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House advances technical redistricting amendments to correct precinct and block alignments
Summary
The House passed HB286 and HB287 on unanimous recorded votes to fix small precinct and census-block misalignments in legislative and state school board districts; sponsors said changes respond to county clerks' requests and are mostly technical.
SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah House on Thursday approved two technical redistricting bills, HB286 (state House boundary amendments) and HB287 (state board of education boundary amendments), after sponsors described mostly minor corrections requested by county clerks.
Representative Sumption said the bills move census blocks to municipal boundary lines, eliminate very small precincts that can create secret-ballot issues and clean up other minor overlaps. "They're very small changes that might be a hundred feet, might be just one row of houses," Sumption said, adding that most changes move complete census blocks and do not split blocks.
Members asked for maps and clarification about several amendments; Sumption provided committee maps and said two-thirds immediate effect was sought so county clerks could meet statutory precinct and precinct-timing deadlines. Representative Frank praised the public process and the small deviation in the final maps.
The House recorded votes on both bills: HB286 passed 73–0 and HB287 passed 70–0. Both bills will be transmitted to the Senate. Sponsors noted the need for an expedited timeline so county clerks can finalize precinct boundaries and avoid administrative issues before upcoming elections.
