Huntsman to testify on House seat bill

WASHINGTON — Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. will testify before a congressional committee next week on a bill that would give Utah a fourth seat in the House of Representatives.

This will be Huntsman's first appearance before Congress as governor, his office confirmed.

The House Judiciary Committee's Constitution Subcommittee has scheduled a hearing Thursday on "District of Columbia Fair and Equal House Voting Rights Act of 2006."

The bill gives Washington, D.C., a voting member in the House while giving Utah an additional at-large House member until districts are redrawn after the next census. The district's delegate, Eleanor Holmes Norton, can vote in committee but can not cast a vote in the House.

The House Government Reform Committee approved the bill earlier this year but it would still need to pass this committee, the whole House and the Senate before going to the president.

The D.C. seat would likely go to a Democrat, so to gain GOP support Norton and Reform Committee Chairman Tom Davis, R-Va., agreed to a fourth seat for Utah, which would likely be won by a Republican.

Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, sits on the House Judiciary Committee, although he is not a member of the Constitution Subcommittee. He voted in favor of the bill when it went through the Government Reform Committee, where he is also a member.

Utah would also gain an additional electoral college vote, for a total of six, in the 2008 presidential election. The District of Columbia would keep the three it has now.

The bill has no effect on the Senate and does not make the District of Columbia a state.

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E-mail: suzanne@desnews.com