Session ends in a flurry

Tuesday, June 1, 1999 | 11:37 a.m.

The last Legislature of this century may well be remembered for taking risks with injured workers and with deregulation of the electric industry but still protecting Nevada casinos.

The 86-year-old state industrial insurance system that cared for employees hurt on the job was dismantled. Legislation was passed to prepare citizens for the new era of competition in the 21st century among electric companies.

Nobody knows for sure whether the injured worker will be treated as well or better. And it may be years before homeowners learn if they're getting a better break from the deregulation of the electric industry.

These are only two of the hundreds of bills passed by lawmakers who completed the 1999 session Monday in Carson City on the 120th day, just minutes before the midnight deadline. The Assembly wrapped up at 11:42 p.m. with music and yelling. The Senate ended its work at 11:43 p.m. with a prayer.

To meet the session deadlines, lawmakers worked longer hours, sometimes toiling late into the evening. There were more bills introduced this session than in 1997 when the Legislature lasted a record 167 days.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, held an unheard of midnight floor session that turned into chaos. Republicans pushed through the bill to privatize the state's industrial insurance system and then walked out of the session, leaving only Democrats on the floor. The Democrats then invoked a seldom used rule to roust some Republicans out of bed to return in the wee hours of the morning before the floor session was ended.

There was the usual furor too.

Sen. Mark James, R-Las Vegas, was involved in controversy over whether he may have overstepped the conflict-of-interest boundary for his actions on a Lake Tahoe bill. He denied it. Assemblyman John Marvel, R-Battle Mountain, touched off a minor flap when he used the word "wetback" during a committee meeting. He later apologized.

Illnesses forced Marvel and Assembly members Bob Price, D-North Las Vegas, Tom Collins, D-North Las Vegas, and Jan Evans, D-Sparks, to spend time in the hospital. Evans, diagnosed with ovarian cancer, didn't return to the session in the final weeks.

Fast pace

The fast pace of the session produced quicker compromises. Committee chairmen often told competing lobbyists to work out their differences or the bill would be killed. Some complained this gave lobbyists greater clout than before. But the compromises reached were often changed by lawmakers.

There were the traditional casualties. Lowering the level for a drunken driving conviction from 0.10 to 0.08, mandatory bargaining rights for state workers, overhauling the ancient public records law, repealing the helmet law for motorcycle riders and chemical castration of sex offenders all died again.

But lawmakers can look back on a session that enacted some major legislation. Gov. Kenny Guinn's millennium scholarship program gained passage after compromises with Assembly Democrats. It was the final bill approved before final adjournment.

It will provide $2,500 a year scholarships for high school students going on to the universities and $1,250 for those going on to community colleges. Students must have a "B" average to be eligible.

Assemblyman David Parks' bill to stop job discrimination against gays is in the books and homeowners should enjoy added protection against shoddy contractors.

Casino muscle

The casino industry flexed its usual muscle. Mirage Resorts Chairman Steve Wynn fortified his tax exemption on the $300 million art collection at the Bellagio but made some concessions, such as charging half price for Nevadans to visit the gallery.

Lawmakers rejected bills to raise the tax on gamblers and to prohibit gaming resorts from contributing to political campaigns. A bill passed that says a casino does not have to pay off a slot machine jackpot if there's an internal malfunction in the unit. The player only gets his coin back.

Casinos gained an additional seat on the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

This session watched the unusual spectacle of industry being divided on some major issues.

Circus Circus and some other major clubs took on International Game Technology in a battle over contracts of slot machine systems linked between casinos. The clubs sought to force IGT, the nation's largest gaming device manufacturer, to offer to sell, rather than lease, the systems such as Megabucks.

A compromise was reached and IGT survived, holding on to its right to decide how it wanted to market its equipment.

Boyd Gaming Co. sought to reopen a 1997 prohibition on building casinos in certain neighborhoods in the Las Vegas area. It wanted an option to build two casinos near its rival Station Casinos, which opposed the move. Boyd failed in its efforts.

To protect the food products and customers from smoking, supermarkets will be required to segregate their slot machines by at least two walls and install a ventilation system to remove the smoke.

Crime bills

Crime bills gained nicknames. There was the Jerry Lewis stalking bill. The entertainer personally testified before the Assembly and a bill was passed to raise the penalty for aggravated stalking from six to 15 years.

The Chris Trickle bill repealed an ancient law that prevented murder charges from being filed if the victim died more than one year and a day after the assault. Trickle was shot in February 1997 near Las Vegas and died 13 months later from the gunshot wounds.

The Sherrice Iverson bill won final approval Sunday. The 7-year-old girl was murdered in a casino in Primm near the California state line. A companion of the killer never informed authorities. The legislation makes it a crime to fail to report to police a violence offense against a child 12 years old or younger.

After investors in Southern Nevada lost millions when the Harley L. Harmon Mortgage Co. went under, lawmakers decided to tighten up on mortgage brokers and agents. It gave the state Division of Financial Institutions, which was criticized for its slow response in the Harmon case, added power to license and regulate the industry.

The fight over the Harmon bill went down to the wire with lobbyists for mortgage brokers battling Assemblyman David Goldwater, D-Las Vegas, and Secretary of State Dean Heller, who wanted more controls on the industry. A compromise was passed on the final day.

Assemblywoman Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, convinced lawmakers to enact a new program to help reimburse homeowners who are the victim of defective construction. Homebuilders will pay anywhere from $100 to $250 a year into a fund that can be tapped by a homeowner for up to $30,000 if the contractor doesn't make the required repairs.

Contractors Board

The state Contractors Board, which oversees homebuilders, was given additional regulatory power. Representatives for insurance companies, contractors and the trial lawyers got together on a bill that means added protections for the homeowner.

It requires a contractor to make repairs within 45 days after being notified there's a defect in the project. And it should shorten the trial time in complex suits about defects in multiple units.

Education suffered its ups and downs. Lawmakers agreed to pump extra money into remediation courses for seniors who could not pass the exit examination. For the first time, funds were allocated to be used by districts for summer schools. Centers will be created to train teachers in teaching to the new higher standards being demanded of students.

For the first time, lawmakers set aside bonding money to help school districts that are unable to spend money for repairs or new buildings. In addition, money was allocated to build a new school in Lincoln County to replace the grammar school, which was closed because of unsafe conditions. And there are funds for White Pine School District to enable it to meet its debt payments.

The 1997 charter school law was loosened to ease some restraints in the operations of these schools. And it doubles the number to 12 charter schools that Clark County can have starting in 2001.

A new process was approved to handle disruptive students in the classroom. The teacher will have a voice now in deciding if the pupil should be removed and placed in an alternate program. Up to now, it was solely up to the principal.

An attempt to push through a program for voucher schools failed again.

There was no money in the budget for pay raises for teachers for the next two years. That prompted the Nevada State Education Association, the union of school teachers, to announce a drive to impose a 5 percent tax on business profits to filter more money into the public schools.

The Clark County School Board was permitted to broaden its search for a replacement for retiring Superintendent Brian Cram. The law was changed so the district doesn't have to hire a school administrator but can look for someone with business or other experience, outside of education.

Hazing, a practice used in initiation of students into an organization or group, was prohibited in high schools and the university system.

Lawmakers squared off against some regents of the University and Community College System of Nevada who complained they were being shortchanged in the budget, even after an extra $30 million was put into higher education.

Southern Nevada regents complained it didn't remedy the inequities in funding, which have hurt UNLV and the Community College in Southern Nevada. Legislators told the regents to quit their griping.

Assembly Majority Leader Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, gained approval to start a study toward creating a new four-year state college in his home town. Sen. Ray Rawson, R-Las Vegas, devised a novel financial scheme for starting a dental school at UNLV in future years.

Guinn victories

Gov. Guinn, with his strong lobbying team of Chief of Staff Peter Ernaut and legal counsel Scott Scherer, won major battles.

The Legislature allowed him to temporarily assume full control of the 47,000-member state employees health insurance program, which hovered near insolvency. Lawmakers allocated an extra $26 million to keep the system afloat.

His bill to strengthen the state ethics laws, requiring tougher penalties and quicker decisions, went down to the final day before passage.

Guinn's plan to privatize the workers compensation system was approved in the final week. But organized labor was able to extract extra benefits such as higher payments to injured workers and extended rehabilitation programs.

His new idea to allow some nonviolent inmates out of the state prison early to take part in the Drug Court programs in Las Vegas and Reno, rolled to passage. He got money to hire an internal audit staff, which he says will save the state millions of dollars.

But his proposal for a private company to take over the health care of prison inmates was rejected after the medical staff said it could achieve the same $4 million savings.

His $3.2 billion budget was approved with some changes. Lawmakers, who had access to an additional $60 million in tax revenue, were able to restore some programs that were not funded by Guinn because of the shortfall in revenues.

For example, the popular school-to-careers program, which got $4 million in the present biennium, will receive $2 million in the coming two years.

Guinn had not included money for pay raises for state workers but on Sunday he and lawmakers announced a 2 percent raise for the 15,000 employees starting in July 2000.

Yucca budget

For the first time, the Nevada Office for Nuclear Projects, will get the bulk of its money from the state rather than the federal government. The budget calls for more than $1 million a year in state funds to fight the location of the high level nuclear dump at Yucca Mountain.

Electric deregulation arrives in March next year. To cushion consumers against the change, there is a ceiling placed on electric rates of Nevada Power Co., and Sierra Pacific Power Co., for three years. But consumers will be able to switch to another supplier if they can find a better price. But opponents contend the consumer will be at risk in the long run.

The Legislature dealt with a myriad of local problems.

A package of bills emerged to manage what some feel is runaway growth in Clark County. The legislation was principally the work of Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, Sen. Jon Porter, R-Boulder City, and Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas.

The Southern Nevada Regional Planning Coalition is codified in state law and given some added authority. Major developments must submit studies showing the impact on traffic, water, sewage, and police and fire services before they can get approval.

Porter said this was the first session "where there hasn't been contention and finger pointing in the halls between legislators and local governments" on the issue. But this is just another limited step along the way and it will probably return to the 2001 session.

Meanwhile, the Assembly rejected the bid of Las Vegas to be able to impose impact fees on new homes to finance parks and fire stations.

Legislators required the question on the June 8 election ballot in Las Vegas to be mandatory on whether the council should be expanded from four to six members. Sen. Joe Neal, D-North Las Vegas, argued that more seats on the council means more opportunities for minority representation.

The North Las Vegas City Council must be divided into four wards. This change, patterned after Henderson's system, means that although voters citywide may still vote for all council candidates, there must be one councilman from each ward. Under the old system, councilmen could all live within the same neighborhood.

Well owners in the Las Vegas Basin who must hook up to the municipal system when their well fails will be eligible for state aid to pay the costs, which can run in excess of $15,000.

Rural Nevada was given added protection from the delayed effort of the Las Vegas Valley Water District to pipe water to Clark County. The state engineer before he approves any of the applications from Las Vegas must determine that the loss of the water will not harm the future development and economic potential of the sparsely populated counties.

A bill to switch the name of the Floyd Lamb State Park in Las Vegas to Tule Springs, died. But legislation passed to allow the printing of special license plates to help pay for the preservation of the Big Spring Archeological district near downtown Las Vegas and to conserve the environment at Mount Charleston.

Three new Family Court judges were added in Clark County.

Off-beat bills

Then there were the off-beat bills.

Parents who spank their children got added protection. Supporters said children paddled by a parent have threatened to report the punishment to police or file a lawsuit. The bill, which gained final approval Sunday in the Assembly, says if the initial investigation by a police agency finds there was reasonable discipline, the inquiry should stop there and the records should be destroyed.

Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa sought to outlaw bubble gum shaped like cigars or cigarettes. The Legislature also voted down her suggestion that children be prohibited from frequenting arcades at night. But her bill to start a high-tech crime unit was approved.

Harvey Whittemore, viewed as one of the most powerful lobbyist, couldn't deliver on a bill for himself and Las Vegas liquor distributor Larry Ruvo to build a controversial pier at the property at the exclusive Glenbrook Resort at Lake Tahoe. It turned out to be a fight of the rich against the rich.

Assemblyman Don Gustavson, R-Sun Valley, convinced his fellow lawmakers to prohibit cities and counties from bringing lawsuits against gun manufacturers in cases where a person may have been shot to death. Several cities across the nation have already filed these suits. The state would be the only government in Nevada that could sue in these cases.

An anthrax scare in Las Vegas in February 1998 prompted legislation to outlaw possession or stockpiling of a deadly biological weapon. It could bring a term of up to life in prison.

After hearing testimony that assaults on Las Vegas cab drivers were on the rise, the Legislature increased the maximum prison time from six to 10 years.

A bill to require fluoridation of the water supply in Las Vegas was signed by Guinn only after he had extracted a promise that the voters in Southern Nevada will vote in November 2000 whether they want to continue with the treated water.

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