[04/05/01] The legislative panel charged with redrawing congressional district lines has scheduled 11 public hearings around the state.

The first will be May 4 at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg. Others will follow around the state.

Sen. Mike Chaney and Rep. George Flaggs, both of Vicksburg, are members of that committee. Although Chaney is a Republican and Flaggs is a Democrat, both said they want to see Mississippi get the best districts possible.

Chaney believes it’s going to be a tough job for the commission. “It’s going to be a long, hot summer,” he said.

Once detailed population figures are received from the U.S. Census Bureau, the panel’s first work will be to redraw congressional district lines in time for the 2002 congressional election, meaning they have less than a year.

Mississippi will have four delegates to the U.S. House instead of five, having lost a seat to faster-growing areas of the country.

Flaggs said he wants to ease the trauma of the loss of a congressman and the possible loss of federal funds.

“Federal funds are tied to population,” Flaggs said, and Mississippi could be at a disadvantage with the loss of a congressman. The 2nd District, he said, could be the hardest hit because the Delta lost more population than other parts of Mississippi.

Vicksburg is now in the 2nd, represented by U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, a Democrat in his third term.

The district was created after the 1990 Census with a majority black population and led to the election of former Rep. Mike Espy as the first black delegate to Congress from this state since the years after the Civil War. Thompson’s district may get more area, but is expected to remain largely intact.

“I’m going in with as open a mind as I can,” Flaggs said, adding he plans to look at the population figures and work toward coming up with four districts that are as equal as possible.

He also said he does not believe it is a foregone conclusion that Reps. Chip Pickering and Ronnie Shows, the two newest delegates from Mississippi, will end up in the same district.

Chaney said the 2nd District must add about 250,000 people to have a similar population to the other three districts.

“We have a population of about 2.8 million and that means each district must have about 700,000,” Chaney said.

District 2’s problem is going to be coming up with a plan that will maintain its racial balance and pass muster with the U.S. Justice Department.

“It’s going to be a Catch 22,” Chaney said.

Lawmakers expect to have a special session this summer to approve congressional redistricting.

The joint committee must also redraw legislative district lines in time for the 2005 statewide elections.

Both plans must also be approved by the U.S. Justice Department to ensure fairness to minorities under the Voting Rights Act.