Legislative briefs for April 18, 2005

Monday, April 18, 2005 | 9:14 a.m.

Session running out of money

The Legislature will run out of money in about two weeks unless it gets another appropriation.

The Senate Finance Committee Friday approved Senate Bill 504 to allocate another $5 million to support the Legislature until the end of the session on June 6.

Lorne Malkiewich, director of the Legislative Counsel Bureau, told the committee that the $10 million initially appropriated to pay the cost of the session will be dry in about two weeks.

He said the 2003 regular session also cost about $15 million. The bill goes to the full Senate for passage, expected this week.

Insurance subsidy on the way out

The Senate Finance Committee has approved Gov. Kenny Guinn's plan to save an estimated $500 million by not paying insurance subsidies for future state employees when they retire.

The committee approved Senate Bill 484 Friday and sent it to the Senate for a possible vote this week. Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, served notice she would oppose the legislation in the Senate.

Under the bill, those state workers hired after July 2006 would not receive subsidies to pay their health insurance when they retire. Guinn estimates this would save $500 million over 30 years.

The state is now paying an average of $316 per month per retired employee. The subsidy can range up to $1,100, depending on health plan the retired worker is enrolled in.

The bill was amended to allow local governments to also stop paying any health insurance subsidy.

Senate approves special session bill

Nevada voters will decide in November 2006 whether to give the Legislature the power to call itself into a special session.

Currently only the governor can convene a special session.

The Senate Friday gave final legislative approval by a 16-5 vote to a proposed constitutional amendment that says that if two-thirds of the members of each house agree, then the special session could be convened. It would be limited to 20 days and could consider only the items that listed in the call for the special session.

Assembly Joint Resolution 13 was approved in the 2003 Legislature and passed the Assembly this session. Voting against this resolution were Republicans Mark Amodei of Carson City, Bob Beers of Las Vegas and Randolph Townsend. Also opposing were Democrats Maggie Carlton of Las Vegas and Bernice Mathews of Reno.

Bill on Internet car sales advances

A bill that sparked a controversy involving Sen. Sandra Tiffany, R-Henderson, cleared by the Senate on a 16-5 vote Friday.

Senate Bill 55 would allow a person to help the state sell its surplus motor vehicles on the Internet without being licensed as a broker or a motor vehicle dealer by the state Department of Motor Vehicles.

Tiffany has a company that was using the Internet to sell the cars of the state. The motor vehicle department said she needed a state permit.

The bill, sponsored by Tiffany, was introduced to clarify whether the state license was needed. After the controversy flared, Tiffany ended her business relationship with the state.

SB55 says a person is exempt from the broker or dealer licensing if he or she only takes photographs and lists the vehicles for sale on a Web site. The individual would not handle any certificates of title or bills of sale and would not take possession of the vehicle. The person would be paid based on a percentage of the sales price.

Voting against the bill were Democrats Dina Titus, Valerie Wiener and Maggie Carlton of Las Vegas, Steven Horsford of North Las Vegas and Bernice Mathews of Reno. SB55 now goes to the Assembly.

Senate rejects initiative measure

A proposed constitutional amendment to permit the Legislature to tinker with voter-approved initiative petitions on taxation or government spending has been defeated in the Senate.

Senate Joint Resolution 8 said the Legislature would have the power to amend or repeal an initiative petition three years after voter approval.

By a vote of 11-10, the Senate rejected the proposed change in the Constitution. Voting to reject the constitutional amendment were Republicans Bob Beers of Las Vegas, Joe Heck of North Las Vegas and Sandra Tiffany of Henderson. Democrats against were Terry Care, Maggie Carlton, Bob Coffin, Dina Titus and Valerie Wiener, all of Las Vegas, Steven Horsford and John Lee, both of North Las Vegas and Bernice Mathews of Reno.