Reapportionment delay violates state Constitution

Wednesday, June 6, 2001 | 10:18 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- The 2001 Legislature apparently violated the Nevada Constitution by failing to approve a reapportionment plan at the session that closed Tuesday morning.

Lorne Malkiewich, director of the Legislative Counsel Bureau, said today the lawmakers were aware of a constitutional mandate to draw up a reapportionment proposal. It was discussed before the session began, and that's why lawmakers tried to accomplish the remapping.

"Technically, we were supposed to do it. Now, we're taking our next best shot to do it at a special session," Malkiewich said.

Gov. Kenny Guinn says he would call a special session, probably to start next week, to allow the legislators to conduct the redistricting. Guinn said the legislators, rather than a court, should redraw the lines for Congress, the Legislature, state Board of Education and the regents of the University and Community College System of Nevada.

Democrats and Republicans worked until the final hours of the 120-day session in an attempt to develop a plan. Leadership from both parties said they had settled on a plan to expand the Legislature to 23 senators and 46 assemblymen.

But they deadlocked on drawing the lines for the new congressional district in Southern Nevada. Republicans wanted the voter registration to be even, but Democrats favored a plan to give them a 51-49 percent -- or an 8,500-voter -- edge.

According to the Constitution:

"It shall be the mandatory duty of the Legislature at its first session after taking the decennial census of the United States in the year 1950, and after each subsequent decennial census, to fix by law the number of senators and assemblymen and apportion them among the several counties of the state, or among legislative districts which may be established by law, according to the number of inhabitants in them respectively."

The census information was supplied to the Legislature in mid-March.

Malkiewich said the constitutional amendment was adopted to ensure that one-man, one-vote districts were in place before the first election after the census figures arrived.

The lawmakers were aware of the Constitution before the session, and that affected their decision not to wait for a special session to do the work. "The intent was to get it done at this session."

A 1971 opinion from the Nevada attorney general's office states that the Legislature must reapportion at the first regular session following each decennial census, provided it feels it has adequate data. It reads, "Otherwise reapportionment must be accomplished at a special session to be called after necessary data is available," it said.

The failure could technically spark a lawsuit. But Malkiewich said he did not think a court would interfere, now that the lawmakers are going into a special session.