Proposal to split the Ninth Circuit moves to the Senate Judiciary Committee

The decades-long controversy over whether to divide the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is expected to move to a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee after the August recess.   
The pending proposal, S. 1845, would create a new Twelfth Circuit comprising Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.  California, Hawaii and the Pacific Islands would remain in the Ninth Circuit. 
The long-simmering dispute over the split has gained a higher profile now that Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Arlen Specter has come out in favor of it.
Supporters of the split invoke concerns about ideology -- that a split would alleviate the perceived liberalness of the Ninth Circuit -- and judicial administration -- that with some 50 judges the circuit is just too large to be manageable.  The current bill would address the case backlog at least in part by adding five new judgeships to the reconstituted Ninth Circuit.   But as for political concerns, opponents say a Ninth Circuit dominated by California is not likely to have a different ideological bent. 
For more discussion of the history of, and policies underlying, proposals to split the circuit, see my Oregon State Bar Bulletin article on the topic.