No 4th Seat, But Effort Not Wasted

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Bramble Cites Bipartisan Effort Among State Lawmakers to Get Job Done

(KCPW News 12/05/06) Word out of Washington is that the U.S. House of Representatives will not act on a bill to give Utah a fourth seat in Congress before it recesses this week. That's no surprise to State Senator Curtis Bramble, who chaired the Utah Senate's Redistricting Committee. He says Washington was sending mixed signals all along:

"We were getting mixed signals form Washington and we knew that there was some chance that this wouldn't happen," says Bramble. However, "it'll be interesting to see what happens in the next legislative session with [House] Speaker Pelosi, because from all that I've gotten from D.C. today, it seems like there is still a great deal of interest in trying to move forward."

But lawmakers' efforts will not go to waste as Utah will be ready, should the new Democratically-controlled Congress take action and give Utah a fourth congressional seat in the new year. Plus, Bramble says the Redistricting Committee's ability to reach agreement proves lawmakers can get the job done in a bipartisan manner.

If Utah get a fourth seat next year, it remains unclear, Bramble notes, when elections will be held:

"If they made it effective immediately, then we could have a special election. If Congress said, "Look, we're going to do it, but it will become effective with the 2008 cycle," then we would just be in our normal even-year election cycle. But that's going to be up to Congress to decide - if they do it, when the effective date will be."

Senator Bramble is in San Antonio attending the National Conference of State Legislatures' Fall Forum.

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