Minn. House passes plan to redraw political lines

Published 12:40 pm Saturday, May 7, 2011

ST. PAUL — The Minnesota House on Friday passed a GOP plan to redraw the state’s legislative district lines to reflect population changes of the last decade.

The House redistricting bill passed on a mostly party-line vote of 69-58. It’s the first step in a process that appears likely to end up with a court redrawing state political boundaries, given Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton’s stated insistence that he would only sign a plan that had bipartisan support.

If Dayton vetoes the Republican plan, it throws the issue to the courts. That’s been the usual outcome in past redistricting cycles.

Email newsletter signup

Redistricting follows the once-a-decade U.S. census and has major consequences for the prospects of both parties. Political boundaries are reconfigured to put roughly the same number of Minnesotans in each of the 134 House districts and 67 Senate districts.

The House Republican who assembled the plan that passed Friday said it was an attempt to keep cities, counties and communities of mutual interest as intact as possible. “It is a good plan that is fair to all Minnesotans,” said Rep. Sarah Anderson of Plymouth.