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Utah House passes contingency congressional maps after heated floor debate
Summary
The Utah House approved substituted contingency maps for both a four‑member and a three‑member congressional plan after extended floor debate over communities of interest, deviations and lawsuit contingency; both substituted bills were sent to the Senate.
The Utah House voted Thursday to advance substituted contingency congressional maps to the Senate after a series of substitute motions and lengthy debate over how to balance population equality, communities of interest and potential litigation outcomes.
Representative Adair, speaking for the map sponsors, urged colleagues to approve contingency plans so the Legislature would be prepared if lawsuits change the state's entitlement to an extra seat. "If we win this lawsuit, it'll be on that point in my opinion," Adair said, arguing the maps complied with state and federal legal standards and counsel advice.
Opponents repeatedly raised concerns about slicing Salt Lake City and splitting established neighborhoods. Representative Bradshaw moved to delete the first substitute and insert a substitute that would restore a small square of Salt Lake City — "To break off 1 small bite from the city from the rest of the cookie seems to me unwise and unfair," Bradshaw said — arguing the change kept Salt Lake City whole while maintaining acceptable deviation figures.
Other members pressed competing principles. Representative Biskupski asked the body to preserve the core of existing districts, noting that the U.S. Supreme Court has recognized "preserving the core of existing districts as a legitimate and constitutionally acceptable redistricting criterion." Supporters of the committee plan said the chosen criteria and numeric deviations followed legal guidance and that practical trade‑offs are unavoidable.
After multiple substitute motions, the House replaced the earlier substitute for the four‑member congressional map and adopted a fourth substitute version of Senate Bill 2003. That version ultimately passed on final floor vote, 53 yes to 20 no, and will be transmitted to the Senate for further consideration.
The House then turned to the three‑member congressional plan in Senate Bill 2002. Members debated boundary lines, including a correction to keep recently annexed land (the former Sharon Steel mill site) with neighboring cities and a clarification of a Salt Lake split along Victory Road/Seventh East. After further substitute motions the House adopted a fourth substitute for SB2002 by a 49‑23 margin and referred that substituted bill to the Senate.
Throughout debate members emphasized that redistricting is driven by population numbers and legal constraints; several speakers described the work as a series of tradeoffs between numerical equality and local community integrity. Sponsors framed both adopted substitutes as contingency plans that position the Legislature to act quickly if court decisions alter Utah's congressional representation.
Both substituted bills were recorded as passed by the House and will be considered by the Senate. The House recessed for lunch after completing the floor work.
