‘97 Legislature expected to last 6 months, cost $10 million

Saturday, Jan. 11, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- The Nevada Legislature opens its 69th session Jan. 20 with an ambitious agenda that will keep lawmakers busy working to improve education, manage the state's rapid growth and develop a plan to ease recipients off welfare.

The session is expected to last into early July and cost taxpayers $10 million.

So far, nearly 1,100 bills have been requested, and of that number, 1,000 are expected to be ready for introduction on opening day.

The session will be the last for Gov. Bob Miller, whose 10 years in office -- the most by any Nevada governor -- expires in January 1999.

Miller's aides said he will focus on improvements in education, including completion of a program to reduce class sizes in the third grade.

He also will propose a plan to put more computers in classrooms and to improve standards for student achievement.

The session could also be the final go-round for other Carson City veterans. Sen. Lawrence Jacobsen, R-Minden, who has served since 1963 and is the ranking member, has said he won't run for another term. Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, and Assembly Speaker Joe Dini, D-Yerington, have also indicated this could be their last.

Also on the agenda is a constitutional amendment to strip the lieutenant governor of one of his few duties: presiding over the Senate. If approved, however, it must be ratified by Nevada voters.

On Wednesday, the Senate Finance and Assembly Ways and Means committees will sit down in advance of the session to receive a briefing from Miller on the budget. Then on Thursday and Friday, freshmen lawmakers will undergo orientation sessions.

Those attending the early sessions will be the first to see the unfinished construction at the legislative building.

A $16.5 million renovation of the building and a four-story addition won't be completed by the opening of the session. And a new computer system will not be ready.

Lorne Malkiewich, director of the Legislative Counsel Bureau, said his staff has been wrestling with a "two-headed beast" -- the building expansion and computer system. Both should be ready later in the session. Not having the new computer system up won't delay the session, since the old procedures will be in place, he said.

Finished or unfinished, the building will be home to a Legislature that includes a new combination of Democrats and Republicans.

Democrats hold a 25-17 majority in the Assembly, after sharing power with Republicans in a historic 21-21 split in 1995. Dini, who has a record 16 terms in the Assembly, returns as speaker for a record seventh session.

Republicans retained the majority in the Senate for the third consecutive session, with a 12-9 margin, one fewer than last session. Raggio will continue as majority leader.

Twelve freshmen were elected in November. That's the smallest number since 1989, when there were only six new members.

The Assembly includes 15 women, down from a record 17 in 1995. Five senators are women, the same number as two years ago.

The Legislature will include its first publicly acknowledged gay member -- Assemblyman David Parks, D-Las Vegas.

The age of lawmakers ranges from 23-year-old Assemblyman Dario Herrera, D-Las Vegas, to Jacobsen, who is 75. The youngest lawmaker ever was 21-year-old Richard Kirman in the 1899 session. Kirman went on to win election to the governor's office in 1935. The oldest lawmaker was Cada C. Boak, who was 82 at the end of his term in 1951.

More than 400 paid lobbyists are expected to converge on lawmakers at one time or another during the session. In 1995, there were 404 registered lobbyists and 238 who were unpaid. Combined, they represented 784 organizations.

Lobbyists for the gaming industry, public employee groups, teachers and medical and insurance businesses are considered the most powerful.

They will be trying to persuade legislators not to tax their industries when budget decisions are made.

The Economic Forum, a group of five financial experts, has estimated the state will collect $3.05 billion in taxes during the next two years, a 15.1 percent increase from the current biennium. The governor and the Legislature will be required to come up with a budget that is within the $3.05 billion range, unless new taxes are proposed.

But so far nobody is talking about new or increased statewide taxes. Miller has said he will not propose new taxes.

Even if a new tax were proposed, it would face a major hurdle. Voters in November gave final approval to a constitutional amendment that requires a two-thirds vote of the Legislature for new taxes.

The Legislature will begin to buckle down after Miller delivers the State of the State address Jan. 23, a day later than it's normally given, to allow him to attend President Clinton's inauguration.

During the State of the State, Miller will outline his spending plans for the $3 billion general fund budget. Traditionally, education, from kindergarten through the university system, consumes 54 percent of the budget. In the 1995-97 budget, human services received 25.8 percent, with public safety agencies getting 10.9 percent.

An estimated surplus of $240 million is expected to be used for buildings, such as a new 1,000-inmate prison at Indian Springs and a $52 million library for UNLV. Miller said he will use a portion of the money to establish a fund to buy computers for schools.

Miller will not say whether he will support the creation of a law school at UNLV.

In the opening weeks, lawmakers will decide whether to override four bills Miller vetoed after the close of the 1995 session.

Those included SB341, which would have prevented school officials from questioning students about personal matters without consent of parents; AB367, which would have taken power from the state Board of Health to regulate sewage systems; SB70, which would have permitted occupational licensing boards to avoid fiscal controls placed on other state agencies; and SB51, which would have exempted the state Board of Sheep Commissioners and the Committee to Control Predatory Animals from reimbursing the state attorney general's office for legal services.

Now that Democrats control the Assembly, the vetoes are expected to be upheld.

A new legislative meeting schedule will be implemented this session. Lawmakers in 1995 junked a two-week recess that permitted the budget committees to conduct full-day hearings. The recess also allowed other major committees to hold two weeks of meetings in Las Vegas.

"The two-week recess killed the momentum of the session," Dini said. "It's best not to have it."

After getting settled in the first few weeks, the Senate and Assembly, under the new schedule, won't hold the traditional floor sessions on Tuesdays and Fridays for several weeks. This will permit the budget committees to work longer hours without interruptions. It will also free up other committees to conduct hearings in Las Vegas if they want to.

When it comes to political makeup, Dini said the 1997 Legislature will be "moderate to mildly conservative."

"We have some awfully nice people coming up," he said. "They're ready to tackle the issues instead of worrying about the next election."

In the Assembly, a special Committee on Infrastructure has been created to determine how to finance roads, sewers and water systems to serve the fast-growing population, especially in Southern Nevada.

Among the major issues, welfare reform is expected to take center stage.

Miller has set in place a basic welfare reform plan, but some details are up in the air. Still unresolved is the so-called family cap, under which a welfare mother who has a baby while on public assistance would not receive an increase in her monthly check for the extra child. The governor hasn't indicated whether he will propose a raise in the average monthly $348 welfare check for a family of three.

Lawmakers will be asked to decide whether to allow competition among electric companies, such as Nevada Power Co. in Las Vegas and Sierra Pacific Power in Reno. A legislative committee has been studying the issue for 18 months and will offer recommendations.

Legislators are hoping the major issues can be resolved early so that the session doesn't drag much past mid-summer.

The 1995 session lasted a record 169 days and cost $9.3 million.

This year, each lawmaker will have a secretary to help with the workload. In the past, some legislators shared secretaries.

Some of the lawmakers this session will attempt to put on a good show so they can leave a favorable impression that could lead to a run for higher office.

Lt. Gov. Lonnie Hammargren has said he will run for governor in two years when Miller completes his term.

The list of potential candidates for other offices is lengthy.

Sen. Mark James, R-Las Vegas, has been named as a possible candidate for attorney general; Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, has been mentioned as a candidate for Congress, especially if Rep. John Ensign, R-Nev., chooses not to seek re-election so he can challenge Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev.

Sen. Kathy Augustine, R-Las Vegas, is said to be interested in running for secretary of state. Assemblyman Brian Sandoval, R-Reno, is touted as one of the up-and-coming candidates in the Republican Party, as are Assemblyman Pete Ernaut, R-Reno, and Secretary of State Dean Heller.

The session opens on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. While other state and local government offices are closed, legislators will be sworn in at noon, go through the traditional ceremonies of electing leaders and introduce scores of bills.

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