Legislators hope to curb lobbyists at next session

Monday, Dec. 3, 2001 | 8:36 a.m.

SUN CAPITAL BUREAU

CARSON CITY -- Key lawmakers are talking about reining in lobbyists, some of whom ended up calling the shots in the closing hours of the last Legislature.

"We need to have complete control over the procedure," Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, said of lobbyists' access to the legislative staff. "This is a legislative, not a lobbyist function."

His comments came at a meeting of top lawmakers with Lorne Malkiewich, director of the Legislative Counsel Bureau, on ways to improve the operation of the 2003 session.

Sen. Ann O'Connell, R-Las Vegas, questioned access lobbyists have to the legislative staff and their offices. She said she asked the question because "of what happened at the end of last session" when lobbyists were on the floor of the Senate and Assembly, brokering deals, negotiating compromises on bills and acting as runners between the two houses to reach agreement.

"I can't see the lobbyists taking over our staff," O'Connell said. "We need more formal access to our staff" for the lobbyists.

Malkiewich said lobbyists cannot ask legal staff to draw an amendment or a bill without the approval of one lawmaker. They cannot come in and ask for their own amendments before a lawmaker approves them, he said.

O'Connell said establishing a more formal process for lobbyists would provide "protection of our staff."

O'Connell's idea "made good sense," Perkins said.

As a small step, the Committee to Consult with the Director refused a request by senior ranking legislator Sen. Lawrence Jacobsen, R-Minden, to place a large photo of the late lobbyist Wally Warren of Reno in a prominent place in the legislative building.

The committee, on a motion by Sen. Bob Coffin, D-Las Vegas, voted to allow the picture to be placed in the lobbyist room of the Legislature but not in the hallway.

Jacobsen said Warren, who died in 1987, was "not only a military hero but a true Nevadan." He said the lobbyist room is too congested "so we can't do that. If you don't want to have it prominently displayed, then it's not worth it."

Warren was a longtime lobbyist who represented a variety of business interests.

Jacobsen said it was "proper" to put up a picture of Warren so newcomers know who he was.

After Warren's death, Jacobsen raised money for a memorial, and some clocks in the Legislature have plaques under them commemorating Warren.

Malkiewich also talked about re-locating the lobbyist room in the Legislature. One of the back doors in the present room opens into an area adjacent to where the mail for the Legislature arrives. He said he wanted to change that.

The lobbyist room is also adjacent to the Caucus Deli, a small snack area in the building. Malkiewich said the lobbyists monopolize the tables for their meetings without buying anything.