Legislators persuaded to spend money for accurate census

Thursday, Jan. 20, 2000 | 9:06 a.m.

Citing U.S. Census Bureau statistics, Heller said Wednesday that Nevada lost more than $200 million in the 1990s because the census a decade ago undercounted the state population by 29,000 people.

He urged the Legislature's Committee on Reapportionment and Redistricting to allocate $788,000 on a campaign to induce all Nevadans to submit to the census count in April.

Heller is serving as Gov. Kenny Guinn's representative on committees pushing for a complete count of Nevadans in the 2000 census.

Heller said he wants Guinn to send a letter to every Nevada household in which he urges residents to be counted.

Without designating an amount that should be spent by the state for a full count, the legislative committee voted to support Heller's plan. An actual decision on how much money the Legislature will contribute will be made by the Legislature's Interim Finance Committee in February.

During the 1990 census, 61 percent of Nevadans returned the census questionnaires mailed them by the Census Bureau. That return percentage was the lowest in the nation.

David Byerman, the chief federal government liaison for the Census Bureau in Nevada, endorsed the plan for state participation.

"In most places, the national campaign will be enough," he said. "We have a special burden in our state. They don't feel like the federal government should tell them what to do."

The lowest response to the Census Bureau questionnaire in 1990 came from Elko County residents. Only 55 percent returned the census form. In Clark County, 60 percent responded to the questionnaire.

The undercount of the state population during the census in 1990 is the primary reason why Nevada receives back 93 cents for each $1 in taxes it contributes to federal coffers, Heller said.

"The census is about power and money," he added. "To spend one-half million or three-quarters million to earn $100 million or more in federal funds is a decision I would like to make."

Heller estimated there are about 40,000 Nevadans who "are reluctant to participate" in the population count for one reason or another.