New California district lines create controversy

SACRAMENTO (KABC) -- It's caused a shake up in the political landscape of California. The state's new congressional and legislative maps were revealed on Monday.

The new districts for which we vote for state legislature and Congress were put together by the independent citizens redistricting commission.

The lines are already getting criticism. California Republican Party Chairman Tom Del Beccaro says the party will file a petition on Tuesday seeking a referendum to overturn newly approved state Senate districts.

A political consultant hired to run the referendum campaign says the group will need to collect about 505,000 valid signatures to qualify the measure for the June 2012 ballot.

Del Beccaro said a separate group plans to file a lawsuit claiming that the Senate district covering the central coastal region now represented by GOP Sen. Sam Blakeslee is unconstitutional.

Hispanic rights groups also disapprove of the new districts, arguing that they are not represented properly.

The commission was approved by a 2008 proposition with the goal to take the responsibility out of the hands of the politicians. For years, politicians have been accused of creating politically-safe districts for their parties.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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