LINCOLN — Attorney General Doug Peterson has concluded that a proposal to expand the Nebraska Legislature does not fit within the purpose of the Legislature’s special redistricting session.

An opinion issued Thursday said Legislative Bill 12 is “not sufficiently related to, germane to and naturally connected with” the job of redrawing district boundaries to be considered during the session that began Monday.

The measure would add one member to the 49-member body and take the Legislature to the maximum size allowed under the Nebraska Constitution.

State Sen. Mark Kolterman of Seward, who introduced the bill, said he offered it as a way to help preserve rural representation in the Legislature. Kolterman is facing the prospect that his legislative district would be moved to the Omaha metro area under the Republican redistricting plan.

Despite the attorney general’s opinion, the Legislature has scheduled a public hearing on LB 12 at 11 a.m. Friday in the State Capitol.

Speaker of the Legislature Mike Hilgers of Lincoln said that scheduling a hearing does not mean the bill will get further consideration. He said lawmakers could proceed with the bill but at the risk of a court challenge.

“The Legislature ultimately has to make an independent judgment on whether it is in or out,” he said.

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