Senator King proposes disclosure of redistricting communications; bill pulled for clarifying amendments

Senate Bill 12, offered by Sen. King, would require that communications to the Board of Apportionment (the governor, secretary of state and attorney general) concerning redistricting be written, electronic or recorded at a public meeting. The sponsor framed the measure as an effort to prevent back‑room influence by lobbyists and to place lobbyists and private citizens on the same public footing during the decade‑long redistricting process.

King described historical concerns about undue influence in map‑drawing and said the change would make communications transparent: "It would put the average citizen who doesn't have the connections a lobbyist does on the same platform as a lobbyist," he said. Committee members raised numerous drafting and enforcement questions: whether communications to staff would be covered, whether the requirement would criminalize ordinary face‑to‑face conversations, how ‘‘communication’’ would be defined and whether the bill would sweep too broadly by naming the governor, attorney general and secretary of state individually.

Sen. Dodson and others suggested narrowing the bill to communications related specifically to redistricting and clarifying whether the prohibition applies only to communications about a map under consideration. Senator King agreed to revise the language to limit the scope to redistricting and to clarify that written, electronic or public‑meeting records are required for those topics. He also said he would address who bears the reporting burden and how staff conduits should be treated. The sponsor indicated he would pull the bill and return with amendments.

A private citizen, Jimmy Gavin, testified in support of transparency and suggested FOIA and open‑meetings exemptions would need consideration; Gavin also urged prosecutorial discretion would address concerns about inadvertent violations. No vote was taken; the bill was pulled for revision.