Assembly, Senate rush to get bills approved

Kirsten Searer and Cy Ryan

Wednesday, April 27, 2005 | 11:10 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- During one lengthy floor speech on Tuesday, some members of the Assembly playfully waved pieces of white paper in the air to signify their surrender.

Legislators put in a grueling day Tuesday, the 79th day of the 120-day session. Each house had to pass its own bills by midnight, or the measures would die.

But legislators zipped through business, passing about 40 bills in each house and leaving just a handful to languish on the chief clerks' desks.

Several hundred other bills relating to the state budget got a reprieve from the deadline.

The day went better than expected, said Assembly Minority Leader Lynn Hettrick, R-Gardnerville, explaining "we all expected a huge crush."

Bills that won passage Tuesday already show the political divide between the two houses.

For example, a measure to push the primary to June cleared the Assembly, while a different bill to push the primary to early May died in the Senate.

Assembly members OK'd a bill to make it easier for ex-felons to restore their voting rights, while a similar measure in the Senate drew a 10-10 vote, meaning it will die.

Senators approved a bill designed to strengthen the open meeting law with no debate.

But some senators were sharply divided over a bill to allow local governments to hold closed meetings to receive briefings on threats of terrorism.

Sen. Terry Care, D-Las Vegas, led opposition to the bill, arguing there was no accountability to see that the meetings don't stray into other subjects.

"The greatest security is to open the door," he said.

But Sen. Dennis Nolan, R-Las Vegas, said all 15 of the terrorists who were involved in 9/11 were in Las Vegas looking at activities on the Strip. He argued for a balance to protect the public.

"We're talking about public safety issues," Nolan said.

The Senate approved the measure by a vote of 13-7.

North Las Vegas residents could soon see more cameras on the streets designed to nab speeders who race through red lights under a bill passed Tuesday by the Senate, 16-4.

Senate Bill 473 allows the "red-light cameras" to be installed at intersections with traffic lights. They would photograph the license plates and drivers who run the red lights.

The errant drivers would be hit with traffic citations, the same as if an officer were present.

Voting against the bill were Care and Sens. Maggie Carlton, D-Las Vegas, Mike McGinness, R-Fallon and Bernice Mathews, D-Reno.

The Senate also:

*Revived a bill that would lower a surcharge on energy that raises money to help indigent people pay for their energy bills;

*Voted against a bill that would create a $25 surcharge against a person who caused an accident requiring a response from emergency medical personnel;

*Defeated a bill to permit security officers in Strip hotels to check on cars in parking lots;

*Defeated a bill to permit local governments to allow off-road vehicles on certain sections of highways;

*Passed a bill that would prohibit most high school classes from starting before 7:35 a.m.

Assembly members cleared several laws changing ethics and elections rules, and a measure to limit payday loan centers.

Assembly Bill 384 would prohibit loan centers from loaning more than 25 percent of a person's expected gross monthly income, and it would limit the amount of interest a loan center could charge to people who default on their loans.

Too many people take out $200 loans and end up paying back more like $2,000, said Assembly Majority Leader Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas.

"I think it's pretty evident that the payday loan industry in the state of Nevada needs to be reigned in," she said.

The Assembly also approved bills that would:

Assembly members voted against a measure to require notary publics to undergo more training, and they let a bill die that would have removed the upcoming term limits to be imposed on legislators.

Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas, who sponsored the term-limit bill, said she thinks several advocacy groups will mount a legal challenge to the term limits, which she said she thinks are unconstitutional.

The next major day in the Legislature comes May 2, when the Economic Forum will tell lawmakers how much money they have to spend in the next two years.

The Forum makes estimates on the revenue the state will collect. The Legislature cannot exceed that limit unless it raises taxes.