NASHVILLE-Hamilton County will lose some representation in the state House after Tennessee lawmakers redraw political boundaries next year to reflect 2010 U.S. census data, officials said Thursday.
The number of districts will go from 51/2 to five, said House Majority Leader Gerald McCormick, R-Chattanooga, noting the county’s population has not kept up with statewide growth.
McCormick said he expects that Rep. Jim Cobb, R-Spring City, whose House District 31 seat includes part of northern Hamilton County and all of Rhea, will have to give up the Hamilton portion of the district.
That will enable the five remaining Hamilton County House members to draw up districts as close as practical to the ideal size of 64,102 people.
“We’ve got to have basically the same numbers in each district … and we also have to keep in mind county lines and try not to cross county lines,” McCormick explained. “So Hamilton County’s numbers indicate that we can have five full seats and still stay within our county lines and still meet the guidelines of the population figures.”