Wednesday, September 12, 2001

Legislature still working on congressional maps By DAVE HAMRICK dhamrick@TheCitizenNews.com State legislators continue to deliberate this week over the district lines for the state's U.S. Congress members. Greg Hecht, who represents part of the county and is on the Senate Reapportionment Committee, predicted Monday that it will be at least Wednesday or Thursday before a joint Senate/House Conference Committee hammers out a compromise on the district map. The Legislature is meeting in special session to redraw district lines to account for population changes revealed in the 2000 U.S. Census. Local Republicans have complained that the Senate version unfairly dilutes Republican voting strength. The House version approved last week added more Republican districts, but the House this week was going over the Senate map to come up with its final take on the matter. "Neither of them is the final map," Hecht said. Hecht hailed the Legislature's approval last week of a law banning machines that can be used for video gambling. "It was a good measure to take," he said. The machines are "not a good enterprise for Georgia. They were tied to certain folks who may have the wrong background," he added. What do you think of this story? Click here to send a message to the editor. Back to the News Home Page| Back to the top of the page