University of Colorado Board of Regents will likely change with Colorado's redistricting

May 31—State leaders and lawmakers are wrestling with what Colorado's yet-to-be-formed 8th Congressional District will look like, but the new constituency will have an impact much closer to home than Washington, because it will likely bring changes to the University of Colorado Board of Regents.

CU's Board of Regents is made up of nine members who serve six-year terms, seven of whom are elected by voters in each of Colorado's seven congressional districts, and two at-large regents who are elected by all the state's voters. The number of regents and length of their terms is dictated by the Colorado Constitution, and how regents are selected is prescribed in state law, written by the state Legislature.

CU and state officials are still unclear about how Colorado's redistricting will impact the board — those decisions are likely at least a year out, said CU system spokesperson Ken McConnellogue. The easiest option, McConnellogue said, would be to take one of the at-large seats and change it to an 8th Congressional District seat. That's what state lawmakers did after Colorado added the 7th Congressional District in 2001.

"The bottom line is this is the Legislature's decision, because the Legislature is going to have to change the statute, which now reads the regents will come from seven congressional districts and two at large," McConnellogue said. "A lot of it depends on the timing of it."

State lawmakers are rushing to finalize and vote on bills before the end of the legislative session, including a bill to alleviate some of the pressure on the state's independent redistricting commissions.

The commissions need final U.S. Census data to map out options for the new congressional district, and the U.S. Census Bureau is months behind schedule in sending out the information.

If passed, Senate Bill 247 would allow the commissions to use the initial census data released in April to start drawing preliminary maps and to update the maps with the final data once the bureau releases it, rather than waiting until the final data is released later this summer to begin.

The commissions don't expect to receive the necessary information until Aug. 16, said staff director Jessika Shipley.

The commissions plan to start preliminary maps soon so they can start giving presentations around the state, Shipley said.

"We plan to get everything done and through the Supreme Court by the end of the year," Shipley said.

Drafts of Senate Bill 247 acknowledge the compressed timeline of trying to redraw Colorado's legislative and congressional districts by the 2022 election, noting that "an extended delay in finalizing the commissions' redistricting plans will make it impossible to complete all of the steps in the 2022 election procedures in time for the general election."

If all of the dominoes fall — the commissions complete the maps, the Colorado Supreme Court approves them, the Legislature revises state law — the next at-large seat on the Board of Regents is up for reelection in 2022.

The Legislature could conceivably change that seat to an 8th Congressional District seat, McConnellogue said, which would follow the precedent set in 2001.

The at-large seat to be filled after the 2022 election is held by Regent Heidi Ganahl, who has not announced whether she will seek reelection. Democrat Scott Mangino has already filed campaign documents and declared his candidacy.

Mangino said he's considered that the seat could change with Colorado's redistricting, and he spoke to CU and state officials before filing. He lives in the 1st Congressional District, a seat held by Regent Jack Kroll that's also up for election in 2022, and Mangino may pursue that seat if the at-large seat changes.

"There's still a path for me if this path is eliminated," he said. "I've talked with the Board (of Regents) secretary and the Secretary of State's office, and they say it's more of a wait and see, and there's no issue with me registering."

It's also possible, McConnellogue said, that the Legislature won't decide on the 8th Congressional Board of Regents Seat by 2022, and both at-large seats will remain for the time being.

"There's no hard and fast answer," he said. "We're just like everyone else, watching this from afar."