Bills miss deadline, die in Assembly

Erin Neff

Wednesday, April 23, 2003 | 9:28 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- The first two Assembly bills of the session were among the measures that failed to meet Tuesday night's deadline for bills to pass in their legislative houses of origin.

A bill attempting to regulate mobile car washers and a medical marijuana measure failed when each was brought for a vote. Nine other bills, including a measure dumping Daylight Saving Time in Nevada, were left on the clerk's desk to wither.

Assembly Bill 484 was the first to die with 28 of the 42 Assembly members opposed. AB484 required cities and counties to adopt ordinances to regulate mobile and non-permanent vehicle wash vendors and require recovery of wastewater by such car washers.

Assemblyman Chad Christensen, R-Las Vegas, said the measure was an environmental protection, aimed at keeping chemicals used in washing vehicles out of sewers.

Assemblyman Bob McCleary, D-North Las Vegas, disagreed, saying the Car Wash Association had lobbied for the bill to protect large car wash establishments against competition from small mobile washers.

"I don't think this is an environmental bill," McCleary said. "The big guy is trying to rub out the little guy."

Assembly Bill 503, the Department of Agriculture's medical marijuana bill, also failed Tuesday with 22 of the 42 Assembly members opposed.

The bill included technical language the department had requested. The department administers the state's medical marijuana registry.

Assembly Bill 422, sponsored by Bob Beers, R-Las Vegas, was left to die on the chief clerk's desk because it did not have the votes needed to pass.

AB422 would have allowed Nevada to use Pacific Standard Time year-round intead of switching to Daylight Saving Time during part of the year.