One of the most controversial bills being proposed in the state house and senate this year gives legislators and the governor more power in selecting judges for the state’s courts.

The initial proposal gave the governor and lawmakers more say in the membership makeup of the state judicial nominating commission for all court levels, but was revised last week to exclude district court judges. Republican House District 20 Representative Ray Sorensen says he doesn’t see this as a power grab for his party, reasoning that Democrats may one day hold the majority in the legislature.

He says this will give more power to the vote of the people, “In large part there are ways the merit system can be improved and the lawmakers that put it in place a long time ago even mentioned that. And I think that’s what we’re trying to work toward, ‘Can we make the system better? Can we continue to improve?’ And both the House and Senate bills I know already have proposed amendments, that’s why this subcommittees and committees are open to the public. So we can hear what are your concerns, what are some areas where we can improve this bill that we’ve proposed.”

To hear more from Sorensen, listen to Monday’s Let’s Talk Guthrie County program online at raccoonvalleyradio.com.