Dental school among bills signed by Guinn

Wednesday, June 9, 1999 | 11:40 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Seventy bills were signed Tuesday by Gov. Kenny Guinn, among them a bill allowing construction of a dental school at UNLV and one allowing a feasibility study for a state college in Henderson.

Guinn's signature on Assembly Bill 527 allows UNLV to issue bonds up to $35 million for a new dental school. The debt is planned to be paid off by fees collected by dentists and students who are taking care of patients, mostly from low-income families.

Sen. Ray Rawson, R-Las Vegas, who put together the dental school plan, hopes students can start enrolling in September 2000.

And Assembly Bill 220, sponsored by Assembly Majority Leader Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, appropriates $500,000 for a study of the feasibility of establishing a four-year state college in Henderson. Nevada's higher education system has universities and community colleges but no four-year state college.

Perkins said the college could be a training ground for teachers who are in demand by the school district in Clark County. The results of the study will be reported to the 2001 Legislature.

Other bills signed by the governor included those:

* Changing the celebration of Nevada Day from Oct. 31 to the last Friday in October;

* Ordering the state Department of Motor Vehicles and Public Safety to design new license plates, for issuance in January 2001, that may use other colors than the predominant blue and gray;

* Adding three Family Court judges in Las Vegas effective in January 2001;

* Requiring developers of significant projects to submit impact statements to evaluate the water, sewer, roads, police and fire needs. (A local government is prohibited from approving a project if there is not enough capacity to meet these needs. "Significant" projects are those of 300 units or more or an industrial or commercial business generating more than 3,000 average daily vehicle trips.);

* Creating the 10-member Southern Nevada Regional Planning Coalition. Members will represent Clark County, Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, Henderson, Boulder City and the Clark County School District. The coalition will coordinate planning for such things as roads, water and sewer services, police and fire protection, mass transportation, libraries and parks. And it must draft a regional master plan.