Guinn signs bill to pay for teachers’ raises

Monday, June 18, 2001 | 10:59 a.m.

Gov. Kenny Guinn has signed a key bill that will balance the state budget and provide $23.5 million for teacher pay raises, his office announced today.

Assembly Bill 460, which collects the money for the raises from a 6 percent car rental tax, was among the last of 606 legislative bills signed into law by the governor.

"This bill represents the major portion of a plan that will balance the budget and provide teachers' salary increases without raising Nevadans' taxes one penny," Guinn said in a news release.

But Guinn said he vowed to fight one part of the bill that establishes a legislative committee to oversee the operations of the Nevada Department of Transportation.

"I signed AB460 because we need a balanced budget and we must live up to our commitment to the state's teachers," Guinn said. "However, I strongly disagree with one provision of the bill, which I feel represents an unconstitutional infringement on the executive branch of government.

"I plan to use my legal options to challenge the constitutionality of that particular section of AB460."

AB460 and another measure, Assembly Bill 661, an energy bill pushed by the casino industry, were held hostage at last week's special session by Assembly Republicans angered over the reapportionment deal struck by legislative leaders.

Amid threats by Republicans to kill the bill, which needed a two-thirds majority, Democratic Assembly leaders decided not to take any action on the measure and send the governor the version of the bill that had passed prior to the legislative deadline at the end of the regular session.

Lawmakers, however, did not give Guinn the previous version of AB661, which prompted Nevada Resort Association lobbyist Harvey Whittemore to file a lawsuit Friday in Carson City demanding the bill be sent to the governor.

AB661 allows large users, such as the casinos and mining companies, to buy electricity from sources other than Nevada's two power companies. It also allocates $10 million a year to help low-income families pay their power bills.

According to records provided by the governor's office, Guinn signed the last of the 606 bills at 3:11 p.m. on Friday, about 15 hours after the special session ended.

In all, Guinn signed 314 Assembly bills and 288 Senate measures during the course of the 2001 Legislature. He vetoed four.

The governor, who was not in the office today, penned AB460 at 3 p.m. Friday.

Guinn had asked lawmakers to approve 28 bills at the special session that were passed after the deadline of the original legislative session.