The Utah Legislature met in special session last week to consider 9 matters that Governor
Cox listed as requiring immediate legislative attention. Addressing the redistricting of
Utah was at the top of the list and the Legislature adopted some of the recommendations
from the independent commission while drawing up their own map for the U.S. House
districts. Governor Spencer Cox signed the Legislature’s bill on Friday therefore
approving the Legislature’s maps. While further details will soon be available, Senator
Ron Winterton shared with Evans Family Media the basic changes the Uintah Basin can
expect. The biggest change is that the Uintah Basin will receive a new congressman. The
change in boundaries means that the Uintah Basin will now be represented by
Congressman John Curtis rather than Congressman Blake Moore. The other district maps
stayed relatively the same with some minor changes, shares Winterton. Representative
Scott Chew now represents Daggett County and the northern half of Duchesne County
along with Uintah County. Representative Christine Watkins represents the southern half
of Duchesne County as well as Carbon County and a part of Emery County while losing
some other areas. As far as the state school board, the Uintah Basin is represented by
James Moss. There has been public pushback over the Legislature dismissing the
commission’s recommendations. Senator Winterton stated that the Legislature wanted to
make the House Districts as equal as possible aiming for the one person, one vote
mentality. The Legislature’s map ultimately gave each House District a chunk of urban
combined with rural areas. The commission recommended map would have allowed the
Salt Lake area to largely be its own District. Evans Family Media will have a follow up
report when more information becomes available.
