Dates targeted for special session

Friday, June 8, 2001 | 11:30 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Gov. Kenny Guinn said Thursday he will convene a special session of the Legislature to approve a reapportionment plan either next Thursday or the following Monday.

Guinn is meeting today with Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, and Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, to discuss the logistics.

The governor originally considered calling the lawmakers into session Monday or Tuesday. But he said the mechanics of getting the session organized prevented that.

Some of the bills passed in the final hour of the session have not made it to his desk. And he wants to see if there is anything that affects the budget that needs to be enacted.

In addition, he said some lawmakers are out of town and cannot be reached. Time has to be allowed for them to make plans to come to Carson City and set up living arrangements for the session, expected to last two or three days.

Negotiations between Democrats and Republicans broke down in the final hours of the session Monday over drawing the lines for Nevada's new third Congressional District, which will be in Clark County.

The GOP wants the voter registration even between the two parties. They point out that the statewide registration is slightly in favor of Republicans. Democrats want a 51-49 edge with about 6,500 more registered Democrats than Republican. They note Democrats outnumber Republicans in Clark County by about 30,000.

Guinn said both sides are close to an agreement.

Negotiators have settled on a 23-member Senate, an increase of two members and a 46-member Assembly, an increase of four. Clark County will have more than 66 percent of the representatives. And the increase in numbers is to allow some of the Northern Nevada members to keep their seats.

Besides reapportionment, Guinn is being deluged by lobbyists and lawmakers who want their bills to get another chance.

The governor said Assembly Bill 460, a bill on auto rental taxes, has a good chance of being on the agenda. That bill, he said, helps the state balance its budget.

The present law allows auto rental firms to impose a 6 percent tax with the companies keeping 4 percent and sending 2 percent to the state. All of the tax revenue under AB460 would go to the state to help pay for teachers' salary increases.

And it would allow the auto rental companies to raise the rates to recoup their losses.

A Senate-House conference committee worked out the details on Monday, the final day of the session. The Assembly accepted the revised bill. But in the Senate, the approval came about 30 seconds past the deadline.