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Montana bill would redraw appointment districts for four state boards to match 2021 redistricting map
Summary
A bill before the Senate State Administration Committee would update statutory district lines used for gubernatorial appointments to four boards so membership better reflects post-2020 Census population distribution.
Representative Lynn Bennett (House District 4) introduced House Bill 279 to the Senate State Administration Committee, asking the panel to align the statutory appointment districts for the Board of Public Education, Board of Regents, Coal Board and Hard Rock Mining Board with the 2021 redistricting map adopted by the Montana Redistricting Commission.
Bennett said the current statute (MCA 2-15-156) still reflects older divisions and results in an imbalance between the two appointment districts. "As currently mapped ... the Western District, or District 1, represents a population ... of approximately 54% of Montana's population," Bennett said, adding that District 2 represents about 46 percent. Bennett told the committee the bill would update the statutory language so board membership is "more evenly reflective of Montana's population." He also said the bill includes a transition provision so it would not displace sitting board members immediately.
Lieutenant Governor Kristin Juras testified in support and described the change as an update to reflect population shifts since the last time the code was adjusted. "More people now live in Western Montana, so we need to adjust these lines so we have more of an equal division on these boards affected," Juras said. She noted the bill is intended to affect only governor-appointed members of the four named boards and not congressional districts or elections.
Senators asked about consultation with the redistricting commission and how the bill treats counties that are split by the commission map. Bennett said the bill follows the redistricting commission's map except that it places all of Pend Oreille County in District 2 to avoid confusion for applicants whose addresses might fall near a dividing line; Bennett said Pend Oreille County's population is small (about 5,900) so that choice is not a significant deviation.
There were no opponents who spoke at the hearing and no committee questions that changed the bill text. The committee closed the hearing on House Bill 279 after questions and discussion.
Ending: The committee did not vote during the hearing; sponsors and proponents asked the committee to pass the bill out of committee for further consideration.
