Legislative briefs for May 22, 2003

Thursday, May 22, 2003 | 9:22 a.m.

Guinn signs bill on death penalty

Gov. Kenny Guinn on Wednesday signed a measure prohibiting the execution of the mentally retarded.

Assembly Bill 15, introduced on behalf of the Legislature's interim committee to study the death penalty, takes effect Oct. 1.

Assemblywoman Sheila Leslie, D-Reno, had proposed the measure in 2001, but it died in a Senate committee. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last summer that it was unconstitutional to execute the mentally retarded.

The governor also approved two election measures Wednesday. Assembly Bill 285, sponsored by Ellen Koivisto, D-Las Vegas, requires candidates for office to declare they are a qualified elector, and to state that if they have been convicted of a felony, their civil rights have been restored.

Assembly Bill 344, sponsored by Speaker Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, provides for a special election to fill a vacancy in the House of Representatives.

AB344 allows for a special election if the vacancy were caused by a natural or man-made disaster, and if the disaster caused at least one-fourth of the Congress or one-half of Nevada's congressional delegation to die.

AB285 and AB344 both take effect Oct. 1.

Senate approves firefighter bill

A bill allowing firefighters who contract cancer to qualify for industrial insurance coverage under certain circumstances was approved by the Senate Wednesday.

Assembly Bill 451 would permit a firefighter with five years on the job to be covered by workers' compensation.

The vote in the Senate was unanimous. The bill returns to the Assembly for discussion of an amendment.

Senate OKs bill on student lists

The Senate approved a bill requiring the University and Community College System of Nevada to notify students and give them a chance to "opt out" of having their names released to commercial companies such as credit card firms.

Last year it was discovered that students' names were being given to credit card companies. The university regents changed the policy, and Assembly Bill 353 puts that change into the law. The bill, approved unanimously, returns to the Assembly for discussion of an amendment.

Election reform passes Senate

A bill making some minor changes in the state's election laws was unanimously approved by the Senate.

Assembly Bill 528 provides that if a candidate dies after filing his candidacy, he must remain on the ballot for the primary election. If he or she is nominated, then the party central committee or the executive committee would choose a replacement.

The bill allows political parties to receive lists of voters from county officials without cost. It also reduces the maximum fine to $100 for public officers who fail to file their campaign expense report with the secretary of state's office if they do not receive a salary for the position and if they did not receive any campaign contributions or have any political expenses.

The bill returns to the Assembly for discussion of an amendment.