This morning, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is set to make what's billed as a "major announcement" with backers of a redistricting initiative aimed for the November 2008 ballot.
Schwarzenegger has made an overhaul of redistricting -- the process in which the Legislature draws political district boundaries -- one of the aims of his governorship.
He supported Proposition 77, a redistricting measure that would have given the power to draw legislative districts to retired judges, during the 2005 special election, but that measure was defeated by voters.
The latest proposal is headed by California Common Cause, AARP and the League of Women Voters, among others.
While one of the most overused axioms in California politics is that the "devil is in the details," the platitude is particularly true for redistricting.
The most notable feature of the California Voters First proposal is that the plan does not include congressional seats, a provision which House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has opposed.
Proponents of the measure offer a summary of who would draw district lines here.
The process begins with the state auditor, who would select a three-person Applicant Review Panel, made up of three other auditors (one Democrat, one Republican, one independent). That three-auditor panel would select 60 of the "most qualified applicants" (20 D, 20 R, 20 independents).
Each of the four legislative leaders could strike up to 2 applicants from each of the 20-person pools.
The first eight commissioners (3 D, 3 R, 2 I) among those remaining are chosen at random. That group of eight then selects the final six (2 D, 2 R, 2 I) to "to complement the balance of skills and diversity."
Then there's the laundry list of things potential district drawers can't be (such as relatives of lawmakers, currently elected officials, or candidates for elected office in the last decade).
The effort to qualify the redistricting measure for the ballot has spent about $250,000 and is currently $100,000 in debt.
The governor will make his announcement regarding the measure at 11:30 a.m. on the east steps of the Capitol.
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