Columnist Jeff German: Plan for cameras in cabs running into curb

Friday, Jan. 7, 2005 | 5:31 a.m.

Jeff German's column appears Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays in the Sun. Reach him at german@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4067.

WEEKEND EDITION

January 8 - 9, 2005

The checks and balances we have in government will be tested on Monday.

An interim legislative committee that reviews new state regulations is holding a hearing on one of the most ambiguous and poorly written regulations any Nevada agency has ever dreamed up.

This is the regulation the do-nothing Taxicab Authority Board passed in October that allows taxicab companies to install video cameras with sound in their vehicles. The cameras have potential to invade the privacy of millions of tourists being lured here on the marketing pitch, "what happens here, stays here."

State Sen. Warren Hardy, R-Las Vegas, who chairs the four-member legislative committee, says he's going to vote to send the regulation back to the Taxicab Authority Board for a few revisions -- like making it clear that sound should not be part of any monitoring in the cabs.

Committee member Barbara Buckley, the Assembly's Democratic majority leader, tells me she's also going to vote to reject the regulation.

"I don't think we should be taping tourists," she says. "The legislative intent here wasn't to create a Big Brother to eavesdrop on the conversations of people."

A third committee member, veteran Reno Sen. Randolph Townsend, says he also has concerns about allowing cameras with sound.

So, unless the wealthy cab companies employ their usual intimidation tactics and bully the committee members into doing otherwise, the camera regulation, as we know it, should be history on Monday.

Then, the five-member Taxicab Authority Board will have to hold another public hearing to do what it should have done nearly a year ago -- adopt a regulation that will protect both the drivers and the privacy of the riding public.

State lawmakers are just learning about the messy camera issue, but it hasn't taken them long to get a picture of a weak-kneed Taxicab Authority Board that has totally mismanaged the debate.

In February Taxicab Authority Administrator Yvette Moore, after gaining the support of cabbies and local law enforcement authorities, brought a regulation to the board that would have required the companies to install digital still cameras in cabs. This is something that has been done with little controversy in other cities around the world.

But the greedy companies, reluctant to foot the bill for cameras that would simply protect drivers, fought the proposal for months. Eventually they browbeat the Taxicab Authority Board into approving a broader regulation that allows them to install video cameras capable of spying on the drivers, too.

The board lost sight of the original goal of combatting violent crimes against cabbies and became a partner in the push by the companies to find the ultimate management tool. Drivers were furious.

Just as bad, the board failed to consider the ramifications of its ill-informed decision on the tourism industry. It set off a barrage of criticism from civil libertarians, union bosses and casino industry leaders, all concerned about the chilling effect the video cameras would have on passengers.

In its incompetence the board sent a mixed message to tourists around the world: You can come here and discreetly do the things you wouldn't do back home, but we'll be recording your every word and move the minute you jump into a cab at the airport.

Fortunately, state lawmakers now are poised to correct the board's gigantic mistake.

That should send a message to the board that its job is more than just protecting the interests of the taxicab companies. It also should be protecting the interests of the drivers and the public.