TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A Kansas House committee is narrowly backing a congressional redistricting proposal that would split the Kansas City area between two U.S. House districts.
The Redistricting Committee approved the proposal Wednesday on a 12-11 vote, with House Speaker Mike O’Neal breaking a tie. O’Neal, a Hutchinson Republican, drafted the plan and serves as the panel’s chairman.
The vote indicates the proposal probably will go to the House for further debate. However, O’Neal said he’ll hold another committee meeting Thursday to see whether another plan garners more support.
His plan divides Wyandotte County in the Kansas City area, keeping part of it with neighboring Johnson County in the 3rd District. But some of the county’s urban neighborhoods would be placed in an expanded 1st District with western Kansas communities more than 400 miles away.
