Editorial: Tiffany’s bill reeks of conflict

Tuesday, March 15, 2005 | 9:37 a.m.

State Sen. Sandra Tiffany last year negotiated a no-bid contract through the state purchasing office to sell surplus Nevada Highway Patrol vehicles on the Web, through her eBay auction site. Although there's a law prohibiting legislators from contracting with the state, it has exceptions and the Henderson Republican's initial $10,000 contract was found to be legal by both the attorney general's office and the Legislative Counsel Bureau. The Reno Gazette-Journal, however, disclosed on Sunday that the Department of Motor Vehicles put a crimp in Tiffany's business plan. On Jan. 6 the DMV ordered her to stop work under the contract because, in order to receive commissions on car sales, state law requires her to have a broker's license.

Instead of seeking a license, Tiffany decided to submit a bill changing state law. Senate Bill 55 would allow Nevadans to sell surplus government vehicles on eBay or other online auction sites without obtaining a broker's license. The bill says anyone who doesn't take possession of the vehicles, but merely takes photos of them, scans the photos onto their site, writes the description and monitors the bids is an "advertiser," not a broker, and may receive a percentage of the vehicles' sales prices.

An ordinary eBay user, of course, couldn't personally re-write the law and introduce it at the Legislature. But as a state senator, Tiffany was in a position to affect her own, personal business, which is also involved in selling surplus cars for the city of North Las Vegas. The Senate's transportation committee saw no conflict, as it approved her bill last week and moved it forward for a vote of the full Senate.

We do, however, see a conflict. Tiffany, long an outspoken supporter of privatization of state services, is using her power as a elected official to push through a law favorable to her private contract with the state. In our view, SB55 should be shelved on the grounds that its sponsor has an obvious conflict of interest. Besides, the state and local governments should be selling their own surplus vehicles. Why should Tiffany, with her broken ethics but no broker's license, be sharing in the proceeds?