Office of Governor Gary Locke
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - January 22, 2002
Contact:  Governor's Communications Office, 360-902-4136

Locke signs bill authorizing legislative redistricting plan

OLYMPIA — Gov. Gary Locke today signed into law Senate Bill 6296, a bill that validates the Washington State Redistricting Commission’s plan for new legislative and congressional district boundaries.

The Redistricting Commission, an independent, bipartisan commission appointed by the Legislature, is composed of four voting members and a nonvoting chairman. They are mandated by the Legislature to delineate the boundaries for the 49 state legislative districts and the nine congressional districts.

“I want to thank members of the commission for their hard work in meeting this challenge,” Locke said. “I am proud of the bipartisan support in the Legislature to enact the commission’s recommendations.”

The five members of the commission are:

• Graham Johnson, from Spokane, commission chair
  
• Richard Derham, of Seattle
  
• Dean Foster, of Olympia
  
• John Giese, of Bellevue
  
• Bobbi Krebs-McMullen, of Mount Vernon

The Redistricting Commission adopted a legislative plan delineating new district boundaries on Dec. 16, and a congressional map on Jan. 1. The four voting commissioners unanimously adopted both plans after the statutory deadline of Dec. 15, but within the state constitutional deadline of Jan. 1. Because they missed the statutory deadline, legislative or judicial action was required to amend the statute so that the final plan’s date of submission coincides with the Jan. 1 due date.

The state House of Representatives and the state Senate passed the bill in the first week of the legislative session.

A map containing the new legislative and congressional boundaries is available online at www.redistricting.wa.gov

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Related Links:
- Washington State Redistricting Commission
- Washington State House of Representatives
- Washington State Senate

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