Friday, April 17, 1998 | 11:21 a.m.
IT'S disappointing that Gov. Bob Miller felt the need to set up a private trust fund to pay for travel expenses associated with his public responsibilities.
The once-secret fund established in 1996 was made public only last week when Miller filed his financial disclosure statement for 1997, showing he obtained $8,310 from a "governor's trust." After questioning by SUN reporter Cy Ryan, Miller spokesman Richard Urey acknowledged that $71,000 had been raised to allow the governor and his staff to travel outside the state.
Miller was chagrined this week when he subsequently had to amend his 1996 and 1997 financial disclosure forms because he failed to report $48,000 in privately funded trips outside Nevada. "Unfortunately, I did not exercise the necessary oversight ... I take full responsibility for the omission," Miller told the SUN's Jeff German.
Because he didn't want taxpayers to pay for these out-of-state travels after he was elected vice chairman and subsequently chairman of the National Governors' Association, Miller said he set up a private trust fund. Funding came primarily from casinos.
There has been a precedent for governors having to seek private sources for funding public purposes, considering how stingy the Legislature has been sometimes in appropriately staffing the governor's office and paying for other basic needs. For instance, in 1997 Miller determined to seek $5 million in private donations to renovate the Governor's Mansion, the first refurbishing in 30 years, which back then also was done with private funds.
It was important that Miller had the necessary funding for travel since only twice in the state's history has a Nevadan been chairman of the National Governors' Association. The Legislature should make provisions for adequate travel of the state's chief executive when his public role intersects national leadership responsibilities. The Legislature did so similarly in 1997 when it used public funds to pay for an assistant to help Gaming Control Board Chairman Bill Bible as a member of the National Gambling Impact Study Commission.
Miller should have requested sufficient public funding from the Legislature for his travels on official business, as he did in March 1996 when the Legislature's Interim Finance Committee approved his request to switch $29,000 in unspent salary from an unfilled position in the governor's office to his travel budget. But Urey said Miller didn't go back to the Legislature for the 1996-97 fiscal year because he then had access to the private trust.
Regarding the disclosure of the trust fund such as Miller has used, Nevada law does not require a governor to itemize who contributes. James Hulse, the president of Nevada Common Cause, said these trust funds are vulnerable to abuse. But Hulse praised Miller for disclosing the names of the contributors, adding: "As a general principle, undisclosed money is always a problem for public officers."
Considering that governors often need to attend political functions, it seems reasonable that they use leftover campaign funds for these purposes. Since Miller couldn't run for re-election again, establishing a trust fund for political-type events seemed within bounds.
But a number of problems arose for Miller, primarily in the area of disclosure. Some politicians fear an adverse reaction when they travel out of state. But full and immediate disclosure of who is paying for the trips and their costs is the proper course, whether it's for political or public purposes.
Maintaining public trust is critical when governing. The Legislature should re-examine its own role in providing necessary funds for the chief executive. Then it can work on developing reporting requirements for these types of trusts and mandate that public officials disclose promptly the names of those making the donations.
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