by Troy Bratton

As you’ve probably heard by now, the process of redistricting for the Colorado General Assembly is in full swing.  Please check back to LegiSource occasionally for updates on the Reapportionment Commission’s progress through the end of the year.  Here’s what’s happened thus far:In April and May of this year, legislative leadership, the Governor, and the Chief Justice of the Colorado Supreme Court selected a total of 11 appointees to the Commission.  The Commission held its first meeting on May 12th and, over the course of the interim, has met several times in LSB-A to discuss separate regions of the state in an effort to draw new district lines for the General Assembly.  After receiving testimony on each region, the Commission adopted and published preliminary plans for the Senate and House Representatives at the end of July.

During August, the Commission held 25 meetings around the state (a reapportionment record!) and received public input regarding the preliminary plans.  Following these regional public hearings, the Commission will meet again during the month of September (dates to be determined) in Denver to adopt a final plan for both the House of Representatives and Senate, which must be submitted to the Colorado Supreme Court by October 7th.

Because of the population changes around our state over the course of the last decade, the boundaries of some districts in the preliminary adopted plans have changed drastically, while other districts have remained largely the same.  Additionally, you will undoubtedly notice that some of the district numbers in the preliminary plan have changed; the Commission is considering changing some of the district numbers so that any district with one incumbent retains its current number, while any district with two incumbents gets an entirely new number (that does not represent the current district number of either of the two incumbents).  These new numbers, just like the districts themselves, are preliminary in nature and subject to change before a final plan is submitted to the Colorado Supreme Court.

For additional information regarding the Reapportionment Commission, please visit:

http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite/CGA-ReDistrict/CBON/1251581558204

If you have specific questions about your district or desire more detailed information regarding the process, please feel free to email the Reapportionment Commission staff at reapp2011@coleg.gov.