‘Cow counties’ feeling left out in Legislature change

Friday, July 7, 2000 | 11:06 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Battle lines are already being drawn between north and south over reapportionment of the Nevada Legislature where Clark County could attain a "super majority" in the next decade.

And if rural Nevada wants to keep the same number of legislators, it could cost Nevada taxpayers more than $1.1 million extra a year.

Assembly Majority Leader Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, said Thursday a growing number of Southern Nevada legislators want to retain the present size of 63 members -- 42 in the Assembly and 21 in the Senate. He told a meeting of legislative leaders, "We can still provide quality representation and save taxpayers money," by not increasing the numbers.

There are other more populous states than Nevada that have smaller legislatures, Perkins said. "Although the state is growing, it is still a relatively small state."

Clark County already has 26 of the 42 Assembly members and 13 of the 21 senators. If the present numbers were not increased, some Assembly and Senate seats would shift south, leaving the "cow counties" with little voice.

Northern Nevada lawmakers, led by Senate Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, suggested the number of lawmakers be raised so the extra members could be placed in Southern Nevada, but leaving representation in rural Nevada and Washoe County nearly the same.

Without increasing the membership, Raggio said, "You are squelching the representation of the other 16 counties. There is nothing magic about the present number. It's been changed before. It's important the entire state have a voice."

Raggio proposed an increase of two senators and four Assembly members. They would all go to Clark County. And he said Northern Nevada would still lose one of its eight seats in the Senate and two seats in the Assembly. "I don't think those, even in Clark County, would favor reducing the voice below seven" in the Senate, he said.

Raggio was joined by Assembly Speaker Joe Dini, D-Yerington, and Assembly Minority Leader Lynn Hettrick, R-Minden. Hettrick said, "We already have some of the biggest legislative districts in the country. It's easy to say the (population) numbers are not large, but the miles are huge."

Under the present alignment, Nevada has some legislative districts that are bigger than entire states. "The practicality of people covering their districts and campaigning would make it that more difficult," if the size of those rural districts were increased, Raggio said.

Dini said it was practically impossible to visit the little towns in these districts.

Perkins suggested it might cost as much as $300,000 to add a single lawmaker.

Lorne Malkiewich, director of the Legislative Counsel Bureau, told the committee that it would cost $62,000 to add one lawmaker for a two-year period. The big additional cost, he said, comes in the added staff. Each staff member would run about $75,000 to $100,000 a year.

Under the Raggio plan of six new members, there might be a need for 15 additional staff. That could cost anywhere from $1.1 million to $1.5 million, not counting the expense of remodeling offices for these new employees.

Raggio said the new staff is needed, not for the legislative expansion, but because of the growth of the state. There are more requests from the public being made on legislators who, in turn, ask their staffs for help.

Raggio was questioned whether Gov. Kenny Guinn would go along with the possible increases, in light of his stand to hold the line on expenditures. Although he has not talked with the governor, Raggio said he thought Guinn would be acceptable to "reasonable increases."

Perkins disagreed with Raggio on the need for new employees. He said the extra research and administrative staff "is driven by the size of the Legislature and not by the size of the state."

And he suggested a way to keep the present size and give rural Nevada the same or a greater voice. For instance, he said parts of northern Clark County could be "spiked" into rural areas to form legislative districts. That would mean the lawmaker would represent both urban and rural interests.

The same could happen in Washoe County in the north. "Those rural citizens would have more people representing them. ... It would give them more of a voice," he said.

Perkins said he was disappointed some lawmakers have already made up their minds about increasing the Legislature before the Census Bureau delivers its population figures by April 1 next year.

In other business, the committee recommended approval to spend between $1.5 million and $1.7 million to buy a 31-unit apartment complex adjacent to the Legislature to be used for office space. The Capital Apartments is presently in bankruptcy and this would give the lawmakers a chance to expand.

This recommendation must be taken to the legislative budget committee, which makes the suggestion on building programs to the 2001 session.

Also recommended by committee were these projects: $120,000 to $150,000 for rebuilding the west entry to the legislative building; $115,000 to $140,000 for enhancing the outside appearance of the building; $63,900 for heating the bottom floor of the garage where lawmakers park their cars and up to $175,626 for recoating the main floor of the garage used for general public parking.

Also recommended was $250,700 for replacing the heating, air conditioning and ventilation system in the Sedway Office Building owned by the Legislature and $102,040 for temperature controls in the original legislative building.