Fluoridation hot topic for Legislature

Thursday, June 17, 1999 | 12:26 p.m.

More than 28,000 people spoke out on legislation but the most attention was focused on very few bills.

The legislation that drew the most public comment was AB284, which originally would have required fluoride be added to public water systems in Washoe and Clark counties. The amended version will put the question to Clark County voters in November and exempts the rest of the state.

Altogether, more than 5,300 people registered their opinions on the issue. The Legislative Counsel Bureau recorded the public sentiment as 3,218 votes for and 2,125 votes against.

The measure that drew the second highest number of responses by citizens was AB311, which prohibits workplace discrimination against gays. But the majority of the 2,577 opinions were opposed to the law - 1,664 to 913.

Only two other items out of 1,450 bills and resolutions introduced in the 1999 Legislature were controversial enough to get more than 1,000 opinions from the public.

SB286, which would have limited damages for so-called construction defects, and AB586, which would have required reporting of all "adverse outcomes" to patients in all medical facilities from hospitals to nursing homes were both the topic of more than 1,000 calls. Neither measure made it out of the legislative house of origin.

Less than 50 bills drew 100 or more responses while two-thirds didn't get a single call.

The data was collected from Internet responses and through phone calls to the legislative message center throughout the session.

Overall, there were more people calling to support a piece of legislation than to oppose one. A total of 15,586 pro votes were received compared with 12,507 against.