Tensions high, hours long as deadline looms

Monday, May 17, 1999 | 11:13 a.m.

The night before the Nevada Legislature's bill deadline committee rooms smacked of tensions and smelled of microwave popcorn.

Popcorn was the closest thing to a hot supper that many lawmakers had as they faced an evening of hearings to discuss, amend and vote on any bills they hoped to move forward before Friday's deadline.

The deadline was new this year, imposed after voters decided the biennial legislative sessions would last no more than 120 days. Any bills that didn't make it out of committees in the Assembly and Senate by midnight Friday died.

As the week dragged on, committee meetings lasted longer and longer, overrunning each other's times and meeting places.

For instance, the Assembly's education committee, scheduled to discuss the controversial scoring of this year's high school proficiency math test, was to meet at 3 p.m. Thursday. It was bumped to another room at 3:30, then moved to a third location.

Only four of the 13 members had showed by 4 p.m. because most still were in other meetings. The chairman abandoned the education discussion until 6 p.m., which didn't set well with Assemblyman Mark Manendo, D-Las Vegas, who also sits on the taxation committee.

It, too, was meeting at 6 p.m.

"How am I supposed to be in two places at once? That's what they get with 120 days," an irritated Manendo said as he gathered his files and scurried off.

A little frustration comes with the learning curve. Most legislators seemed glad for the deadlines, even if they take a little getting used to.

"I think it's been fine. It keeps us on task," said Sen. Maurice Washington, R-Sparks. "I know the meetings have been short, and the decisions have been quick. But the deadlines keep us where we need to be."

In an effort to make it easier in 2001, legislators are considering a measure that would cut the number of bills they are allowed to file and consider in a session.

Under Assembly Bill 631, lawmakers could draft about 1,600 proposals each session as opposed to the 2,100 they may now file. It should help lighten the load without limiting the amount of work that can be accomplished, Lorne Malkiewich of the Legislative Counsel Bureau said.

Sessions are considerably shorter now, and the laundry list of things to do should be as well, he said.

"Last session we went 169 days, so we're talking a good reduction (this year). It takes some getting used to," Malkiewich said. "They've clearly worked harder than they've ever worked before. You have legislators working from 7 o'clock in the morning until 9 o'clock at night, straight-through.

"The rules have helped structure the workload. The fact is, the workload is huge," Malkiewich said.

By the end of last week, committees that typically met at 8 a.m. were meeting at 7 a.m., and those that met at 1:30 p.m. weren't getting quorums until 3 p.m. or later.

It made for long waits in the hallways for lobbyists and residents and long nights for lawmakers. But it was a necessary evil, legislators said.

Sen. Mark James, R-Las Vegas, said it was about time.

"I set these deadlines last session on my own committee, but nobody else was following them," James, Senate Judiciary Committee chairman, said. "We tried to get everything done by mid-May, and I kept getting Assembly bills.

"The deadlines make it so everybody is participating this year," James said. "The chairmen of the committees need to measure the work and keep it moving, just like with any job."