(KCPW News) Boundaries won’t play such a role for state representatives and senators running for office if voters pass an amendment one state lawmaker is proposing. Republican Utah County Representative John Dougall’s plan would allow legislators to live outside of the districts they represent.
“We’re having a lot of this discussion in terms of congressmen, since they don’t have to live in the district where they serve,” Dougall said. ” I thought it might be beneficial to have the discussion in regards to state representatives and state senators to provide greater choice to the public.”
Dougall says he believes most voters would still choose to elect a lawmaker from their own district, but wanted to give the public more options.
He says he was partially motivated to sponsor the amendment after former Representative Craig Frank was forced to resign when he unknowingly moved out of his own district.
“The irony for me is Craig represented his district well for many years, and then woke up one day being three-quarters of a mile outside of his district and per the constitution, he was ineligible to serve,” said Dougall. So, what this bill would do is say ‘hey, you have to live in the state of Utah.’”
The amendment would require the approval of two-thirds of the House and Senate before going on the ballot for voters to decide in November.
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1 Comments
That does not seem right at all. I hope that there is enough outrage on this to stop it from passing.