Republican Assemblymember called for a legal opinion on whether the Governor and legislature are violating the state’s constitution.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California voters may get a first look at the new proposed re-drawn congressional maps as soon as Thursday.
Governor Gavin Newsom is holding a press conference on Thursday morning to provide an update on the state’s re-districting efforts. At the same time, a state Republican Assemblymember is doing everything he can to stop this from happening.
“The Legislative Counsel’s job is to act in a nonpartisan manner to ensure that the legislature complies with the state constitution and all applicable state and federal laws,” said Asm. Carl DeMaio (R-San Diego).
Because of the role the Legislative Counsel plays, DeMaio sent a letter asking for a legal opinion on whether the governor’s actions violate the constitution.
“The governor and the legislature don’t have the legal authority to call a special election, and don’t have the legal authority to be crafting these maps,” said DeMaio.
DeMaio cites Article 21 in the California Constitution as the reason the governor and the legislature have no authority to re-draw congressional maps mid-decade.
“The year after the decennial census that the federal government does every decade, it is the responsibility of the Citizens Redistricting Commission to adopt the lines for assemblymembers, senators, board of equalization members and members of Congress. The law is clear. It is their responsibility, and it occurs once a decade,” said Chris Micheli with McGeorge School of Law.
Micheli adds there will be a major question for voters if this ends up in a special election.
“Despite what the Constitution says, do you, the voters, want to say the commission doesn’t apply for right now, for these congressional districts for the rest of the decade? Do you voters want to approve that one-time exception?” said Micheli.
The drama happening between Texas and California has voters in the state conflicted on a potential special election.
“I think California shouldn’t worry about what Texas is doing, worry about taking care of this state here and get the gas cheaper,” said Jeff Martell of Modesto.
When it comes to participating in the special election, some voters do see the importance in being a part of it.
“I mean if there if there’s an election of any kind, I’m actually grateful to be able to do it,” said Bonnie Martell of Modesto.
In response to Asm. DeMaio’s letter, Cara Jenkins, an attorney for the state legislature, provided ABC10 with this statement:
“The Office of the Legislative Counsel provides nonpartisan legal services relating to the legislative process to the Legislature. In that regard, we maintain an attorney-client relationship with each Member of the Legislature, which requires us to keep requests for legal services confidential (see Gov. Code Secs. 10207 & 10208). To uphold that attorney-client relationship, we are unable to comment on any request for legal services from a Member of the Legislature. Additionally, we are not authorized to provide legal advice to members of the public.”
Assemblymember Gail Pellerin highlighted a new portal for public input on the special election which can be found HERE.
WATCH ALSO: