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When the Kansas District maps are redrawn the western portion of Kansas will probably be missing something, a senator.
“There is a strong possibility we will lose a senator from western Kansas,” said Sen. Ruth Teichman of the 33rd District, which includes Pratt County. “I’d like to figure out a way to move all of us to the east and maintain the senators out here but it would take an awful lot of shifting of districts.”
With the western portion of the state losing population and the east gaining population, that extra senator will probably move to a growing population center.
The state Legislature will take up redistricting during the 2012 session and they have to have it completed by the end of the session, said Teichman who is a member of the Feapportionment Committee.
When candidates run for office in the 2012 election they will be running for the new district map that goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2013.
Some of the redistrict information groundwork is already under way. A joint committee with members from both the House and Senate will hold public meetings across the state to get feedback from the public.
The two closest meetings to Pratt are: 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, July 26 in Room 132 of the Hughes Metropolitan Hall Complex at Wichita State University; 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 26 in Justice Theatre in the Shears Technology Center at Hutchinson Community College.
The new districts will be drawn based on population. Each chamber will determine their districts new boundaries. The Senate districts will probably have 72,000 in each district based on 68,000 in each district in the last redistricting plus or minus five percent, Teichman said.
Theoretically, it would be possible that the population could stay the same but that is unlikely.
The house will probably have 30,000 in each district. As a matter of courtesy, each chamber will pass the other chamber’s proposal for new districts.
Until the reapportionment and 2012 election is complete it won’t be known if a power shift will happen between liberals and conservatives.
Too many factors impact school funding and highway funding to know what impact redistricting will have on them.
The state legislature also determines the size of congressional districts. With the population shift to the east the 1st District will probably grow larger and take in more counties to the east of its current area while the 3rd District in Johnson County will probably loose some size, Teichman said.
The Kansas Senate has 40 senators and the House has 125 representatives. Those numbers will not change but the number of Kansas U.S. congress members could change if the population doesn’t grow enough. Even with a population increase, Kansas could lose a U.S. Congressman if population growth does not keep up with other states growth. It has almost happened in the past.
“We were fortunate we didn’t lose a congressman from Kansas in the last reapportionment,” Teichman said.
When the Kansas District maps are redrawn the western portion of Kansas will probably be missing something, a senator.
“There is a strong possibility we will lose a senator from western Kansas,” said Sen. Ruth Teichman of the 33rd District, which includes Pratt County. “I’d like to figure out a way to move all of us to the east and maintain the senators out here but it would take an awful lot of shifting of districts.”
With the western portion of the state losing population and the east gaining population, that extra senator will probably move to a growing population center.
The state Legislature will take up redistricting during the 2012 session and they have to have it completed by the end of the session, said Teichman who is a member of the Feapportionment Committee.
When candidates run for office in the 2012 election they will be running for the new district map that goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2013.
Some of the redistrict information groundwork is already under way. A joint committee with members from both the House and Senate will hold public meetings across the state to get feedback from the public.
The two closest meetings to Pratt are: 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, July 26 in Room 132 of the Hughes Metropolitan Hall Complex at Wichita State University; 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 26 in Justice Theatre in the Shears Technology Center at Hutchinson Community College.
The new districts will be drawn based on population. Each chamber will determine their districts new boundaries. The Senate districts will probably have 72,000 in each district based on 68,000 in each district in the last redistricting plus or minus five percent, Teichman said.
Theoretically, it would be possible that the population could stay the same but that is unlikely.
The house will probably have 30,000 in each district. As a matter of courtesy, each chamber will pass the other chamber’s proposal for new districts.
Until the reapportionment and 2012 election is complete it won’t be known if a power shift will happen between liberals and conservatives.
Too many factors impact school funding and highway funding to know what impact redistricting will have on them.
The state legislature also determines the size of congressional districts. With the population shift to the east the 1st District will probably grow larger and take in more counties to the east of its current area while the 3rd District in Johnson County will probably loose some size, Teichman said.
The Kansas Senate has 40 senators and the House has 125 representatives. Those numbers will not change but the number of Kansas U.S. congress members could change if the population doesn’t grow enough. Even with a population increase, Kansas could lose a U.S. Congressman if population growth does not keep up with other states growth. It has almost happened in the past.
“We were fortunate we didn’t lose a congressman from Kansas in the last reapportionment,” Teichman said.
