Legislative Research Department . 2 2001 Redistricting • Support for including Reno Countv in the Fourth Congressional District: • Support for recognizing economic communities of interest that exist • Support for retaining Reno County in among adjacent counties: and the First Congressional District: • Support for including Reno County in • Advantages of reducing the the Fourth Congressional District. geographic extent of the First Congressional District; and Leavenworth Town Hall Meeting— May 29, 2001 • Support for configuring the 34th Kansas Senate District to include all of Dr. Loomis presented the education Reno County. component which focused on the Third Congressional District and Leavenworth Mr. Ron Svatv, a resident of Ellsworth, County which is adjacent to that district. presented a congressional district plan at the meeting (Appendix B:3). Support for the following points was Wichita Town Hall Meeting— voiced in testimony presented to the May 23. 2001 Town Hall panel: Ms. Janet Harrah of Wichita State • Maintaining Leavenworth and Riley University made a presentation that counties in the Second Congressional focused on Kansas’ school district District: demographics, population growth in Wichita, and characteristics of the state’s • Retaining the City of Lawrence in the racial and ethnic minority population. Third Congressional District; The following points were made in • Redrawing the third state Senate testimony presented to the Town Flail district to include primarily panel: Leavenworth County, with a corresponding redefinition of the Fifth • Keep counties and neighborhoods Senate District boundary; whole to the extent possible for purposes of legislative representation: • Redrawing the third state Senate district to include Atchison County, • Respect communities of interest rather possibly Doniphan County, and than partisan considerations: northern Leavenworth Countv (specifically the cities of Leavenworth • Create districts that maintain and

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