AG: State employees shouldn’t be lawmakers

Kirsten Searer and Cy Ryan

Monday, March 1, 2004 | 11:23 a.m.

Attorney General Brian Sandoval issued an opinion today that state employees should not serve in the Legislature, a ruling that could force six lawmakers out of their positions.

Basing the opinion on the separation of powers doctrine that dates to the writing of the U.S. Constitution, Sandoval ruled that state employees in the executive branch, including people who work for community colleges and universities, could not serve.

Sandoval's opinion, however, allows local government employees to serve in the Legislature.

The decision will mean six lawmakers will have to choose between their work and their service in the Legislature:

The ruling comes in response to Secretary of State Dean Heller's request after the 2003 legislative session in which the question of public employees serving in the Legislature became an issue. Three lawmakers were fired from their local government jobs after allegations that they collected pay from their jobs while serving in the Legislature.

The attorney general's opinion reviews previous opinions by his office and opinions from the Legislative Counsel Bureau, and addresses and undercuts previous counsel bureau opinions, including one that gave the go-ahead for Geddes to serve in the Legislature.

It's expected that someone in the Legislature will challenge the opinion in court.

Heller said he has not seen a copy of the opinion and declined immediate comment. There was no immediate comment from Gov. Kenny Guinn. Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, could not be reached for comment.

Knecht, who works at the state Public Utilities Commission as an economist, said he will run again for re-election and expects to win. If it means he cannot continue after the election with the PUC, he said he will "deal with it at that time."

He said he loves his job but he has other options. He said he was in the private sector for 15 years as a consultant before landing the state job.

Knecht said the function of the PUC is legislative but it is located in the executive branch of government. He said he asked the attorney general's office last Thursday to examine that question, and he said he wants the issue resolved of whether a part-time college teacher can serve in the Legislature. Rawson is the head of the dental hygiene program at CCSN. He was at an event with Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., in Reno this morning and could not be reached for comment.

Titus is a political science professor at UNLV. She also was out of town this morning but has said in the past that, should she be unable to run for the Legislature this year, she would consider challenging Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., for his congressional seat.

"What I've said all along is I really want to run for reelection," she said last week.

As for running for Congress, she said, "It will take some soul searching. I haven't ruled out the possibility."

Giunchigliani, who is the director of school district and community relations at CCSN, said she hasn't seen the opinion yet, but she plans to run for office if she can.

She said she would think about resigning from her job, though she would have to look at how that would affect her family. But she said public service is important to her.

"This is a democracy," Giunchigliani said. "I believe in representative government. I think the voters should decide the qualifications for people who are running for office."

The decision could have been worse for Democrats, who were concerned that all public employees -- including city officials and school district employees -- would be deemed ineligible to run for office.

That would have affected another four Assembly members, including Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, who is a deputy chief for the Henderson Police Department.

The opinion came after several controversies last year involving public employees who collected pay and benefits from their government jobs while serving in the Legislature. Legally, public employees are supposed to take leaves of absence during the legislative session.

Ironically, the employees who were fired in the controversies last year all were city or county employees and could, under Sandoval's opinion, continue to serve in the Legislature.

The issue blew up last year when Las Vegas employee and Assemblyman Wendell Williams claimed he was working for the city while serving in the Legislature. The city still has not developed a formal policy to deal with employees who are lawmakers.

Williams eventually was fired after an audit determined he claimed hours he could not justify. The city implemented a policy outlined in a memo from City Manager Doug Selby that requires an employee to use vacation time or leave without pay while serving in the Legislature.

The policy also prohibits city employees from using any municipal equipment while in the Legislature -- Williams also used his city cell phone while working on non-city business.

The Las Vegas City Council has postponed a discussion on developing a specific policy on employee lawmakers until the attorney general's decision.

Democratic Party chairwoman Adriana Martinez said she thinks all public employees should be able to serve in public office. Otherwise, she said, she worries that "people who can afford to run" will control the Legislature.

Sun reporter

Sito Negron contributed to this story.