 House District 6- messy? (February 13, 2014) - The Kentucky Legislature has primarily two major functions.
One is to design and pass a budget for the operations of Kentucky State Government every two years. Each budget is a struggle between massive needs from all counties and groups of populations against the special needs of the well connected and wealthy corporate agendas. Most years, the budget is one of the last bills passed due to the very rough legislative fighting over the money details.
The other important job is to declare and approve the legislative districts boundaries for House of Representative and Senate races. The second job sounds like an easier of the two. It’s just a matter of maps and math, right?
Except this has not been a normal redistricting process for the 2010 census process. The census data generated every 10 years is used as the foundation for population figures in every city and county in Kentucky to redraw the legislative districts for the House and Senate. Lawsuits, infighting between House and Senate leadership has delayed the official boundaries of the redistricting until the October Special Session of 2013.
Current House leadership wants to clean up their redistricting mess and make it go away as an issue. This legislation, SB 113 and BR 1359 covers up a lot of mistakes within the electoral process.
The bills haven’t become law yet - but don’t expect a floor fight over either. They will be quietly merged. After all, elections are scheduled and lines are drawn.
And the show must go on.
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AN ACT relating to elections and declaring an emergency.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky:
âSection 1. Notwithstanding the deadline established by 2013 (1st Extra. Sess.) Ky. Acts. ch. 1, sec. 141, and the prohibition on precinct modifications after the last date for filing notification and declaration forms in KRS 117.055(3), county boards of elections may create, divide, abolish, consolidate, or change the boundaries of election precincts consistent with Section 2 of this Act.
*Section 2. The State Board of Elections is authorized to:
(1) Review any precinct establishment order submitted by a county on or before January 28, 2014;
(2) Request and receive any supplemental materials from the county to complete the review or to correct any errors found in the review; and
(3) Approve any previously submitted precinct establishment order that meets the statutory requirements found in KRS 117.055 to 117.058 no later than the close of business on February 28, 2014.
âSection 3. The extension of time in this Act shall not affect any other dates relating to elections in 2014 or subsequent years.
*Section 4. It is the intent of the General Assembly to make the provisions of this Act apply retroactively, and any action taken by the State Board of Elections to review and approve precinct establishment orders submitted by a county on or before January 28, 2014, during the period of time between January 28, 2014, and the effective date of this Act, shall not affect the validity of any precinct establishment order.
*Section 5. Whereas county boards of elections, candidates, and voters need to know
the boundaries of all county election precinct boundaries as soon as possible to prepare
for the 2014 primary, an emergency is declared to exist, and this Act takes effect upon its
passage and approval by the Governor or upon its otherwise becoming a law. |
