Proposed bill includes extra pay, recognition for soldiers

Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2004 | 9:29 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Sen. Bob Coffin, D-Las Vegas, wants taxpayers to financially help the National Guardsmen and reservists called to active duty after 9/11.

Coffin has asked for a bill to be drafted for the 2005 Legislature to provide cash awards to "replace some of the income they lost" when they left their civilian jobs.

In addition, Coffin wants to issue a medal to these servicemen and women who left home and employment. Assemblyman Mark Manendo, D-Las Vegas, also has asked for a bill to require the state to purchase additional service credit in the state's retirement system for state workers who were called to active duty.

The bills were included in the latest list of bills requested through Oct. 8. So far 728 bills and resolutions have been requested to be drafted for the upcoming regular session.

In Coffin's case, he wants to reward guardsmen and reservists for the number of months each has been on duty and also wants to tie the cash award to whether the guardsman or reservist was in a danger zone.

He is looking at providing $250-$400 a month extra to those who served in high-risk area such as Iraq or Afghanistan. Those who were not in the danger zones would get about half of that per month.

April Conway, a first lieutenant and spokeswoman for the Nevada National Guard, said guardsmen and reservists served about 20,000 months of active duty during the past two of the fiscal years that run from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30.

Some were deployed to Southwest Asia and other danger zones but others were dispatched to such places as Florida, Germany and New Zealand.

Some of the air guardsmen were sent to Asia for duty for 60 days and then returned to the states. And later they were sent back to Asia.

Conway said it was difficult to count the actual number of guardsmen who were called to active duty because of the rotations.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, and Assemblywoman Genie Ohrenschall, D-Las Vegas, have both asked for bills to strengthen the law requiring registration and community notification of convicted sex offenders to try to ensure the public is protected from sex offenders.

Sen. Sandra Tiffany, R-Henderson, has again requested a bill to break up the Clark County School District into smaller districts. She said she is working with professors at UNLV to devise the plan that is not yet final.

She circulated an initiative petition in 2000 to force the issue to a vote of the public. But that fell several signatures short of qualifying for the ballot. And she has introduced bills in the Senate to divide the school district but they have failed to gain approval.