Senators approved bills last Thursday that set new district boundaries for several Nebraska governmental entities — as well as the state’s 49 legislative districts — for the next decade.

Legislative Bill 3, introduced by the Redistricting Committee, makes several changes to legislative districts to account for an overall population shift from the western portion of the state.

Among other changes, the bill moves District 36 from central Nebraska to southwestern Sarpy County, encompassing Gretna and Springfield. Portions of the former district, which comprised Custer, Dawson and the northern part of Buffalo counties, are now part of districts 41, 43 and 44.

LB 3 also shifts Banner and Kimball counties to District 48. Hooker, Thomas, McPherson and Logan counties move from District 43 to District 42.

The bill makes several changes to legislative districts in the city of Lincoln and Lancaster County.

The northern portion of District 25 that includes Waverly shifts to District 21. A portion of District 25 that includes part of northeast Lincoln moves to District 2, which includes Cass County. District 30, which includes Gage County and a portion of southern Lancaster County, shifts to the east and now includes a portion of south Lincoln.

Among other changes in the Omaha metro area, a portion of northwestern Douglas County, including Valley, moves from District 39 to District 15, which includes Dodge County.

Lawmakers approved the legislative maps on a 37-7 vote.

Other bills to establish new district boundaries included:

• LB 5, which sets district boundaries for the five Public Service Commission districts, approved on a 45-3 vote.

Sen. Michael Flood of Norfolk supported the proposal but said he would have preferred to increase the number of commissioners from five to seven under LB 293, a bill he introduced last session.

He said this would have reduced the size of District 5 — which in LB 5 comprises roughly the western two-thirds of the state — to ensure better representation of rural Nebraska’s interests, particularly the expansion of broadband internet service there.

“This is a big area with a lot of needs,” Flood said.

Lincoln Sen. Suzanne Geist said the committee tried to make as few changes to existing PSC district boundaries as possible while evening out population numbers and keeping commissioners’ residences in their districts.

Sen. Curt Friesen of Henderson, chairperson of the Transportation and Telecommunications Committee, said that committee drew maps last session to see how Flood’s proposal would change district size. Although the measure could have improved representation in the northeast part of the state, Friesen said, it “still left a huge part of Nebraska served by one commissioner.”

• LB 6, which adjusts district boundaries for the six judicial districts of the state Supreme Court, approved on a 46-1 vote.

Omaha Sen. Steve Lathrop said the proposed maps “pretty much wrote themselves” after accounting for population changes and ensuring that sitting judges would remain in their current districts.

• LB 7, which contains a redistricting plan for the eight State Board of Education districts, approved on a 41-7 vote, and LB 8, which sets district boundaries for the eight University of Nebraska Board of Regents districts, approved on a 46-2 vote.

Previously, the two bodies have identical district boundaries, and portions of three districts are within Douglas County. The original proposals for LB 7 and LB 8 would have had portions of four districts within the county, and lawmakers agreed to adjustments.

Elkhorn Sen. Lou Ann Linehan said neither bill moves any incumbent out of their current district. The changes mean, however, that district boundaries for the two bodies no longer are identical because of where incumbents live.

Find copies of all the maps at legislature.ne.gov/red.