Senate panel requests bill draft to mandate air-quality audit

Erin Neff

Wednesday, March 7, 2001 | 10:53 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- A Senate committee unanimously requested legislation Tuesday to mandate an audit of a controversial air quality program of the Clark County Health District.

Under the bill, the audit would be done at the district's cost, a contentious issue dividing the Legislature from health district board members.

Although no public testimony was taken Tuesday as state Sen. Jon Porter, R-Henderson, requested a bill draft, senators had strong words for the local emission reduction credit program.

"Time is of the essence, and we need to restore the public's trust," Porter said in calling for the audit during the Senate's Legislative Affairs and Operations Committee meeting.

The issue stems from a review of the district's Air Quality Division last summer by California consulting firm Environ. The review found "serious deficiencies" in management of the division and recommended an audit should be conducted.

However, the district has balked at performing an audit, in part because the emissions program is in the process of being overhauled.

District health board member and Clark County Commissioner Erin Kenny said a $560,000 proposal by consultant Hobbs, Ong and Associates to perform an audit is too expensive.

But Sen. Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, disagreed about both concerns.

"It's a matter of trust," Titus said. "We can't move forward if there are still questions about the past operations."

Titus said the cost issue is simply "smoke and mirrors," and that she suspects an audit of the former emissions program would cost around $50,000.

Porter said the Hobbs, Ong proposal would have also made recommendations about how the program was to be changed.

The bill draft will request the legislative audit division to provide oversight in the hiring of an independent auditor to review the emission reduction program. The bill draft will also ask that auditor to report the findings to the Senate committee, the health district and the Clark County district attorney's office by May 31.

A hearing on the bill should occur in about two weeks after legislative staff drafts the proposal.