Columnist Jeff German: Taxi board to blame for another mess

Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2005 | 11:02 a.m.

When I think of the state Taxicab Authority Board these days, I think of that famous line Oliver Hardy often uttered to his partner, Stan Laurel, in the comedy duo's classic movies.

"Well, here's another nice mess you've gotten me into," Hardy would repeat in film after film.

The big difference, though, is that the five-member Taxicab Authority Board -- a group of political appointees who've been kowtowing to the wealthy companies for months at the public's expense -- has been a solo comedy act. It has no one but itself to blame for the mess it has created.

On Monday, in a jaw-dropping unanimous vote, an interim legislative committee rejected the board's just-approved regulation ordering cameras in cabs.

This is the ambiguous regulation that allows companies to install video cameras with sound that any pinhead can see has potential to intrude upon the privacy of both the drivers and passengers.

The original -- and simple -- concept of installing digital still cameras to protect the drivers had given way to elaborate spycams to help the companies keep tabs on the drivers and the riding public. It's not going to be remembered as one of the Taxicab Authority Board's finest moments.

The committee, chaired by Las Vegas Sen. Warren Hardy (no relation to Oliver), who wasn't in a laughing mood about the way the camera debate had gotten out of hand, instructed the board to revise its regulation and exclude the use of sound.

As you might expect, the regulation's rejection didn't go over well with some company owners who've already purchased video cameras for their cabs. One owner even blamed me for the dilemma now facing the industry.

Board members and their administrator, Yvette Moore, weren't too happy with Monday's action, either.

Moore told the lawmakers during the hearing that she didn't think the board had authority under state law to tell the companies they couldn't install cameras with sound. That, she said, could only be done by the Legislature.

Afterward, Moore said the board likely would be looking for guidance from the Legislature when it convenes in February before moving to revise the regulation and get itself out of this mess.

That's not good. It could lead to yet another delay in providing cabbies with the much-needed protection from the growing acts of violence against them.

It certainly isn't what Allen Lichtenstein, general counsel of the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada, wanted to hear.

Lichtenstein, who voiced opposition to the use of cameras with sound at the hearing, said the board is being disingenuous here. So what else is new?

"There are things that can be done," he said. "It would be much better if the board just stopped playing games and did what the committee unanimously told it to do."

Somewhere on that great comedy stage in the sky you'll find Oliver Hardy agreeing with him.