Editorial: Nevada takes active role in 2000 Census

Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2000 | 9:23 a.m.

In 1990, the last time a U.S. census count was held, Nevada was dead last among states in the percentage of its residents who initially returned their census forms. This poor showing is causing Nevadans to redouble their efforts to get as many residents counted this time, because federal government spending often is based on Census Bureau data. If the federal government undercounts a state's residents, then that state in turn will lose out on valuable federal funds. What makes it particularly difficult to count everyone in Nevada is its rapid growth and the number of people who don't speak English. It has been estimated that more than 28,000 Nevadans weren't counted in 1990, which meant the state lost about $200 million.

Secretary of State Dean Heller, who was asked by Gov. Kenny Guinn to coordinate the state's response to the census, is seeking approval of $788,400 for a media campaign -- consisting of ads in newspapers, television and radio -- that encourages people to return their census forms. Heller told the Sun's Cy Ryan last week that in the past state government in Nevada has taken a "hands-off approach" to the census, a practice Heller called "unfortunate." Heller is right. Before the media blitz can be implemented, though, it has to be approved by the Legislature's Interim Finance Committee, which meets Feb. 2. Despite the costs, this would be money well spent. After all, as Heller notes, if this outreach program is able to reach just 655 more residents that otherwise wouldn't have been found, it would pay for itself in a year through the addition of more federal funds.