California: Dems propose redistricting panel
The Los Angeles Daily News reports: Senate Democrats plan to announce today their own reform plan for redistricting, which would retain their political control of the process of drawing legislative and congressional district boundaries.
According to a copy of the proposal obtained by the Daily News, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's plan to transfer the Legislature's redistricting power to a nonpartisan panel of retired judges would be scrapped. That authority would instead be given to a commission of seven political appointees, four of whom would be chosen by legislative leaders.
Republican leaders said the administration was unlikely to accept the plan but acknowledged it could be a first step toward a compromise.
"Certainly, discussions are a positive thing and there might be a possibility for compromise," said Senate Minority Leader Dick Ackerman, R-Irvine. "But if you look at the language in the bill compared to what we saw before, I think it makes it worse in terms of something we would sign off on and the governor would sign off on."
Sen. Alan Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, who authored Senate Constitutional Amendment 3, is scheduled to unveil the proposal today. Common Cause, a national group based in Washington, D.C., which previously endorsed Schwarzenegger's redistricting plan, and the League of Women Voters are expected to lend their support to the bill -- at least in principle, sources said. -- L.A. Daily News - News