In the coming weeks, this year's state Legislature will attempt what past year's legislatures have failed miserably at — redrawing congressional and statewide political boundaries in a way that fairly adjusts for population changes without disadvantaging the minority party or any minority groups.

And that's not all. Gov. Susana Martinez also plans to ask lawmakers to repeal driver's licenses for illegal immigrants, pass bills giving advantage to New Mexico businesses in state procurement, statewide capital outlay projects, a high-wage tax credit, spay and neuter funding, a fireworks ban and dealing with employer contributions to the unemployment fund. That's probably too much, given both the importance and the difficulty of the primary task at hand.

The state's history of redistricting, as retold by the Legislative Council Service, is one filled with lawsuits and political maneuvering, and it has never been quick or easy.

In 1949, state Senate seats were doled out one per county, except for the smallest counties. The House was increased from 49 to 55 seats, with the additional six seats going to Bernalillo County.

The first lawsuit came in 1962, challenging the House format. Two years later, another lawsuit challenged the makeup of the Senate. Both challenges won, and the Legislature spent the early part of the 1960s coming up with the current 70-member House and 42-member Senate.

The effort in the 1970s took several years, with a state court striking down proposed changes to the number of seats. The new lines drawn in the 1980s were found unconstitutional because they were based on the number of votes cast, not the census population numbers. It took a third special session to get the plan finalized, and that was found by the federal court to include "racially motivated gerrymandering." A special primary was held in 1984 for those districts redrawn by the court.

It took a second special session in 1992 to come up with a plan acceptable to the Department of Justice. But it was the first time in more than 30 years that the process was concluded without litigation. That streak would not last, as then-Gov. Gary Johnson rejected the Legislature's plans in 2001. The first lawsuit was filed while the special session was still taking place. All told, the litigation cost the state more than $3.5 million, according to the LCS report.

While we agree with many of the proposals Martinez is considering, we expect that the special session will be divisive, contentious and difficult enough with just the single issue of redistricting. Anything that distracts from that process is probably a mistake.