A Democratic-backed proposal to revamp New Mexico's three congressional districts picked up speed in the Senate on Sunday, but Republicans are unhappy with the plan.

Two Senate committees — Rules and Judiciary — endorsed the proposal and sent it to the full Senate for debate, probably on Monday.

Sen. Linda Lopez, an Albuquerque Democrat and Rules Committee chairwoman, said the proposal was designed to keep current congressional districts mostly intact and to honor the requests of New Mexico's tribes and pueblos, which will remain scattered among all three districts.

Brian Sanderoff, a redistricting consultant for the Legislature, described the proposal to lawmakers as "status quo oriented."

The plan is a starting point for the Legislature in deciding how to adjust district boundaries for population changes during the past decades. The goal is equalize district populations as much as possible to meet the legal requirements of one person, one vote.

Lopez said she expected other senators to try to change the plan during Senate debate.

The rules committee approved the measure on a party-line vote, with only Democrats supporting it. The judiciary committee endorsed the proposal, with one Republican joining Democrats in backing it.

Democrats currently hold two of New Mexico's congressional seats — the 3rd District of Northern New Mexico and the Albuquerque-area 1st District. The GOP has the 2nd District of Southern New Mexico.

Republicans said the committee-approved plan failed to make the 1st District more politically competitive. The district currently is Democratic-leaning, based on voting results in recent statewide elections, and the committee bill would slightly strengthen that Democratic tilt.

"I think we can do a better plan than that," Senate GOP Leader Stuart Ingle of Portales said in an interview.

He also objected that the committee-approved plan divided Roosevelt County between two districts. Currently, the Eastern New Mexico county is in the 3rd District.

Under the committee proposal, the city of Portales would remain in the 3rd District, but rural areas of the county would shift to the 2nd District.

Senate President Tim Jennings, a Roswell Democrat, voted for the measure in the Rules Committee but said the plan should be changed to keep Roosevelt County in one district.

Other key provisions of the congressional proposal:

• The bedroom communities north of Albuquerque, such as Corrales and Algodones, would move to the 1st District from the 3rd District. 
• Torrance County would shift to the 3rd District. The mostly rural county is currently in the 1st District with Albuquerque. 
• All of Santa Fe County would be unified in the 3rd District. A southern portion of the county in the Edgewood area is currently in the 1st District. 
• Valencia County would be consolidated in the 2nd District. A portion of the county east of the Rio Grande is currently in the 1st District with the Albuquerque metropolitan area.

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