Democrats set plans to help families

Kirsten Searer

Thursday, Jan. 27, 2005 | 10:51 a.m.

Democrats announced their full legislative agenda on Wednesday, saying they want to take immediate steps to help Nevada's families.

They hope to pass a state law that would increase the minimum wage in July, build triage centers in Clark and Washoe counties for mental health patients and ensure extra funds for education go toward all children, not just failing schools.

They also will look into loosening the laws that govern how the state Rainy Day fund can be immediately used for crises such as the recent floods in Mesquite and Overton.

Assembly Minority Leader Lynn Hettrick, R-Gardnerville, said he might object to the plan because the Rainy Day fund is designed to help the state avoid raising taxes during lean years.

"The whole idea of the Rainy Day fund is to assure the state government doesn't have to raise taxes," he said.

Democrats said they object to plans by Gov. Kenny Guinn to give $100 million to failing schools for programs such as teacher training and full-day kindergarten.

Assembly Majority Leader Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, said this week she was worried about excluding middle class children from full-day kindergarten, and Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, called full-day kindergarten for all students a "top priority."

Perkins said he wasn't sure yet how much a statewide kindergarten program ultimately would cost or how much Democrats want to allot for education funding. The state's school superintendents estimate it would cost about $72 million per biennium for all students.

"I don't consider it an expense so much as an investment," Perkins said.

But Hettrick said that full-day kindergarten is a better investment for at-risk children who need more preparation to read or time in an English-speaking environment.

Full-day kindergarten is a politically popular idea that would cost a lot of money and increase instruction time from two and a half hours a day to four hours a day, Hettrick said.

"Kindergarten, despite all the stuff going back and forth, is really almost like a social (experience) learning to understand how you get along with the other kids and how you operate in school," he said.

Perkins also continued to plug his interest in finding ways to help parents communicate with teachers and get involved in schools.

The Democratic plan to increase the minimum wage would increase it to $6.15, which is $1 more per hour than the federal minimum. They would provide exemptions to employers who provide health care to their employees.

Unlike the constitutional amendment that got an initial OK from voters this fall, this would be a one-time increase to the minimum wage.

Labor leaders said they plan to continue pushing for a constitutional amendment that would tie minimum wage to inflation. But constitutional amendments must go before voters twice, meaning the amendment wouldn't take place until 2007.

Between July, when the Democrats' plan would go into effect, and 2007, when the amendment would take effect, the average minimum wage worker would receive about $3,000 extra because of the increase.

Right now, a full-time worker earning minimum wage makes about $10,700 a year.

Of the eight questions on a statewide ballot, the minimum wage hike received the most overwhelming approval, with 68 percent of voters saying yes.

"The voters made it very clear, they need a raise and we need it now," said Sen. Steven Horsford, D-North Las Vegas.

Some business groups have opposed mandating a minimum wage increase, including the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce. Director of Government Affairs Christina Dugan said the chamber wants employees to earn more, but doesn't think a minimum wage should be written into state law.

It's better, she said, to diversify the economy and train workers so businesses will boost their salaries.

Greg Bortolin, a spokesman for Gov. Kenny Guinn, said the governor has voiced support for increasing the minimum wage and would be "receptive" to signing a bill.

In the areas of health care, Buckley said Democrats are committed to a state Web site that would allow residents to order cheaper Canadian drugs online.

The state also could purchase Canadian drugs in bulk for prisoners to save money, she said. The average non-generic prescription could be 50 to 80 percent less when purchased from Canada, she said.

Five other states and four cities have existing programs that encourage residents or employees to purchase Canadian drugs online, and several others are looking at the idea, according to the Council of State Governments.

They use a loophole in Food and Drug Administration Guidelines to allow the drug sales, though Bortolin said that Guinn will oppose the measure if he believes it does violate federal law.

Buckley said she believes a state law would allow Nevada to license out-of-country pharmacies so that people could order drugs from Canada. Several other states are doing this, though Buckley said she does think the Bush administration might fight the movement.

"I believe they're more concerned about the pharmaceutical industry's bottom line," she said.

New triage centers in Washoe and Clark counties would cost a combined $1.1 million, Buckley said, and could hold mentally ill patients for up to 72 hours to determine if they need to go to an emergency room or to a mental health facility.

Hettrick said he would support a one-time expenditure to build the triage centers and take a load off of emergency rooms.

Perkins said Democrats are ready to hammer out a solution to increasing property taxes in a joint committee between the Assembly and Senate, though the party hasn't endorsed a specific plan yet.

He also said he expected "bipartisan" opposition to a plan from Guinn to discontinue medical benefits for retired state employees. The plan would only affect newly hired employees, not existing or former employees.

Guinn said the plan would save the government nearly $500 million over 30 years.

Perkins pointed out that many state employees would not qualify for Medicare benefits. And Buckley said that people with previous conditions would have difficulties finding health care.

"If you're 60 years old and have cancer, you can't buy health insurance," she said.