The road to easy passage of a legislative re-districting plan finally received some pushback from Senators who oppose increasing the Senate by one seat and the House by two seats.
Sheridan Sen. Bo Biteman and others want a plan that maintains 30 Senators and 60 Representatives, even if it doesn’t completely meet population requirements under federal law. Legislators on the committee that crafted the plan said that meeting federal requirements is essential.
Corporations Committee Chairman Ogden Driskell said various versions of a 30-60 plan created rural districts that most people disliked.
“It didn’t matter where we went, it took somebody and gave them unbelievable hardship and heartache. And we saw it time after time,” said Driskill.
Driskill said those problems went away when the committee added legislators. Rock Springs Sen. John Kolb accused the committee of adopting a plan that was easy and he added that growing government is never a good idea.
The Senate gave initial support to the bill, but some opponents plan to change the bill over the next two readings.
