Senate President Pro-Tem Bob Geddes, R-Soda Springs, introduced legislation this morning to make a few changes in the rules for Idaho's redistricting commission, which draws new legislative and congressional district lines each decade after the new census. The main changes are to elevate the importance of preserving communities of interest in legislative districts; to try to avoid joining into legislative districts areas that aren't connected by roads; and to ban anyone who's previously served on a redistricting commission from serving again. "Most of the commissioners are going to be first-time commissioners, and it disadvantages them to have somebody who has ... a background in the effort," said Geddes, who said he worked on the bill over the past couple of years with Sen. Clint Stennett, D-Ketchum. The Senate State Affairs Committee voted unanimously to introduce Geddes' bill.

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