Seven years after it was appointed to redraw the state’s congressional and legislative districts, the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission is preparing to shut down operations following the settlement of the final lawsuit against it.

The Governor’s Office said it doesn’t believe a special session is needed to provide more funding to the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission, which warned that it won’t have enough money to pay its legal bills through the end of the year and may sue if it can’t get more money before January.

The Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission staff warned that the commission expects to run out of money in December and may sue for more funding.

The IRC met last night (March 14) to revisit what has become routine: mounting legal costs and dwindling funds. The commission is just about out of money, and the bills for March haven’t even arrived yet. Executive Director Ray Bladine has opened negotiations with top Legislative staff, and has formally submitted a request for a $551,000 FY13 supplemental.

Executive Director Ray Bladine submitted a letter to Biggs and Tobin on Friday asking for a $2.27 million supplemental to prevent the IRC from running out of money by the end of February, as the commission is still under the cloud of three pending lawsuits.

Arizona's redistricting commission is getting more money so it can keep going while its new congressional and legislative district maps await federal approval and possible legal challenges.

The Arizona House of Representatives today gave preliminary approval to a plan that would give the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission $700,000 to get through the rest of the fiscal year, after a series of costly court battles drained the commission’s $3.5 million in yearly operating money.

The Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission’s threatened lawsuit for more funding was once again delayed after the commission decided not to sue the state today, as originally planned.

This week’s most outstanding quips, jibes and utterances.

The Arizona Independent Redistricting Committee will file suit against the state Friday in an attempt to force the Legislature to provide more funding for the remainder of the fiscal year.