Teachers’ union calls on lawmakers to enact tax

Erin Neff

Thursday, March 1, 2001 | 10:58 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Now that the Nevada Supreme Court has ruled an initiative petition unconstitutional, the state's teachers' union hopes to pressure lawmakers into taking up their tax proposal.

During a press conference Wednesday, representatives of the Nevada State Education Association said the high court's ruling only makes legislative action more critical.

"NSEA is calling on the Legislature and the governor of this state to do what's right for the schoolchildren of Nevada," said NSEA President Elaine Lancaster. "It is time for leadership. It is time for a solution."

The initiative petition sought to levy a 4 percent tax on all net business profits over $50,000 with proceeds going to education. The petition also sought to require that 50 percent of state spending be earmarked for education.

Lancaster issued some veiled threats to lawmakers. "Leadership needs to be more than a campaign slogan," she said. "There will be no safe haven for those who fail to take positive action in this session."

Lawmakers and lobbyists were abuzz Wednesday after learning of what many considered a surprise 4-1 ruling by the Supreme Court that the petition was flawed and unconstitutional.

The union's petition asked lawmakers to vote on the 4 percent tax, but required the measure be put on the 2002 ballot if the Legislature did not act.

Now that lawmakers don't have to act, some won't.

"It takes all the pressure off this session," Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, said.

Raggio, who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, said he thinks lawmakers should now wait until the state's Economic Forum unveils its estimated tax revenues in May. That appointed board dictates how the state's budget is built.

"At this point in time I don't think there's any movement to raise taxes," Raggio said. "I have no appetite to raise taxes."

But some don't think it's prudent to wait for the next session to correct what some see as a structural funding defect due to the state's reliance on volatile sales taxes.

"If there is no action this legislative session, we'll go two more years, costs will continue to rise, and it'll get to the point where the problem is no longer manageable," said Danny Thompson, secretary-treasurer of the Nevada AFL-CIO, which supported the tax initiative.

Lancaster and Ken Lange, NSEA's executive director, both said children would suffer if nothing is done to address the state's below-average per-pupil spending and inability to attract teachers.

"Politicians don't see the light until they feel the heat," Lange said. "Teachers and school employees are frustrated. They're frustrated because there's no broad-based funding of education, and they're frustrated because they don't have the tools they need in the classroom.

Assembly Taxation Chairman David Goldwater, D-Las Vegas, said the initiative petition has highlighted serious funding issues in education.

"There definitely needs to be something done in this Legislature, not the next Legislature," Goldwater said.

Goldwater said at the bare minimum, the K-12 education budget would need to be supplemented. But he also hasn't ruled out any tax proposals.

The teachers' union vowed Wednesday to work with the business community, Gov. Kenny Guinn and legislators to come up with some solution.

Guinn supports the Supreme Court's finding and has not yet committed to any other tax proposal.

"I've said all along that taxation by initiative petition was a badly flawed approach, and earmarking funds would hamper the state's ability to provide for the needs of all our people, Guinn said in a written statement.

"Now that this petition is no longer part of the dialogue on this issue, we can take a thoughtful and judicious approach to how we can live up to our responsibility to Nevada's teachers."

Lancaster insisted the 4 percent tax is "still a proposal on the table."

Some business leaders had quietly been suggesting they could support a 1.5 to 2 percent business tax as a compromise. Now that the court's ruling takes the petition off the table, it is unclear how willing businesses are to compromise.

Lange said that while the debate between the union and business leaders has been "heated and testy," he hopes both sides can agree to sit down with lawmakers and work out a new proposal.

Las Vegas political consultant Dan Hart was present at Wednesday's press conference and has been tapped to lead the NSEA's new efforts to lobby lawmakers.

Lange refused to say what the union has spent thus far on the initiative petition, saying only that the union membership supports the endeavor. He also declined to discuss specific future marketing or lobbying efforts.

But Lancaster suggested a "lot of angry and concerned teachers, school personnel and parents in Nevada" are ripe to be organized against any legislator who does not agree to work on a compromise tax plan.

"We intend to organize these Nevadans and we will work with them to inform voters of legislators' positions on this critical issue," Lancaster said.