Editorial: Abolish unneeded legislation

Monday, April 26, 1999 | 11:48 a.m.

During the 1997 Legislature, the Assembly faced a dilemma: Either accept the Senate's insistence that the state Ethics Commission police political races or witness the death of bipartisan election reform. Grudgingly the Assembly agreed to the Senate's demand and decided that campaign police would have to be a necessary evil of overall election-reform legislation.

Many in the Assembly believed that granting the state Ethics Commission the power to fine candidates was unnecessary and violated the constitutional right of free speech. The hunch by members of the Assembly that adding this additional responsibility to the commission's duties might do more harm than good has panned out. Some of the commission's decisions involved gray areas of language that two reasonable people could disagree whether the statement was misleading. For instance, the Ethics Commission handed out its largest fine -- $10,000 -- against North Las Vegas Constable Herb Brown for statements he made during his 1998 campaign. The commission found Brown violated the law when he asserted he was "the only qualified candidate" to be constable and that his opponent lacked the necessary education and qualifications.

But such political charges, as the ones Brown made, are part and parcel of political dialogue in this nation. Fortunately the Assembly has passed legislation that will repeal the political campaign policing law. Its fate, however, is in jeopardy. The Sun's Cy Ryan reported Friday that Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, said he's not ready to repeal the law. Several candidates have told him that they refrained from negative campaigning because of the law, Raggio said.

But whether a statement is misleading often is in the eye of the beholder. The existing law just doesn't work in a democracy that cherishes free and robust speech. Despite Raggio's well-intentioned objections to a repeal of this law, it is time for it to be stricken from Nevada's statutes. Fining candidates for making what a state commission believes to be misleading statements will only serve to reduce political speech to vanilla-laden language, not encourage a hearty and robust exchange of ideas. The Senate should repeal this law.