Friday, May 18, 2012

Brownback says Senate redistricting may be left up to the court system

By SCOTT ROTHSCHILD, The Lawrence Journal-World

Gov. Sam Brownback said Thursday it may take a court to sort out Senate redistricting.

Brownback said he'd like the Legislature to approve congressional and state House maps, and possibly leave the rest to the judicial system.

"I'd like to even see them pass the other maps and leave the Senate and State Board of Education, which is tied to the Senate map. If that's the one you can't get, then let's send it to court rather than all of them," Brownback said.

The moderate and conservative factions of the Kansas Republican Party are locked in a bitter struggle over efforts to redraw boundaries for state Senate districts.

A coalition of moderate Republicans and Democrats have approved a Senate map, but conservative Republicans in the House have rejected that measure.