SB 1414 Signed: San Bernardino County to Get Independent Redistricting Commission
SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY — San Bernardino is a city in San Bernardino County, California. SB 1414, authored by state Senator Eloise Gómez Reyes, has been signed into law, creating an independent redistricting commission of 14 residents for San Bernardino County. According to KVCR (October 1), the commission will take over the drawing of county supervisor districts after the 2030 census, replacing the current process led by the Board of Supervisors.
The new law effectively overrides arrangements established by Measure J, which county voters approved in 2020, and has drawn criticism from county officials. Board Chair Dawn Rowe publicly faulted Sacramento for intervening in county affairs, and Teamsters Local 1932 had urged the governor to veto the bill during the legislative process.
Supporters say an independent citizens' commission will reduce partisan gerrymandering and produce fairer maps. Selection of commissioners is to begin ahead of the 2030 census, and the districts they draw will govern county elections for the following decade.
San Bernardino County is the largest county in the United States by area, stretching more than 200 miles east to west, so each supervisorial district is vast and boundary decisions weigh heavily on which communities get represented. Since the 2021 cycle, a growing list of California counties and cities have shifted to independent redistricting commissions, whose members must be registered voters, reflect party proportions and work through open meetings and public hearings. Backers say SB 1414 puts San Bernardino County on that reform track and ends the practice of incumbents drawing their own districts; opponents maintain that Measure J, approved by voters in 2020, already set a local method and that the state's override nullifies the voters' will. The state-versus-local argument is expected to continue, and litigation over the law remains possible.
Bill author Senator Reyes said: "Voters should choose their representatives; representatives should not choose their voters."
Photo: San Bernardino County Court House, vintage postcard, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain, Tichnor Brothers
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Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：圣贝纳迪诺县政府中心。摄影：Xnatedawgx，CC BY-SA 4.0，来源：Wikimedia Commons
