SACRAMENTO – California lawmakers are considering giving up one of their most politically potent powers: the ability to draw their own districts. Now, a year after voters rejected a similar attempt that sparked a fight between Democrats and Republicans, a constitutional amendment that would transfer those duties to an 11-member commission seems to have enough votes to pass. “I don’t see a whole lot of opposition to this at this point,” said Assembly Speaker Fabian Nu ez, D-Los Angeles. “It’s a clear effort to try and do the right thing by way of allowing for broader citizenship participation in the political process.” Twelve states currently take the power to draw districts out of the hands of legislators and give it to commissions. Five others use commissions if lawmakers fail to approve new districts by a deadline. AD Quality Auto 360p 720p 1080p Top articles1/5READ MORE11 theater productions to see in Southern California this week, Dec. 27-Jan. 2If the California amendment passes, it would be the first time a state legislature had voted to give up its redistricting role, said Sen. Alan Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, the measure’s author. The other commissions were created by voter initiatives, he said. “It’s going to be historic if they vote to give up that power,” Lowenthal said. Lowenthal hopes the state Senate will approve the measure this week and the Assembly will follow suit in time to put the proposal on the Nov. 7 ballot. It would need approval from voters as well as lawmakers to take effect. June 29 is the cutoff date, more or less official, for the Legislature to add measures to the ballot, although there is always some flexibility in that deadline. Lowenthal thinks his proposal can qualify for the ballot if approved by the time legislators break for a recess that is scheduled to start July 7. In California as in other states, the way state legislatures handle redistricting has been a running controversy for decades. The way that districts are drawn can decide which party dominates a state legislature and the state’s congressional delegation, and it can determine the fate of individual lawmakers. Critics say the process is a conflict of interest that results either in districts designed to benefit one party or in a bipartisan plan that tends to maintain the status quo and protect incumbents. That’s what happened in California after the 2000 census. Lawmakers put together a compromise designed to maintain Democratic and Republican lineups in the Legislature and the state’s congressional delegation. Republicans, who are in the minority in the California Legislature and congressional delegation, tried to scrap that deal last year with Proposition 77. The initiative would have given redistricting duties to a panel of three retired judges and required them to try to draw new lines in time for this year’s elections. Democrats argued that it was a blatant GOP attempt to win more seats, and voters turned it down by more than 1.5 million votes. It was the fourth time in 23 years California voters had refused to take redistricting duties away from the Legislature. Despite that outcome, Nu ez and his Senate counterpart, President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland, said they would try to put new redistricting reform on this November’s ballot. Nu ez said the Lowenthal proposal would create a “more thoughtful process” involving a broader-based commission than Proposition 77. Lawmakers also might try to put a measure on the ballot that would liberalize term limits, although Nu ez said the two proposals wouldn’t be linked. “It’s easy to develop a term-limits initiative that legislators can support,” he said. “It’s much more difficult to get term limits that voters can support. ” Here are some of the other bills that could be voted on this week: ELECTRONIC `VAMPIRES’ – Assemblyman Lloyd Levine, D-Van Nuys, wants consumers to be aware of what he calls electronic “vampires” – devices in televisions or cell phone chargers, for example, that continue to suck electricity even when the appliance is turned off or in standby mode. DRUG SIDE EFFCTS – A bill by Sen. Jack Scott, D-Pasadena, would require pharmaceutical companies to release results of their clinical trials. Consumer groups backing the measure say it is a response to the scandal surrounding Vioxx, a pain killer linked to heart attacks. The bill will be before the Assembly Business and Professions Committee on Tuesday.160Want local news?Sign up for the Localist and stay informed Something went wrong. Please try again.subscribeCongratulations! You’re all set!