CHARLESTON - Don't expect West Virginia's legislators to allow a federal court to determine the state's congressional districts.
That message was made clear Thursday during a "Legislative lookahead" press event that provided insight into how legislators will approach the state's recently voided congressional plan.
House Minority Leader Tim Armstead and Senate Finance Chairman Roman Prezioso Thursday fielded questions from a field of newspapers reporters as part of an annual legislative event sponsored by The Associated Press.
The two veteran legislators discussed the pending Jan. 17 deadline for action on the controversial plan.
Ultimately it may be necessary to split some counties although that probably won't be popular with either officials or citizens, they said.
Both agreed, as did Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin's Chief of Staff Rob Alsop, that responding to the court decision is the legislature's responsibility and will be a top priority when the session begins Jan. 11.
No one expressed support for allowing the court to impose an alternative plan if the deadline is not met.
Action is necessary because a panel of federal judges on Tuesday ruled the state's proposed redistricting plan violates the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause.
In a 2-1 vote, the judges found that the state's three congressional districts are not as equal as they should or could be.
The decision stemmed from a case filed by the Jefferson County Commission. Commissioners challenged the plan based on 2010 Census figures that were adopted by the legislature in an August special session.
As adopted, the plan moved Mason County from the 2nd District and didn't touch the 1st District.
Armstead, R-Kanawha, said he was surprised by the ruling and now favors exploring the possibility of appealing the decision while also seeking a stay of its impact.
However due to the looming deadline, those actions would have to be examined and determined to be viable before the session starts, he said.
"This is a very strange situation to be in when people are ready to begin filing for office and don't know what district they will be in," Armstead said, referring to the upcoming filing period for this year's primary election.
"Regardless, we should definitely be the body that draws up the plan," he said.
Prezioso, D-Marion, was less sure about an appeal but agreed quick action is needed, saying, "I need a thorough review of the court case to see if there is a road map we need to follow to move forward."
Predicting that many proposals may be considered to "fix" the problem, Prezioso also predicted there will be "plenty of lively discussion" as legislators forge a plan for compliance.
That's especially true since a new plan may require "shuffling the districts" and splitting some counties in order to meet an acceptable compromise, he said.
Recalling an earlier proposal that would have split Harrison and Kanawha counties, Prezioso said the idea "hadn't set well with legislators ... But when you look at the numbers logistically we may have to split some counties."
He also referred to a proposal that "looked like a tripod but kept the Eastern Panhandle whole."
Armstead said that action may be possible since the court "appears to believe the counties can be split ... But there has been a general reluctance to have people on one side of the river voting in one congressional district while those living across the river vote in a different one."
Alsop, representing Tomblin who had not yet returned from the Orange Bowl in Florida, said no legal analysis had yet been done to determine if an appeal is possible.
But time is important because this is not the only issue that legislators need to address, Alsop said.
"We don't want to see this session be lost to a 60-day redistricting battle," he said.
During the discussion, legislators also focused on the state's illegal drug problems and the need to use technology to track prescriptions in real time so people can not "shop" doctors and pharmacies in order to obtain narcotics.
Efforts are now under way to move ahead with real-time reporting, Alsop said.
