Highway Commission To Redraw Commissioner Lines

The Arkansas Highway Commission agreed to redraw its representative lines after a special meeting held Monday by telephone.

The five commissioners, each of whom serve two highway districts, will reshape their maps based on new Census data from the 2010 survey.

"While this [district] system has worked well, the Commission recognizes that there are other equitable ways in which the advocacy districts could be determined. Therefore, the Highway Commission will re-evaluate its advocacy districts, and be committed to drawing advocacy districts that are of substantially equal populations. However, new advocacy districts will not affect the existing ten (10) Highway Maintenance Districts created for operational purposes," a document approved by the commissioners read.

"Advocacy districts do not and will not undermine the Constitutional authority given to the Commission. Each Commissioner will continue to have full statewide authority and responsibility. But, advocacy districts can give the citizens of Arkansas a mechanism that will allow them to better interact and communicate with members of the Highway Commission," it also stated.

State Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson (R-Little Rock) had pushed for the change arguing that highway district lines needed to be more representative of population shifts.

Hutchinson had filed a proposed constitutional amendment, SJR 2, that would strip the independence of the Highway Commission and Department established in 1953 by the Mack-Blackwell amendment. Hutchinson has said he hoped his proposal would "get the highway commission’s attention."

This afternoon, Hutchinson withdrew his amendment proposal from consideration.