Secretary of State Mark Martin said Tuesday that he would like to see the three principals of the board of apportionment hold the last of the public meetings into the new maps for Arkansas' legislative districts.
That strays somewhat from Attorney General Dustin McDaniel's timeline that he pitched last week. In a letter to McDaniel and Gov. Mike Beebe, Martin said he thought that the three of them should "hold at least one public hearing prior to a final vote."
Martin suggested the July 25 hearing date offered by McDaniel, with a 2-day window for any amendments for proposed maps to be filed and published.
Last week, the board agreed to take a final vote on new legislative districts at 9:30 a.m. July 29.
Draft versions of the maps will be made available by 4 p.m. July 19 on the board’s website, www.arkansasredistricting.org.
The board is responsible for drawing up Arkansas’ 100 state House of Representative districts and 35 state Senate districts.
So far, the only maps that have been released have come from Martin’s office and redistricting coordinator Joe Woodson. Republicans have complained about the lack of maps from the two Democrats on the panel. McDaniel has said he won’t release his maps until they’re completed, and his office last week said he hoped to release a House and Senate map by his proposed deadline.
Beebe’s office has said they won’t begin drafting maps until after a July 7 hearing.
Though he didn’t directly mention the lack of maps from Beebe or McDaniel, Martin wrote in his letter: “I look forward to hearing the public’s comments on maps other than those my office has proposed.”
Three more meetings are set by the board staff: In Dickinson Hall on the UALR campus in Little Rock on June 21, at the Phillips Community College of the University of Arkansas campus in Helena on June 28, and in Gardner Lecture Hall at the University of Arkansas in Fort Smith July 7.
The following is Martin's letter:
Dear Governor Beebe and General McDaniel:
I am in receipt of General McDaniel’s letter and proposal for the upcoming Board of Apportionment processes. I am very favorable on the timeline that is laid out in the letter, but I would like to make a few suggestions and/or additions to the timeline.
I also agree with you that Mr. Woodson has done a good job in coordinating our staff and conducting the public hearings. However, instead of Mr. Woodson holding the final public hearing period, I believe it is incumbent upon the principals – the three of us – to hold at least one public hearing prior to a final vote. This would allow the public to talk directly to those who have a vote. Therefore, I propose the public hearing on July 25th should be held by us.
There will likely be amendments to the maps after the public hearing on July 25th. So I would also like to add, that within 48 hours following that public hearing, any amendments to the proposed maps must be filed and published for the public to view. This would mean that only maps or amendments to those maps filed by the close of business on July 27th would be allowed to proceed to a final vote.
I look forward to hearing the public’s comments on maps other than those my office has proposed. If either of you have specific objections to any portion of the maps currently being presented to the public, then please let me know. I would welcome the opportunity to address those concerns so that we can work together constructively on behalf of the public in accordance with our responsibilities as members of the Board of Apportionment.
Finally, I would like to thank both of you for allowing your staff to work closely with mine on the public meeting process. Please have your staffs contact mine on whether my suggested adjustments to the timeline proposed by General McDaniel are acceptable.
Information for this article was contributed by Sarah D. Wire of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and The Associated Press.