PHOENIX - Sen. J.D. Mesnard says 90 lawmakers - 30 senators and 60 representatives - is too few. So, he is proposing to add 30 more to the state House.
But there's more than pure addition to the proposal by the Chandler Republican who hopes to put the issue to voters in November.
The current system has two representatives for each of the 30 legislative districts. And both represent everyone in that district.
Mesnard would like to take those 30 districts and divide each of them into three. And then each of what would become 90 districts would have its own representative.
It's all about the numbers.
Right now, each district has about 254,000 residents. And that, he contends, makes it hard for any representative to truly get a feel for everyone in a district.
Divide that into three and each House member would represent fewer than 85,000.
"This is about good governance,'' Mesnard said. "It allows for the House members to be a little more closer to the people.''
What his plan also is, he said, is bringing Arizona more into line with other states. Mesnard shared with colleagues a chart showing that the average state House has 110 members.
And then there's the fact that the 254,000 residents per representative is exceeded only by California, where each of their 80 members of the Assembly - the equivalent of the Arizona House - represents more than 491,000 constituent.
Still, he said, there are things to be worked out if the measure clears the Senate and then the House and, ultimately, if voters give their approval. It starts with having the new lines drawn by the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission, which meets after each decennial census.
There's also the question of cost.
Lawmakers make $24,000 a year, though there could be a measure on the November ballot to raise that. But even at that figure, plus the daily living allowance that legislators get, it would add $1 million to the state budget - not counting additional staffers that would be required.
And that's just part of it.
"I think the bigger question is: Where do you put them?'' Mesnard acknowledged.
The current House chamber, built in the 1960s, is designed for the current 60 members.
Sen. Jake Hoffman said he doesn't see any reason that more lawmakers can't be accommodated. The Queen Creek Republican said there are "fancy desks'' for representatives, though they are no larger than the he and his other 29 Senate colleagues are assigned.
That, however, doesn't matter that each of the lawmakers would need an office.
And Mesnard acknowledged there could be construction costs, pointing to long-shelved plans to modernize - and possibly rebuild entirely - both the House and Senate.
Still, he urged colleagues not to think in terms of dollars and cents.
"If cost is the overriding factor, we can reverse it and shrink the size of the legislature,'' Mesnard said.
Sen. Lauren Kuby said she sees some benefit to what Mesnard is proposing.
"I believe it would increase representation,'' the Tempe Democrat said. She also said it could remove some barriers, financial and otherwise, for would-be candidates, what with having to knock on fewer doors and spend money mailing out campaign material.
"But I think it needs more thoughtful consideration,'' Kuby said. And for her, that means having some sort of study looking at all the possibilities instead of just going ahead now and asking voters to approve the plan in November.
"There may be other alternatives to reform a system,'' Kuby said as she voted against the plan when it went through the Senate Government Committee.
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