Legislature preps for redistricting
By Terry Murry on Wednesday, April 21st, 2021 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
SALEM – The House of Representatives and Senate redistricting committees in Salem are already hard at work on the preliminaries leading up to re-drawing the lines based on the state’s population. The Oregon Supreme Court has ruled that the legislature has until the end of the year to redistrict the state.
The lawmakers petitioned the court when it appeared that the Secretary of State’s office was attempting to usurp their role and take over the process. That office, by law, can step in only if the Oregon Legislature fails to reach an agreement in a certain amount of time. The court ruling means they have until the end of the year, and may call a special session to reach a conclusion.
Originally the U.S. Census figures weren’t expected until late September, but that’s changed.
“It looks like the critical part of the total package will be available to Oregon sometime in mid- to late-August,” Sen. Bill Hansell (R-Athena) who sits on the Senate Redistricting Committee said.
When the legislators asked the high court to get involved, the secretary of state’s office was suggesting using population estimates from Portland State University. That won’t happen.
“The court ruled you have to use the federal census,” Hansell said. “That’s the one that’s most reliable. You’re not allowed to use others.”
Political observers believe that the census will allow Oregon another seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. The map shown here is of the current Congressional districts.
