Legislative briefs for May 6, 2003

Tuesday, May 6, 2003 | 9:30 a.m.

Felony pushed for poachers

Outdoors enthusiasts called on an Assembly committee Monday to increase the penalty for poachers of deer and other wildlife so that the poachers could be returned to Nevada if they flee the state.

Kevin Bailey of the Carson Fly Fishing Club said Senate Bill 135 making poaching a felony should be passed.

"It's time the criminal poaching element should not be given a slap on the hand," he told the Assembly Natural Resources, Agriculture and Mining Committee.

Repeal of cell ban goes to Guinn

The Senate gave final legislative passage to a bill repealing the ban on cell phones on campuses of public schools.

Assembly Bill 138, which goes to Gov. Kenny Guinn for his approval, would allow each school district to set the policies.

Repealing the ban on cell phones on campus was a government project of students at Becker Middle School. Assemblyman David Goldwater, D-Las Vegas, who introduced the bill, said students felt the law was unjust.

Pharmacist bill put on hold

After objections were raised by the Catholic Church, the Senate Monday delayed a vote on a bill that would prohibit pharmacists from refusing to fill a prescription.

By a 13-8 vote, the Senate decided to put Assembly Bill 144 on the secretary's desk for further consideration. The bill says a pharmacist shall not refuse to fill a prescription unless he believes it is fraudulent or has been issued contrary to law.

Before the scheduled vote, V. Robert Payant, executive director of the Nevada Catholic Conference, distributed a letter that said the bill would force pharmacists to fill prescriptions that might violate their ethical or religious beliefs.

Compromise studied on proficiency test

A proposed amendment to an education bill is being considered as a compromise between the need for high school students to know basic skills and the need for educators to provide them the resources to learn those subjects.

Assembly Bill 179, sponsored by Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas, removes the requirement that a student pass the high school proficiency test in order to receive a diploma. It also creates a tiered diploma, allows students to retake the portions of the test they failed and provides administrative regulations for giving the test to those who don't speak English as their primary language.

But Giunchigliani said Monday during a hearing in the Assembly Ways and Means Committee that she is open to amendments brought by Lucille Lusk of Nevada Concerned Citizens, which would still require students to pass a test to earn a diploma.

Clark County School District lobbyist Rose McKinney-James also said Lusk's proposed amendments are a good compromise.

Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, said the current proficiency exam system simply "penalizes kids for something outside of their responsibility."

"I see the proficiency test as a test of the system, of the teachers, not the kids," Perkins said.

Although the bill was sent to The committee took no action Monday on AB179.

Taxes lead to illegal cigarettes

Nevada lawmakers were warned Monday that the increase in cigarette taxes on the East Coast has led to a surge in counterfeit cigarette products in those states.

Assembly Bill 460 would identify counterfeit cigarettes and establish enforcement procedures for the state attorney general's office. It also provides for taxing of cigarettes sold on the Internet.

John Colledge, resident agent in charge of the Customs Service office in Reno, said cigarette smuggling is on the rise. In 1998, he said, the feds recovered $148 in counterfeit cigarettes, compared with the $37.5 million recovered in 2002.

He also said cigarette smuggling has been linked to funding international terror groups.

John Albrecht, the attorney general office's chief tobacco counsel, said that with $1.09 of state and federal taxes and tobacco settlement money added to every pack in Nevada, counterfeiters have reason to try to peddle fake products.

Increasing tobacco taxes -- which is proposed in a number of tax plans -- would only exacerbate the problem, he said.

The Senate approved Assembly Bill 301

to allow the state Wildlife Commission to disburse money to build fences to prevent damage from herds of elk or other game mammals The vote was 21-0.

A bill that permits school districts

to open their libraries to the general public is on its way to Gov. Kenny Guinn. The Senate voted 21-0 Monday to support Assembly Bill 407 that allows a school board to enter into agreement with a local government to let the general public use the facilities during off-school hours.