Gov. Newsom signs SLO County’s independent redistricting commission bill into law

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sunday signed Senate Bill 977 into law, officially creating an independent redistricting commission for San Luis Obispo County and changing the way district lines are drawn.

Every 10 years, the county updates the boundaries of its five supervisorial districts according to population changes reflected by the most recent federal census.

Historically, those lines have been decided on by the Board of Supervisors, but now, an 11-member group of appointed citizens will be responsible for redistricting the county.

SB 977 was introduced by State Sen. John Laird, D-Santa Cruz, coauthored by Assemblymember Dawn Addis, D-Morro Bay, and sponsored by the SLO County Board of Supervisors. It was a priority bill for the Central Coast Caucus.

Now, with the governor’s signature, SLO County becomes the eighth county in California to create a citizens redistricting commission.

“Fair impartial voting districts established independently are a crucial aspect of our democracy,” Laird said in a news release. “With Governor Newsom’s signature of Senate Bill 977, the voters of San Luis Obispo can have confidence in the integrity of their elections.”

This legislation has been in the works since 2021 after the previous Board of Supervisors approved a radically redrawn district map that favored Republicans, according to an analysis by The Tribune.

The San Luis Obispo County Citizens for Good Government formed in response and sued the county, arguing that the map was gerrymandered. The SLO County League of Women Voters later joined the lawsuit. On March 21, 2023, the board settled the lawsuit, tossed out the redrawn map and adopted a new one a month later.

In January of this year, the SLO County Board of Supervisors voted to direct county staff to work with Laird’s office to author SB 977.

“Having an independent redistricting commission run by our citizens is just a fundamental protection of our democratic process,” Supervisor Bruce Gibson told The Tribune. “I’m grateful that Sen. Laird saw the reasons why this county should have one.”

The commission will be comprised of 11 county residents who are not current or previous elected officials, lobbyists, candidates, campaign donors, or their close family members.

Five commissioners will be selected at random from a qualified pool of applicants, and the other six will be appointed by those commissioners. At least one commissioner will come from each of the five existing supervisor districts.

SB 977 was created in alignment with the state’s seven existing redistricting commissions but has been adjusted to address concerns related to the county’s small population.

“The people of our county deserve fairness and transparency in our redistricting process,” Addis said in the news release. “SB 977 allows us to have the independent redistricting commission we need.”

SB 977 will go into effect Jan. 1, 2025, creating an independent redistricting commission for the county’s next redistricting process in 2030.

Gibson said that he expects independent redistricting commissions to become the new standard statewide but that SB 977 puts SLO County ahead of the curve.

“As state law evolves, ours will evolve with it,” he said.

Chloe Shrager

The Tribune

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Chloe Shrager is the courts and crimes reporter for The Tribune. She grew up in Palo Alto, California, and graduated from Stanford with a B.A. in Political Science. When not writing, she enjoys surfing, backpacking, skiing and hanging out with her cat, Billy Goat.