LD 144 An Act to Reduce the Size of the House of Representatives
Estimated savings: $1.6 million

This bill would have reduced the size of the Maine House of Representatives from 151 districts to 131 for an estimated savings of $1.6 million in the biennial budget. In order to pass and be sent to the voters for approval, the bill requires a two-thirds vote of both the House and the Senate. According to the Bangor Daily News, 92% of voters approve of the measure.

The BDN also reported that Idaho, with a population of 1.5 million, has 70 House districts for about 22,000 people per representative; Hawaii has 51 districts for nearly 1.3 million people for about 25,000 residents per representative. Maine's population is just over 1.3 million people with each member of the House representing only 8,500 people. The national average is 59,000 per district.

In two roll call votes, the Senate approved the measure 30-5. In the House, the recommendation of the committee to kill the bill was originally overturned by a vote of 122-23. On a subsequent vote to pass the bill, it fell short of the needed two-thirds vote, 86-58.

Please, tell your state representative what you want them to do. Send them an e-mail or make a phone call.