Las Vegas Sun

April 18, 2024

Legislature made some bits of history

SUN CAPITAL BUREAU

CARSON CITY -- The 2003 Legislature and its special session achieved a bit of history.

Bob Erickson, research director of the Legislative Counsel Bureau, said the regular session marked the first one without a governor's veto since 1975, when Mike O'Callaghan signed every bill.

This was also the first session since 1957 that a bill became law without the governor's signature. Gov. Kenny Guinn allowed two bills to become law without his signature. They were Assembly Bill 304 dealing with veterans' cemeteries and Assembly Bill 490 creating a state commissioner to oversee the mortgage industry. In 1957, Gov. Charles Russell allowed a bill that revised the collections and amounts of gaming taxes to become law without his signature.

Erickson said the special session ended Thursday without either house adjourning sine die. No previous regular or special legislative session in the history of Nevada ended without a sine die adjournment.

He said the special session lasted 10 days, making it the longest special session since the 20-day special session of 1968.

archive