House OKs redistricting as redrawn

Senate version gets second-go approval

? Two days after the Senate broke a legislative logjam by passing a bill redrawing its 40 districts, the House approved the measure and sent it to Gov. Bill Graves.

On a 106-15 vote Thursday, the House passed the Senate’s measure unchanged. By tradition, neither chamber tampers with the other’s own redistricting plan.

It was the second time the House has approved a Senate map. The first was in February.

Graves vetoed the earlier Senate map. The second map was a slightly revised version of the first plan, and Graves had threatened to veto it unless changes were made.

The governor backed away from his threat when the latest map garnered a veto-proof 29 votes in the Senate.

Lawmakers are redrawing Kansas House, Kansas Senate, U.S. House and State Board of Education districts to account for shifts in population over the past decade.