Sandoval: Court must decide candidate ruling

Dan Kulin

Tuesday, March 9, 2004 | 10:42 a.m.

State Attorney General Brian Sandoval said Monday he wants the Nevada Supreme Court to rule before the candidate filing deadline on his opinion that state employees cannot serve in the Legislature while local government employees can.

"This has to go to a court. What we are researching right now is the proper method to do so," Sandoval said, adding that "an attorney general's opinion does not have the rule of law."

Sandoval's comments came Monday on "Face to Face With Jon Ralston," on Las Vegas ONE, Cox cable channels 1 and 19. Sandoval was on the program with Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, who is also a University of Nevada, Las Vegas political science professor.

According to Sandoval's opinion, Titus should have to choose between serving in the Legislature and her university position. But Titus said she plans to continue to hold both positions because she disagrees with Sandoval's opinion, and because the opinion alone does not legally change who is allowed to serve in the Legislature.

"I'm saying that it should be decided in court ... If the court changes the rules and that's the final decision then I will make a choice," Titus said.

Sandoval said the court needs to weigh in on the matter to settle disagreements over his opinion, which was made public March 1.

"I would prefer to go directly to the Supreme Court because if it goes to the District Court, there will be an appeal regardless of the outcome," Sandoval said.

Sandoval said this morning his office is researching how to best get the case before the state high court.

"This wouldn't be an action against legislators," he said. "It would be a legal case to clarify and enforce the Nevada Constitution.

"It has not been done before," Sandoval said. "We are clearly in uncharted waters. We want to be sure we are proceeding appropriately."

Sandoval would not say when he expected the court to take up the matter, but said he hoped it would be before the filing deadline for legislative candidates. The candidate filing period is May 3 to 14.

Supreme Court spokesman Bill Gang would not comment on this specific matter, but said that in general the court has the power to hear a case that hasn't gone to District Court first.

In his opinion, Sandoval said state employees in the executive branch, including those who work for the community colleges and universities, could not also serve in the Legislature. To hold both positions would violate the separation of powers doctrine, Sandoval said.

The opinion also stated that it was OK for employees of local government to serve.

Assistant Senate Majority Leader Ray Rawson, R-Las Vegas, quit his teaching job at the Community College of Southern Nevada because of Sandoval's opinion. But the other five legislators who hold full-time state jobs, including Titus, have said they will continue to run for office and hold their jobs until a court makes a final decision on the issue.

Sandoval's opinion has drawn criticism from some who say he went too far and others who say he didn't go far enough.

The Legislative Counsel Bureau has said state employees should be able to serve in the Legislature.

But local activist George Harris, who is coordinating a campaign to ban all public employees from serving in the Legislature, said Sandoval should have said that city and county employees cannot serve in the Legislature either.

The cable network Las Vegas ONE is owned and operated by Cox Communications, KLAS Channel 8 and the Greenspun family, publishers of the Sun.