Sen. Bob Dearing, D-Natchez, on Wednesday was named to key committees charged with drawing new congressional and legislative districts for Mississippi.

&uot;It’s a long, long procedure and you have to be very careful and thorough,&uot; said Dearing, who also served on the 1992 state redistricting committee. &uot;These new lines could possibly be in effect until as late as 2015, so it’s important to get it right.&uot;

Results of the 2000 census prompted the redistricting need, as population has shifted, and slow growth statewide resulted in the state’s losing one seat in Congress.

The first task, Dearing said, will be to take Mississippi’s five congressional districts and create four instead.

&uot;We’ll have to take a hard look at everything, and we’ll probably try to do this during the legislative session so we can vote on it before we leave,&uot; he said.

The session ends in early April.

&uot;We have to divide 2.8 million people into four, and I don’t know how we’re going to do that,&uot; he said. Every congressman will gain constituents, and two incumbents will run against one another when the next congressional election takes place in 2002.

Some districts have only one way to move, Dearing said. &uot;The district on the Coast can only move to the north, for instance,&uot; he said.

As for legislative districts, Dearing said, his hope is that the committees can do a better job this time than in 1992 of drawing lines that do not split precincts. &uot;That’s a nightmare for the election commissioners,&uot; he said. It makes a candidate’s campaigning more difficult, too.

Dearing has not seen census results on a county-by-county basis. Those figures are necessary to have in hand before work can begin on the legislative redistricting.

County supervisors also will redraw lines for their districts based on the new population figures.

The House committee will work on redrawing House districts, and the Senate on their districts, Dearing said.

&uot;Then we’ll come together and try to satisfy as many people as we can and also the Justice Department.

Lt. Gov. Amy Tuck made the appointments, two senators from each congressional district, to the Standing Joint Congressional Redistricting Committee and the Standing Joint Legislative Committee on Reapportionment.

The Senate Elections Committee chairman and vice chairman also will serve on the redistricting committees.

House committees were organized last year, those appointments made by Speaker Tim Ford, D-Baldwyn.