Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Tiffany rescinds contract, claims no ethics violation

CARSON CITY -- After facing questions about a possible conflict of interest, state Sen. Sandra Tiffany said Tuesday that she is rescinding a contract she held with the state to sell used Nevada Highway Patrol cars.

Tiffany, R-Henderson, said Tuesday there is no violation of the ethics law but "to avoid any appearance of impropriety," she is rescinding the contract with the state Division of Purchasing and will forego any money due her.

She will give up an estimated $5,400 due her for her sale of 12 cars bringing in about $40,000 to the state.

Tiffany received the contract under a pilot project without bidding for it. She -- and the Guinn Administration agrees -- that the contract was not required to go to public bid.

Perry Comeaux, director of the state Department of Administration that oversees the purchasing division, said the state was not required to put the proposal out to bid because it was a pilot project. And the contract was for less than $10,000, he said.

Comeaux said Tiffany proposed using her eBay site on the Internet to sell the used cars. He said she suggested the cars would be sold faster than at the twice-a-year auctions and would would bring in more money.

The state, he said, usually gets about $2,500 for a used patrol car sold in auction. The auctioneers, who make 5 percent of the sales price, take possession of the car, clean it up and handle all the title transactions for the state. Tiffany thought she could get $4,000 to $5,000 for these vehicles, he said.

Tiffany, through her eBay site, advertised the cars and found a buyer but the state had to do the other work such as the title transfers. Under the amended contract, she was paid $350 per car plus $94 for each car advertised on eBay.

In her letter Tuesday to state Purchasing Administrator Greg Smith, Tiffany said she has not received any payment for the cars sold so far. "As a result of the rescission of the contract, I agree to forego any compensation owed to date under the contract as well as any compensation for services rendered to complete my remaining responsibilities under the contract."

Smith said she sold 12 vehicles and the state has received about the same price as the auctioneers. Smith said he "feels bad" that Tiffany is giving up her commission, especially that she put up about $1,200 to pay for the eBay site.

Nevada law prohibits legislators from signing contracts with the state, except in certain circumstances. It permits a legislator to enter into a contract with the state "if the sources of supply for the item, commodity, service or capital improvement are limited."

"At the time I entered into this contract, I was the only person in Nevada who had performed extensive research and developed knowledge that was nationwide in scope regarding the sale of surplus governmental property on the Internet," Tiffany said.

Smith said he agreed there was no bidding requirement because this was a pilot project and the sources were limited.

Comeaux said Tiffany suggested she might be able to sell the vehicles for $4,000 to $5,000. But that has not proved to be the case, he said. The original contract called for her to get 5 percent of the sales price.

The state Department of Motor Vehicles said a "competitor" of Tiffany filed a complaint that she must have a license to act as a broker of vehicles. A cease and desist order was issued by the agency Jan. 6 against Tiffany. She stopped selling the cars for a percentage of the price.

Tiffany signed an amended contract for the state to pay a flat $350 per car sold plus the $94 for placing it on the eBay. The DMV said that solved the problem.

Tiffany has introduced Senate Bill 55 that would allow a businessperson in a similar circumstance to advertise these used vehicles on the Internet and receive a percentage of the sales price without getting registered as a broker.

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