Two years ago, California voters overwhelmingly rejected Proposition 77, an ill-advised attempt to put an unrepresentative, unaccountable body of three randomly selected retired judges in charge of drawing district lines. However, while voters rejected the flawed redistricting commission proposed in Prop 77, polls have shown that the public wants to end the conflict of interest created when members of the Legislature draw their own district lines.

In response, Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez and I have carefully crafted Assembly Constitutional Amendment 1 (ACA 1) to address the concerns of the public regarding the redistricting methods of the past. Most importantly, our bill creates a redistricting commission that is representative of California’s diversity, that has a functional understanding of issues and government, and that has the capacity and experience to direct the work of consultants and effectively evaluate staff recommendations.

ACA 1 requires the nine public members (the four legislators would not participate) of the independent, bipartisan Little Hoover Commission (officially named the California Commission on State Government Organization and Economy) to establish district lines for the Senate, the Assembly, Congress and the Board of Equalization. The Little Hoover Commission has a 45 year historical reputation for independence, and consistently is charged with analyzing and handling complex policy issues such as budget reform, civil service reform, nursing home reform, education reform, corrections reform and tax reform. 

While the nine public members of the Little Hoover Commission are appointed by the Governor and both Houses of the Legislature, they remain independent from any governmental branch. For example, members of the Little Hoover Commission serve termed appointments, rather than pleasure appointments, so the appointees are not subject to being removed if the Legislature disagrees with their actions on the redistricting commission. Furthermore, the Little Hoover Commission has not shied away from publicly criticizing the Legislature. There is no question of the Little Hoover Commission's independence, or of the honorable reputation that body has established.

Finally, while the nine members of the Little Hoover Commission are already considered impartial, we would increase the Redistricting Commission to eleven members by adding two more members who were not appointed by either the Legislature or Governor. These two members, whose appointment would assure partisan balance, and whose appointment would further the requirement that the panel be diverse, would be chosen by the Little Hoover Commission. This addition would create more distance between the Legislature, the Governor, and the Redistricting Commission while lessening the possibility of partisan bias.

Every other redistricting proposal on the table creates a new commission specifically for the purpose of drawing district lines. These proposed commissions have no track record, and their compositions are unlike any redistricting commission ever used in any other state. 

It's unwise to take an untested, experimental commission, and put it in charge of an issue that is as important and complex as drawing district lines, particularly since these experimental commissions would be locked into the Constitution.

Redistricting needs to be done by individuals who will draw fair and impartial district lines. We need to be sure that a redistricting commission is not at the mercy of the commission staff. We need to be sure that any commission charged with conducting redistricting has the tools to draw districts that comply with the state and federal constitutions, so that it is the commission, and not the courts, that draw the district lines. Finally, the commission must meet the considerations of the Voting Rights Act, communities of interest, and dozens of other specific legal requirements. Our bill, ACA 1, is the only redistricting proposal on the table that does all these things.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding redistricting or any other issue, please feel free to contact my District Office at: (310) 412-6400.

Assemblymember Curren Price serves the 51st Assembly District, which includes Inglewood, Hawthorne, Gardena, Playa Vista, Westchester, Lawndale, West Athens, Lennox, Alondra Park, West Compton, Del Aire, and Willowbrook, as well as portions of the unincorporated area of Ladera. He was elected to the Assembly in November 7, 2006.