LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - A bill that would subtract noncitizens from Nebraska’s population when redrawing legislative districts is headed to the floor of the Legislature for debate.
The Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee voted 6-2 on Monday to advance the measure.
The bill by Sen. John Murante, of Gretna, seeks to enforce a requirement that’s already in the Nebraska state Constitution. Murante has said past legislatures either didn’t know the provision was in place or ignored it.
Opponents say that noncitizens still deserve government representation and shouldn’t be denied equal protection of the laws, even though they are prohibited from voting.
If it passes, the bill would exclude roughly 80,000 noncitizens in Nebraska from being counted when the state begins its next redistricting in 2021.
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