On January 9, the bill to permanently expand the U.S. House of Representatives from 435 voting members to 437 was re-introduced. It is HR 328. This time, the lead sponsor is D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, a Democrat. Last time, Virginia Republican Thomas M. Davis was the lead sponsor. The bill would give D.C. a voting representative and also give Utah a new seat, until the next reapportionment in 2011.

Supporters of the bill are somewhat concerned that Democrats may now not support it, since the new Utah seat is expected to elect a Republican.

Montana State Representative Rick Jore (the Constitution Party’s only state legislator) is likely to introduce a bill, requiring political parties to pay for their own primaries if they wish to nominate by primary. The bill would also authorize parties to nominate by convention instead if they wish.

New Hampshire’s legislature has a bill, HB 48, to alter the state’s definition of “political party”, from a group that polled 4% for Governor or U.S. Senator, to a group that polled 2% for either of those offices.

In Texas, a bill to repeal the primary screen-out is being drafted and will be introduced in the next few weeks.