Power in the Kansas House is likely to shift
next year from rural parts of the state to the Kansas City area
after members overwhelmingly approved a bipartisan bill Thursday
for redrawing their districts.
The House’s 109-14 vote means the new district lines specified
by the bill are likely to become law, starting with this year’s
elections. The bill goes next to the Senate. But the Senate’s
approval is considered a formality because by tradition, neither
chamber alters the other’s plan for redrawing members’ districts.
The bill had the support of House Speaker Mike O’Neal, a
Hutchinson Republican, and Minority Leader Paul Davis, a Lawrence
Democrat.