Tuesday, July 27, 2004 | 10:52 a.m.
CARSON CITY -- Two petitions -- one to repeal the $833.5 tax package and the other to bar government employees from serving in the Legislature -- have cleared their first hurdle, Secretary of State Dean Heller said today.
The "Axe the Tax" referendum was found to have 64,600 signatures. The proposed constitutional amendment to prohibit state and other government workers from the Legislature had 62,292 signatures.
To qualify its referendum and the amendment for the November ballot, Nevadans for Sound Government needed 51,337 valid signatures statewide and 10 percent of the registered voters in at least 13 of the 17 counties on each of the two petitions.
Heller said both petitions had enough signatures in 13 of the 17 counties. They failed to qualify in Carson City, Douglas, Lyon and Washoe counties.
County clerks and voter registrars have now been directed to verify that those who signed the petitions were registered voters. They must complete the task by Aug. 9.
Janine Hansen, a leader in the petition drive, said, "It's a miracle after all we went through with the lawsuit."
She was referring to the suit the group filed, alleging they were hindered from gathering signatures at some government buildings. District Judge Kenneth Cory allowed the group an extra 30 days past the deadline to continue to get names.
"It was an incredible project to get it done," said Hansen.
Asked if the two petitions would make it through the verification process, Hansen said, "We anticipate they will stand up."
So far five initiative petitions have qualified for the November ballot: to require the Legislature to fund the public schools first in the budget; to raise the state's support of public schools to the national per-student average; to raise the minimum wage by $1 an hour; to require a 20 percent reduction in insurance premiums and to stop frivolous lawsuits.
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