Opinion ID: 2598744
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: the divisions in l91

Text: The petitioners argue that L91 violates Article III, § 5 of the Idaho Constitution. It is clear that splitting some counties is necessary to create districts that comply with equal protection principles in the U.S. Constitution. The next issue is whether there are divisions within L91 that are not necessary to meet equal protection standards in violation of the Article III, § 5 restraint upon dividing counties. It is undisputed that the following counties must be split under a new redistricting scheme: Ada, Bannock, Bingham, Bonneville, Canyon, Kootenai, and Twin Falls. Each has too large a population for the ideal district. It is apparent, also, in a state with 44 counties and 35 legislative districts that joining counties or parts of counties with one another is necessary. However, to the extent possible, counties should not be split, or the splits should be kept to the minimum possible while meeting equal protection standards. Analysis of L91 yields interesting information. Plan L91 divides Power County into two legislative districts Districts 27 and 29. The Commission found that Power County's population was insufficient to constitute a single district. Therefore, it could have been combined with another county or counties and not have been divided. However, in order to address the populations of Power, Cassia, Oneida, Franklin, Bear Lake, Caribou, Bingham and Bannock Counties in a way that meet both the one person/one vote requirements of the United States Constitution and the community of interest provision of Idaho Code § 72-1506(2) the Commission divided the population of Power County between two districts in the proposed plan. The Power County population in American Falls and the northeastern portion of the county was combined in District 29 with the Fort Hall precinct in Bingham County and the northern portions of Bannock County. Although the Commission considered many plans that did not divide Power County, this approach was necessary to accommodate the remainder of Bannock County's population after District 30 was created out of the Pocatello area and southern Bannock County was placed in District 28 with Oneida, Franklin, Bear Lake and Caribou Counties to create a more compact district. The remainder of Power County was combined with Cassia and portions of Bingham County to satisfy the contiguous requirement of the Idaho Constitution and to provide additional population to satisfy the one person/one vote requirement of the United States Constitution. This division of Power County also kept all populated portions of the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in one legislative district in furtherance of the communities of interest provision of Idaho Code § 72-1506(2). Plan L91 divides Bannock County into three legislative districts Districts 28, 29, and 30. Bannock County's population requires that it be split. However, the Commission made the following findings regarding Bannock County: Bannock County has sufficient population for two districts wholly contained within the county with no remainder to be combined with another county or counties. The approved plan creates one district wholly contained within the county. This is District 30 which is most of Pocatello. Instead of creating a second district from the remaining Bannock County population, as was considered by the Commission, the adopted plan divided that remaining Bannock County population between two other districts. Southern Bannock County was combined in District 28 with Oneida, Franklin, Bear Lake and Caribou Counties to create a more compact district with a greater common community of interest than in many other plans considered by the Commission (Idaho Code § 72-1506(2)). The northern portion of Bannock County not in District 30 was combined with the Fort Hall precinct in Bingham County and with northeastern Power County for the reasons stated in the Power County finding. This allocation of Bannock County between Districts 28, 29 and 30 creates districts which satisfy the one person/one vote requirement of the United States Constitution. Other plans were not adopted by the Commission because some felt that District 28 in those places, which combined Oneida, Franklin, Bear Lake, Caribou, eastern Bonneville and Teton Counties, violated Idaho Code § 72-1506 because it was too oddly shaped and did not constitute a local community of interest. (emphasis added). In Plan L91 Bingham County is divided into three districts Districts 27, 29, and 31. Bingham County's population requires that it be split. The Commission made the following findings regarding Bingham County: Bingham County's population is too great for one self-contained district and too little for two self-contained districts. Therefore, Bingham has to be divided to comply with the United States Constitution. The ideal would be to create one wholly self-contained district in Bingham County and combine the portions of the county with another county or counties in another district. The approved plan does not do this. Rather, Bingham County is divided among three districts, each combining other counties or portions of counties. Most of western Bingham County west of the Snake River is combined with Cassia and a portion of Power County in District 27. These areas have a common agricultural community of interest, although the Bingham County Commissions made clear in their desire that most of this area would be kept with the Blackfoot area. The Commission found no reasonable way to accommodate this request and still comply with the one person/one vote requirement of the United States Constitution. The Fort Hall Precinct in southern Bingham County is placed with the other populated portion of the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in northern Bannock County and eastern Power County for the reasons stated in the Power County finding. Blackfoot and the remainder of Bingham is placed in District 31 with those portions of Bonneville which surround Idaho Falls to the west and south. These areas have common agricultural and other communities of interest along with the Interstate 15 corridor between Blackfoot and Idaho Falls. (emphasis added). It appears that the Commission's focus in splitting these counties is to maintain traditional neighborhoods and communities of interest while avoiding oddly shaped districts and still maintaining the one person/one vote standard. Those are laudable statutory goals, but they are subordinate to the threshold standard of Article III, § 5 that counties may not be divided unnecessarily. That is the baseline for consideration within the state systemtrumped only by the Constitutional need for equal protection.