Louisiana To Lose A Congressional Seat

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana is losing one of its congressional seats.

New census data was released Tuesday, showing the state's congressional delegation will shrink from seven to six House seats in the 2012 elections.

That's because Louisiana's population hasn't grown as quickly as other states. The state has 4.5 million people and grew by 1.4 percent over the last decade, compared to a national growth rate of 9.7 percent.

The U.S. Census Bureau has supplied the first results from the once-a-decade government count, and those figures are used to decide how to divvy up the 435 House seats among the 50 states.

State leaders have heard predictions for years that Louisiana would lose a congressional seat. State lawmakers will decide how to redraw the congressional maps.