Court asked to extend deadline for tax petition

Friday, May 14, 2004 | 9:42 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Unless there's a favorable ruling from the Nevada Supreme Court, the referendum to repeal last year's $833 million tax increase appears headed for failure.

Nevadans for Sound Government filed a petition in the Supreme Court Thursday asking the justices to allow a 45- to 60-day extension of Tuesday's deadline to gain signatures on the anti-tax measure and the initiative petition to bar government workers in the Legislature.

The referendum petition needs 51,234 signatures by Tuesday to qualify for a place on the November ballot. "We won't make it" unless the court grants an extension, Janine Hansen, an official in the organization, said.

The petition seeks to repeal the tax plan approved by the 2003 Legislature.

A separate initiative to stop government workers from serving in the Legislature needs 51,234 signatures by June 15 to qualify for the election ballot. Hansen said she believes that effort will be successful, even without the requested extension.

Joel Hansen, a Las Vegas attorney for the group, submitted a petition for a writ of mandamus to the court complaining that the state Department of Motor Vehicles, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and the Regional Transit Authority of Washoe County have interfered with efforts to collect signatures by refusing to allow the circulating of the petitions in those public places.

The petition asks the court to order those agencies to stop hindering the rights of petition gatherers in public buildings.

Joel Hansen said a court official said the issue would be considered by the Supreme Court by Tuesday.

Janine Hansen said the group has had to spend "endless hours fighting with the bureaucrats" who have been ignoring the law and chasing the petition gatherers out of the public places. That has cut into the time needed to gather signatures.

Janine Hansen was recently arrested for trespassing at the municipal bus depot in downtown Reno.

Joel Hansen said those who are refusing to allow the petitioners to gather signatures are the ones who are violating the law.