Jindal Wants Proposal On New District Lines For House Seats

Now that we know Louisiana is losing a congressional seat, Governor Bobby Jindal would like the Louisiana Congressional Delegation to propose new district lines for house seats. State lawmakers will approve new congressional district lines during a special session in March. Jindal says since Louisiana is losing a seat and it's a complex issue, the house delegation should be the first to decide how to go about drawing new lines. Quitman Republican Rodney Alexander is the Dean of the House Delegation and he says that ultimately it's going to be up to the state legislature. Alexander says that with the loss of the seat, each congressional district will grow by a hundred to a hundred and fifty thousand people. He says he's had meetings with other members of the delegation over the past several months to discuss how to go about the redistricting since it was assumed this was coming, but nothing has been finalized.

Meanwhile, many are wondering which sitting Congressman could end up running against another incumbent in 2012. Political analyst Bernie Pinsonat says one proposal would combine the two north Louisiana congressional districts, which are are currently occupied by John Fleming and Rodney Alexander. Pinsonat says the big debate will be over whether north or south Louisiana should lose a Congressional seat. Pinsonat says lawmakers will draw up new Congressional lines during a redistricting session that is scheduled to begin March 20th.