Lawmakers off to Hawaii for meeting

Tuesday, Dec. 2, 1997 | 10:49 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- What better place to be in the winter than in Hawaii?

That's where 15 state legislators are heading this week for the annual convention of the Council of State Governments. The high-end estimated cost of the trip is $38,000.

Loren Malkiewich, director of the Legislative Counsel Bureau, said Monday some of the three senators and 12 Assembly members might pay their own way or pick up part of the cost.

"Some people may share rooms, others may use frequent flyer miles to pay for the trip and others may pay their own way.

"This is a good year ... it's the off-session ... it's a good time for legislators to catch up on how the other states are handling issues. This is a good meeting and a good place to go," the director said.

The number of legislators attending the convention is down from the 31 who attended the National Conference of State Legislators in Philadelphia in August at an estimated cost of $122,000. But many of the faces are the same.

For instance, Sen. Kathy Augustine, R-Las Vegas, who has told associates she may not run for re-election, traveled to Philadelphia; attended an annual meeting of the Council of State Governments West in Santa Fe, N. M., last November; and now she's off to Hawaii.

Assembly Speaker Joe Dini, D-Yerington, Assembly Minority Leader Lynn Hettrick, R-Minden, and Assemblyman David Humke, R-Reno, also went to the three meetings.

Malkiewich said Dini, who is thinking of running for governor, and Hettrick have been extremely active in the Council of State Governments. Hettrick also attended the annual meeting of the council in Cleveland, Ohio, in December last year. And Humke often pays his own way to these conferences, he said.

The council doesn't only cater to legislators but includes other elected officials.

Gov. Bob Miller, who is in New Orleans until Wednesday giving a speech to the National Science Foundation, isn't going to Hawaii. But Treasurer Bob Seale is heading for the conference, with the National Association of State Treasurers picking up his tab.

Attending both the Council of State Governments West's 50 anniversary on the Kohala Coast of Hawaii, Dec. 2-5, and the annual meeting in Honolulu, Dec. 5-9, are Augustine, Dini, Hettrick, Humke; and Assembly members Merle Berman, D-Las Vegas, Vonne Chowning, D-North Las Vegas, John Marvel, R-Battle Mountain, and Gene Segerblom, D-Boulder City.

The trip and conference are estimated to cost a maximum of $3,100 per person.

Assemblymen Tom Collins, D-North Las Vegas, and Harry Mortenson, D-Las Vegas, are registered to only hit the event at the Kohala Coast at a maximum cost of $1,800 per person.

And those signed up to attend the Honolulu meeting only are Sens. Ray Shaffer, D-North Las Vegas, and Valerie Wiener, D-Las Vegas; Assemblymen Dennis Nolan, R-Las Vegas, Bob Price, D-North Las Vegas, and Wendell Williams, D-Las Vegas, at a maximum cost each of $1,900.

Shaffer, Nolan, Price, Berman, Chowning, and Segerblom also attended the August meeting in Philadelphia.