THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 11, 1994 TAG: 9408110551
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STAFF & WIRE REPORT
LENGTH: Short : 47 lines
In a ruling that could mean more federal money for large cities, a federal Appeals Court has found that the Bush administration failed to justify undercounting millions of minority citizens in the 1990 Census.
The opinion, handed down Monday by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York, breathed new life into a politically charged, 6-year-long battle by a group of major cities to adjust population counts to correct for the chronic difficulty the Census Bureau has had in reaching and counting minorities.
Proponents said Tuesday that, if it stands, the ruling could dramatically restructure the equation of political power both nationally and within some states. Census figures are used for drawing district lines for the U.S. House of Representatives, seats in state legislatures and even city councils, as well as distributing federal funds for everything from feeding the poor to running mass transit systems.
It is unclear what will happen if President Clinton chooses not to take up the Bush administration position in the reinstated case. Theoretically the new federal allocations could start flowing within a matter of months, but lawyers familiar with the case say it is also likely that any congressional redistricting will be challenged for years to come.
The ruling was welcome news in Norfolk and Portsmouth, two South Hampton Roads cities it is most likely to affect. ``It's certainly an important consideration for Portsmouth, Norfolk and Newport News,'' said William Jones, Portsmouth's planning director. ``I couldn't say how much funds the city could possibly gain because of this. I'm not sure of how much the official count will increase. I'm sure it will represent a substantial amount of funds across the board.''
Norfolk Mayor Paul D. Fraim said, ``I haven't read the opinion, but I'd love to. It seems right that Norfolk should benefit from some reinspection of the census count here. Statistically, the core cities were undercounted.''
In 1991, Norfolk City Council sent a resolution to the secretary of commerce asserting that the city's population had been undercounted by 12,000 residents, and asking that it be corrected.
The final census count had put Norfolk's population at 261,229.
KEYWORDS: U.S. CENSUS 1990 CENSUS RULING by CNB