Senate Y2K committee hears Nevada’s plans for dealing with computer glitch

Angie Wagner

Wednesday, March 31, 1999 | 9 a.m.

LAS VEGAS - As Las Vegas prepares for the biggest New Year's Eve party ever, police wonder what will happen if the Y2K computer glitch causes systems to crash. Will there be mass chaos in the streets? Airport officials wonder if plane schedules will be interrupted.

Whatever happens, local and state officials assured the Senate Committee on the Year 2000 Tuesday that Las Vegas and Nevada are prepared to handle any problem.

"We are bracing and preparing for the largest celebration in our state's history," said Metro Police Deputy Chief Raymond Flynn. "We have to plan for the worst-case scenarios."

The worst, Flynn said, could be a massive shutdown of the city, causing hysteria, disturbances or even looting of stores and banks.

Flynn told Committee Chairman Bob Bennett, R-Utah, that 700,000 revelers are expected to ring in 2000, almost double the number of visitors in previous years.

He said the department has spent the last two years working on potential Y2K problems, and is prepared to respond to any disruption or complete infrastructure failure.

Bennett was in Las Vegas at the invitation of Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev. With tourism as Nevada's main industry, Reid said it was imperative Bennett hear about the challenges facing Las Vegas and the state.

The so-called Y2K problem, or millennium bug, stems from the way many computers have been programmed to read only the last two digits of a year. As a result, the year 2000 is read as 1900, which could cause computers to miscalculate and potentially crash.

Clark County Aviation Director Randy Walker told the committee that McCarran International Airport and the smaller airports in the county will be fully Y2K compliant by June 1. The major computer system at McCarran has already been modified.

"We are confident that no major interruption in service will occur," he said.

Bennett said that for most Americans, the century change will not be a significant event.

"The reason for the panic is the fear of the unknown. The panic could be worse than the problem."

Dave Barneby, vice president of power delivery for Nevada Power Co., testified that the company has been working to make sure there will be no disruption in service. A representative from the Las Vegas Valley Water District told Bennett that many water systems do not need computers to operate.

"I would think that Nevada is probably better prepared than most states," Bennett said after hearing from a group of panelists.

"Y2K will be a problem. It will not be the end of the world as we know it."

Reid said he was concerned about state legislation passed in 1997 that prohibits people from suing companies over Y2K problems. He cited an example of a kidney dialysis machine failing and a family not being able to sue the company that manufactured it.

"No one can be sued for anything they do. ... I am stunned by this. It's pretty drastic I would think."

Bennett agreed.

"It's gone much farther than we would ever dare do on the federal level," he said.