MINUTES OF THE
REDISTRICTING COMMITTEE
Thursday, June 2, 2011 – 6:00 p.m. – Legacy Junior High School
Members Present:
Sen. Ralph Okerlund, Senate Chair
Rep. Kenneth W. Sumsion, House Chair
Sen. Gene Davis
Sen. Benjamin M. McAdams
Sen. Stuart C. Reid
Sen. Kevin T. Van Tassell
Rep. Roger E. Barrus
Rep. Melvin R. Brown
Rep. Gage Froerer
Rep. Neal B. Hendrickson
Rep. Brian S. King
Rep. Todd E. Kiser
Speaker Rebecca D. Lockhart
Rep. Merlynn T. Newbold
Rep. Christine F. Watkins
Rep. R. Curt Webb
Members Absent:
President Michael G. Waddoups
Rep. Francis D. Gibson
Rep. Don L. Ipson
Staff Present:
Mr. John Q. Cannon, Managing Policy Analyst
Ms. Emily R. Brown, Associate General Counsel
Mr. Art L. Hunsaker, Policy Analyst
Mr. Joseph T. Wade, Policy Analyst
Ms. Kimberly A. Heiner, Legislative Secretary
Note: A list of others present, a copy of related materials, and an audio recording of the meeting can be found at www.le.utah.gov.
1. Committee Business
Chair Okerlund called the meeting to order at 6:08 p.m. President Waddoups was excused from the meeting.
Members of the Committee introduced themselves and indicated the areas of the state that they represent.
MOTION: Rep. Hendrickson moved to amend the May 20, 2011 minutes to include his attendance. The motion passed unanimously, with Sen. Reid absent for the vote.
MOTION: Rep. Hendrickson moved to approve the minutes of the May 4 and May 20 meetings. The motion passed unanimously with Sen. Reid absent for the vote.
2. Overview of Redistricting
Mr. Wade gave a presentation on what redistricting is, why it is done, and the redistricting principles that were adopted at the May 4, 2011 meeting.
Mr. Cannon gave an overview of the redistricting public website, RedistrictUtah.com. Mr. Cannon also demonstrated the online redistricting tool that will allow the public to create redistricting plans. He said this tool will be available to the public on Wednesday, June 8.
3. Public Comment and Committee Discussion About Redistricting
Rep. Barrus proposed a “Davis County House Plan” map that was distributed to the public. He also discussed the “Weber County House Plan,” proposed by Rep. Froerer, which was also available to the public. He encouraged the public to use the online tool when it becomes available and draw their own lines and create maps.
Rep. Sumsion presented U.S. congressional redistricting plans for Salt Lake County and for the entire state. His plan was available to the public entitled "U.S. Congressional Plan - Sumsion Plan B."
Rep. Steven Handy, Utah State Legislature House District 16, stated that he believes Rep. Barrus' plan is on the right track.
Sen. Jerry Stevenson, Utah State Legislature Senate District 21, said he was concerned that Rep. Sumsion's plan divides Davis County, and he asked that the county be kept together.
Ms. Beth Holbrook, Bountiful City Council, said she would also like to keep Davis County in one congressional district.
Mr. Steve Curtis, Layton City Mayor, said he would also like to keep Davis County together.
Ms. Jamie Nagle, Syracuse City Mayor, asked the Committee to keep Davis County in one district. She stated that the lack of federal funding coming to the cities and states creates an even greater need for the boundaries of Davis County to be undivided.
Mr. John Petroff, Davis County Commissioner, stated that he agrees with the previous speakers that Davis county should be kept in one district.
Mr. Ken Froehle, Represent Me Utah, said he also agrees that Davis County should not be divided. He also stated that redistricting could help increase voter turnout rates in Utah.
Mr. John Pitt, Davis Chamber of Commerce, said that the businesses of Davis County, along with the cities represented with the Chamber of Commerce, voted unanimously through the Davis Chamber Legislative Affairs Committee to oppose any plan that would divide the county at the federal level. Mr. Pitt also said that Davis County has the largest employment center with Hill Air Force Base, and that dividing the area would weaken representation.
Mr. Chris Sloan, resident of Tooele County, said that he is concerned that there is a misconception that Tooele County is a subdivision of Salt Lake. He stated that Tooele County has more in common with other rural counties.
Mr. Vern Phipps, citizen, stated that the city of Clearfield should be in one district and expressed concern that cities end up getting divided when they do not need to be.
Mr. Brett Gardner, Davis County Democratic Party Chair, said he was concerned by the map's proposed today and said he would like to create a map that better represents Davis County. He also voiced concern about protecting incumbents.
Mr. Ray Briscoe, citizen, said the Redistricting Committee is doing a great job and hopes the Committee finishes as well as it started.
Sen. Stuart Adams, Utah State Senate District 2, said that the Utah Test and Training Range is part of Hill Air Force Base and should remain in the same congressional district as the base.
Ms. LuAnn Adams, Box Elder County Commissioner, said that she likes the current voting district boundaries. She also said that Box Elder is a rural county and fits in with Cache and Tooele counties. She said she hopes that the Committee will take this into consideration in drawing redistricting maps.
Mr. Mike Bouwhuis, Layton City Council member, said he would like Weber and Layton to be in the same district.
Sen. Reid said that he could see an advantage of having more than one congressional representative in a county to advocate for the county's interests.
4. Adjourn
MOTION: Sen. Davis moved to adjourn. The motion passed unanimously.
Chair Okerlund adjourned the meeting at 7:12 p.m.