AHOSKIE – The North Carolina General Assembly will conduct public hearings statewide on Thursday regarding the recently released maps showing the redistricting of congressional districts.

One such public hearing will be held locally, beginning at 3 p.m. in room 126 of the Jernigan Building on the campus of Roanoke-Chowan Community College.

Each speaker is limited to five (5) minutes. Speakers are encouraged to submit their oral comments in writing. Persons proposing plans are encouraged to provide maps and any supporting data.

Questions about the public hearings may be directed to Erika Churchill or Kelly Quick at 919-733-2578. Persons desiring to submit written comments to be included in the public record may send those comments to:

Redistricting Committee

300 N. Salisbury Street

Suite 545 Legislative Office Building

Raleigh, NC 27603

They can also register online, five days in advance of the hearing, at www.ncleg.net. Registration for speaking will begin: 1) At the hearing site: 1 hour prior to the convening of the hearing, and will close prior to the beginning of the hearing. 2) On-line: 5 days in advance of the hearing and will close 24 hours in advance of the hearing. There are limited slots for on-line sign-up.

Speakers will be called according to the order of registration. If a speaker is not present when called, the speaker will be skipped at that time. Time permitting at the end of all registered speakers, those skipped will be allowed to speak.

The video conference will be streamed live on the NCGA website. The link will be posted under News & Information on the front page of the NCGA website on the day of the public hearing.

Locally, the congressional redistricting process impacts Gates County, moving it from the First to the Third district. The remainder of the Roanoke-Chowan area counties (Bertie, Hertford and Northampton) will remain in the First District, represented by Congressman G.K. Butterfield, a Democrat.

The Third District is represented by Congressman Walter B. Jones, a Republican.