Editorial: Legislature has no time to squander

Friday, Feb. 4, 2005 | 5:50 a.m.

WEEKEND EDITION

February 5 - 6, 2005

The 2005 Legislature begins Monday and there will be no time to waste if it is to keep within its four-month schedule. The 2003 Legislature dillydallied at the outset and two special sessions were required before business was finished in late July. It was the issue of taxes that tied legislators into knots toward the end of that session. Taxes may do the same thing again if legislative leaders allow precious time early in the session to slip away. The two most critical tax issues this session revolve around circumstances in the Las Vegas Valley -- soaring property values and a soaring population that has severely strained police resources.

The issue with property values is that they rose dramatically over the past 18 months, meaning homeowners were suddenly facing unanticipated property tax increases of between 30 and 50 percent. Those tax increases will be levied this summer if the Legislature does not act quickly. One proposal, by Clark County Assessor Mark Schofield and supported by this newspaper, is to cap all property tax increases at 6 percent. Schofield says a cap of this amount will allow governments to meet their needs while staving off a tax revolt by property owners.

But it's clear that individual legislators have their own ideas. Assemblywoman Sharron Angle, R-Reno, for example, wants a California-style Proposition 13, which held property tax increases very low for existing homeowners but created fiscal chaos in Sacramento. Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, is proposing a one-year freeze on any property tax increase.

The Legislature must keep in mind that for any plan to affect what taxpayers will pay this summer, it must be passed by mid-March. It will take weeks to hear everyone's views, so this issue must be made a top priority. Taxpayers have demonstrated that they will initiate petition drives and place questions on the ballot if they get angry enough. But if the Legislature is quick enough, this could be avoided.

The other pressing tax issue involves an advisory question that Clark County voters approved at the polls in November. Question 9 advised the Legislature to allow Clark County to increase the sales tax to fund more officers for police departments throughout the county. The increase, which we support, would bring the sales tax to 7.75 percent this July 1 and to 8 percent beginning July 1, 2009. Nearly 1,700 new officers, mostly for Metro Police, would be hired with the extra funds. Clark County Sheriff Bill Young campaigned vigorously for passage of the question, saying that public safety is at stake in view of Clark County's nation-leading growth.

But passage of Question 9 by the voters by no means guarantees passage by the Legislature, which is noted for its antipathy toward any proposed tax increase. This is another issue that the Legislature must quickly act upon. Police departments need a timely approval so they can begin planning for all the hiring and training and the expansion of their divisions. The police also need to know as quickly as possible if the Legislature is not going to approve the measure. They can't be kept on pins and needles for four months while legislators hem and haw. We urge the Legislature to approve Question 9 by no later than the end of this month.

There is another tax issue, too, that deserves early consideration. This would be Gov. Kenny Guinn's declaration of a $300 million surplus in tax revenues that he wants to give away through rebates of car registration fees. We don't believe the giveaway would be fair, as the person who registered a new, gas-guzzling SUV would get more than the person who registered a less expensive but more sensible car. More importantly, we don't believe there is a surplus.

Here is just a partial list of state programs, departments and services that remain severely underfunded: Education (including colleges and universities), Medicaid, District Court, general health care, mental health, highway patrol, foster care, prisons, parks, wildlife, treatment for problem gamblers, Millennium Scholarships, public works and the rainy-day fund. Legislators should quickly say no to the giveaway and apportion the money sensibly, as they intended when they passed the tax increases two years ago, however belatedly.