State must wait to find out if it rates another seat in Congress

CARSON CITY -- Nevada will officially find out Dec. 31 whether it has qualified for a fourth seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

That's the day the federal government will notify governors, top legislators and others of the results of the 2010 census, David Byerman, chief government 2010 census liaison for Nevada, told a legislative committee Monday.

There has been wide speculation and several analyses suggesting that Nevada will receive another seat in Congress because of population growth since 2000.

In estimating populations July 1, the U.S. Census Bureau put Nevada's population at 2,643,085, making it 35th highest among the 50 states. But the state's 32.3 percent gain in population since the last official census in 2000 was the highest in the nation and much higher than the 9.1 percent national average.

On the other hand, state Demographer Jeff Hardcastle last year found the state population had dropped by 27,677 between July 2008 and July 2009, the first drop in nearly 100 years.

He put the state population at 2,711,000, or higher than the Census Bureau. Census Bureau figures are the official figures used in calculating seats in Congress.

An appreciable drop in population between 2009 and 2010 could result in Nevada not picking up another seat in the House.

Congressional districts are supposed to be as similar in population as possible. Texas, according to several projections, is expected to gain four seats, while states like Nevada and Utah could pick up one seat.

Utah is 34th in population with 2,784,572 people, according to the July 1 estimate by the Census Bureau.

Byerman told the Legislative Committee to Study Reapportionment that 69 percent of Nevadans returned questionnaires to the Census Bureau by April 1, or slightly less than the 72 percent national average. The participation rate for Clark County was 67 percent. In Pershing County just 58 percent participated.

In Nevada, 6,200 census workers now are going to homes from where census forms were not returned, as well as group homes and other locations where people may not have participated yet.

He added that there is an unusually large number of vacant homes in Nevada because of foreclosures and high unemployment. That makes the census takers' jobs more difficult.

The legislative committee discussed purchasing software for the 2011 legislative session, when lawmakers will redraw legislative and congressional districts using information from the 2010 census. They took no action.

Contact Capital Bureau Chief Ed Vogel at evogel@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3901.