Veto of transportation oversight is sustained

Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2003 | 9:51 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Sen. Bob Coffin, D-Las Vegas, says the state Transportation Department is responsible for the construction delays in highway improvement projects in Southern Nevada.

But Coffin was unable to persuade enough senators to override Gov. Kenny Guinn's veto of a 2001 bill that would have given the Legislature more oversight of the transportation department.

In a party-line breakdown, all of the eight Democrats voted Monday to nullify the veto of Senate Bill 56, but they were beaten by the 13 Republicans who stood firmly in Guinn's corner. A two-thirds vote is needed to overturn a gubernatorial veto.

Sen. Mark Amodei, R-Carson City, one of the co-sponsors of the bill two years ago, led the backing of the Guinn veto. He said events have occurred in the interim that may change the department.

He cited a legislative audit that was critical of the department and the departure of Tom Stephens, who was director of the agency. He said he wanted to give the new leadership a chance to perform. And if it doesn't, there is time in the session to pass a new bill calling for legislative oversight, he said.

But Coffin said there's a culture in the department that does not change. And many deaths and injuries can be attributed to the poor work of the department, he said.

Senate Majority Leader Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, said legislators are not able to participate in any discussions about transportation.

"We need to assure the public that we are watching their tax dollars, and nowhere is this more critical than in transportation because the dollars are so huge," she said.

The department's budget request for 2004 is $619 million and it goes to $670 million in fiscal 2005. That's in addition to Guinn's proposal of $524 million in construction bonds

Sen. Mike Schneider, D-Las Vegas, said the department is getting ready to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on highway improvements yet the agency is doing things like closing down parts of U.S. 95 during the weekend.

Sen. Joe Neal, D-North Las Vegas, said legislative oversight would not encroach on executive powers and without it, the lawmakers don't have a say in what is happening.

In other action:

The Senate unanimously upheld Guinn's veto of Senate Bill 536. That bill would have created a new agency in Clark County to govern air pollution.

Titus said Clark County was doing a good job now in fighting the air pollution and she praised Christine Robinson, the county's air quality director, for her work in this field in Southern Nevada.