The Honorable Esmeralda Soria
California State Assembly
1021 O Street, Suite 4110
Sacramento, CA 95814
Dear Assembly Member Soria:
On behalf of the Tulare County Board of Supervisors, I write in opposition of AB 1441 (Soria), which would establish an independent redistricting commission in Merced County. Removing local authority without just cause only serves to undermine confidence in our elections system and undermine local control. By imposing an independent redistricting commission on the County, Assembly Bill 1441 seeks to usurp control from local government, while imposing a new level of bureaucracy at a significant cost to taxpayers.
Under AB 1441, Merced County would be required to assemble a 14-member commission comprised of individuals who meet very stringent and specific qualifications. Any prior experience that may qualify someone to serve on the commission would be disallowed by the legislation, which will result in a commission that is unfamiliar with government operations and more specifically, the job they would be tasked with completing. Counties already struggle to fill existing boards and commissions vacancies with willing and able applicants. Subjecting Merced County to such stringent redistricting commissioner requirements will only cause delays in the redistricting process, leaving constituents without a clear understanding of who their representatives are.
Additionally, other counties who have been directed by the state to relinquish redistricting authority to an independent redistricting commission have received a $1 million funding allocation to facilitate its implementation. This bill does not provide such an allocation and constitutes a significant burden to taxpayers for no justifiable reason.
For these reasons, we respectfully oppose AB 1441 and urge the legislature to reconsider their interest in replacing the existing county redistricting structure in favor of independent redistricting commissions.
Sincerely,
Pete Vander Poel, Chair
Tulare County Board of Supervisors
cc: Tulare County State Delegation, Shaw Yoder Antwih Schmelzer and Lange