By Doug Thompson
Stephens Media
HOT SPRINGS — A continuing exodus from rural areas of the state likely will mean additional legislative seats for Northwest Arkansas and other population centers when districts are redrawn following the 2010 census, a lawyer for the secretary of state’s office told lawmakers Wednesday.
“Northwest Arkansas will get more districts — it won’t be a huge gain like eight or 10 seats; Central Arkansas will gain seats to some extent, and Northeast Arkansas,” Joe Woodson, legal counsel for Secretary of State Charlie Daniels, told a joint meeting of the House and Senate committees on City, County and Local Affairs.
“The reason is the same trend of the last 100 years: Rural Arkansas is losing population and cities are gaining,” Woodson told the panel, which met in Hot Springs in conjunction with a rural development conference hosted by the state Department of Rural Services.
The secretary of state, governor and attorney general comprise the state Board of Apportionment, which draws legislative districts according to results of the census count taken every 10 years. Redistricting is based on voting age population, not total population.
The U.S. Census Bureau is expected to complete its 2010 decennial count by April 2011.
New districts drawn by the Apportionment Board are subject to legislative approval and lawmakers also must approve congressional district boundaries, which Woodson said may require a special legislative session since redistricting must be complete by the May 2012 primaries.
