Letter: Property tax issue waiting on Legislature

Friday, Feb. 25, 2005 | 5:27 a.m.

WEEKEND EDITION

February 26 - 27, 2005

Ticktock, ticktock -- the property tax mouse ran up the clock! The Sun's Feb. 22 editorial was right on. Apparently the Legislature's interest in addressing the property tax problem takes a back seat to other priority legislation, such as a constitutional amendment that redefines the basis of impeachment, or a revised, more complex signature requirement for amending the Nevada Constitution by the initiative process.

It isn't as though legislators didn't have a plan. In addition to my testimony on Feb. 18, every member of the Legislature received, about a month ago, a detailed analysis delineating a two-step approach to property tax reform. This proposal was predicated on the successful, and U.S. Supreme Court-adjudicated, 25-year-old California Proposition 13.

My conclusion is that the Legislature is waiting for the reinvention of the wheel and the Second Coming before acting in the public interest.

At this point I would say the legislators have already failed in this most important responsibility of this session and their political careers.

GILBERT EISNER

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