JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – The Mississippi House of Representatives will meet at the Old Capitol for an upcoming special session on redistricting while the current House chamber undergoes renovations.

The move has drawn mixed reactions from lawmakers.

Rep. Justis Gibbs, D-District 72, said constituents have raised concerns about the optics of the location change.

“I’ve had constituents call me this morning and their eyebrows have raised when they found out about this location change,” Gibbs said.

Gibbs said he hopes the controversy becomes motivation for voters.

“We have to use every single opportunity possible that we have to get our people riled up and ready to vote. And if anything, I say let’s not fall into the trap. Let’s use this as fuel,” he said.

Logistics and history

Rep. Fred Shanks, R-House Rules chairman, who has served in the legislature for nearly a decade, said he is looking forward to the temporary move.

“As a history buff, I’m actually kind of looking forward to it,” Shanks said.

Shanks called criticism over the optics overblown.

“I think that’s just some political nonsense to say that. I mean, it’s still a functional building. It’s kept up very nice and we need to use it. I just think that’s just kind of a lame excuse, just something to talk about,” he said.

Shanks said he is curious about how voting will work without the electronic system used in the current chamber.

“Over there, how we vote, we push a button, it goes on the big scoreboards. Everything’s electronic. Well, we don’t have that. So I’m kind of curious to see how we would be voting. I really hope it’s kind of like they did, 100 plus years ago. I think it would be pretty cool to do that,” he said.

Renovation details

All desks remain in the House chamber as of May 5. Capitol staff confirmed furniture will be cleared Saturday, May 9, and replaced with scaffolding.

The work will focus on removing old concrete panels from 1903 within the structure of the dome. Last summer, original stained glass was removed from the skylight and replaced with acrylic replicas. The originals are being restored by Pearl River Glass in Jackson.

Senators will meet in their current chamber as no renovations were previously scheduled in that space.

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