SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA / A news summary : The Local Review / DEVELOPMENTS IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY : Legislators Chosen to Devise Plan on Area Code Splits

Six state legislators were selected Tuesday to come up with a compromise version of a bill that would block future area code splits and overlays.

The committee must hash out a compromise plan and submit it to both houses by Friday, officials said. Supporters of the measure are pressing to have the bill passed and signed by Gov. Gray Davis before the current session ends Sept. 10.

Committee members were handpicked by Senate President Pro Tem John Burton (D-San Francisco) and Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa, who will chair the committee, officials said.

The committee members are state Sens. Richard Alarcon (D-Sylmar), Steve Peace (D-San Diego) and David Kelley (R-Idyllwild), and Villaraigosa (D-Los Angeles) and Assemblymen Bill Campbell (R-Villa Park) and Wally Knox (D-Los Angeles), who introduced the legislation.

The bill would prevent future splits and overlays, such as those being proposed for the San Fernando Valley, West Los Angeles and the South Bay, officials said.

It also includes a number of conservation measures, including a reduction in the amount of phone numbers allocated to phone companies at one time from 10,000 to 1,000 and the creation of separate area codes for pagers, cellular phones and other electronic devices requiring telephone lines.