Neal fails again in bid for casino tax

Thursday, June 17, 2004 | 8:26 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- With his legislative service of 32 years nearing an end, state Sen. Joe Neal, D-Las Vegas, took a final shot at one of his favorite targets: the casino industry.

But Neal, as in the past, failed to receive any backing from his fellow lawmakers.

Neal, chairman of an interim legislative study committee, offered a proposal Tuesday to levy a 10 percent tax on the gross revenue of each casino for five years to support mass transit and rural transportation programs.

"This is a $10 million bucket we could tap into without any problem -- the gross gaming tax," he said. But his committee members were silent on the suggestion and the idea died without coming to a vote.

Neal, who is running for the Clark County Commission against Yvonne Atkinson Gates, has in the past tried initiative petitions and bills in the Legislature to significantly increase the (6.5 percent) top tax rate on the gross revenues of casinos. But he always came up short.

At the end of the meeting, Neal said the committee appearance would be his last legislative act.

Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, publicly praised Neal, calling him an inspiration in the Legislature. She told him, "You will admired for your perseverance" in his efforts to tax the casino industry.

Titus said Neal will leave the Legislature well respected and will be remembered for his oratory skills, courage and his knowledge of the legislative rules.

The transportation committee decided to ask the 2005 Legislature to start a constitutional amendment that would allow the gasoline tax to be used for other transportation needs in addition to building roads.

The money collected from the tax now must go to building and maintaining roads.

Sen. Warren Hardy, R-Las Vegas, said this was the key to solving many of the transportation problems in the state. It would allow funds for mass transit projects.

The committee endorsed a plan under which the 2005 Legislature would allocate $761,391 from the state general fund to help with rural transit operations. This money would be used as matching funds to local and federal funds.

Neal said he has driven all over the state and there are some major transportation needs in the rural parts of Nevada. He said the state has spent money on overpasses on the Strip while the rural roads have suffered.

There was a recommendation that $5 be charged on every newly issued driver's license in the state to finance rural public transportation systems.

Hardy objected to this on grounds people in Clark County would be paying and the money would be going to rural Nevada. He said the residents of Southern Nevada have approved tax measures to finance their transportation system and should not be assessed an additional fee to help rural Nevada.

The committee agreed to recommend that fees from driver's licenses and vehicle registration be examined if the constitutional amendment is approved to allow use of gas tax receipts for transportation needs besides building roads.

The committee also endorsed a resolution supporting the proposed 269-mile high-speed train between Anaheim, Calif., and Las Vegas.