Ernaut’s requests miff legislators

Monday, Feb. 8, 1999 | 12:27 p.m.

CARSON CITY -- Peter Ernaut, chief of staff for Gov. Kenny Guinn, is in the dog house with the Legislature after only a week in session.

Last Wednesday, Ernaut sent a letter to legislative leaders telling them they would have to go through his office to get information from state agencies. These requests, he said are "increasingly time-consuming" and take employees away from their job.

Senate Majority Leader William Raggio, R-Reno, a strong supporter of Guinn, fired back, calling Ernaut's request "not practical." He said the budget committees of the Legislature have to be able to get information they need without going through a third party.

Ernaut's letter, said Assemblyman Morse Arberry, D-Las Vegas, chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, was in "bad taste."

"They have thrown down the gauntlet," Arberry said. "We can't put up with that."

The assemblyman noted the session is limited to 120 days, and said Ernaut's demand would create a "bottleneck if we had to wait for him to pass the requests on to his staff."

"They keep forgetting there are other branches of government," said Arberry.

The clash demonstrates how each branch of government jealously guards its powers. And it marks one of the first tugs of war between Guinn administration and the Legislature, which in past years has tried to expand its authority.

Ernaut, a former Assembly member, said requests from legislators often seek comprehensive analyses in a short time, "which requires key employees to cease their regular duties in order to respond."

"When their regular duties are neglected, these employees are then in the uncomfortable position of answering for that neglect either to this office or even to the very legislators who made the requests," Ernaut wrote.

Lorne Malkiewich, director of the Legislative Counsel Bureau, replied that Ernaut will receive a copy of all written requests for information. But most come verbally when a department or division head is appearing before one of the budget committee.