Legislative briefs for March 30, 2005

Wednesday, March 30, 2005 | 9:43 a.m.

Bill hikes pay of DA, sheriff

Salaries of county officials in Nevada would be increased, effective July 1, under a bill introduced by the Senate Government Affairs Committee Tuesday.

Senate Bill 419 would raise the pay of the district attorney and sheriff in Clark County by 2 percent and the rest of the elective officals by 7 percent. The bill gives the commissioners in each county the authority to raise their own salary by 26 percent.

The salary of the district attorney in Clark County would rise to $158,860 from $155,745; the sheriff would go to $136,948 from $134,263; and the pay of the county clerk, assessor, recorder, treasurer and administrator would increase to $97,675 from $91,138.

The 2003 Legislature approved pay raises of 36 percent for district attorneys and sheriffs and raises of 26 percent for the rest of the elective officials. That was their first pay raise in eight years.

The bill was referred back to the Government Affairs Committee.

Sales tax holidays are considered

Sen. Maggie Carlton, D-Las Vegas, wants the voters to decide at the 2006 election whether there should be sales tax holidays allowed in Nevada.

Carlton told the Senate Taxation Committee Tuesday that 13 other states have such sales tax holidays. If the voters approved, her Senate Bill 167 would allow the 2007 Legislature to decide what items might be exempted from the sales tax and when it would be held.

She said it could be scheduled in August as a "back-to-school holiday" to allow parents to buy clothing for their children.

She said the higher ticket items such as cars would not be eligible, and the state would have to reimburse any county for lost revenue.

The idea, she said, arose from the suggestion by Gov. Kenny Guinn of a rebate for motor vehicles up to $300 to use up part of the state's surplus. Carlton told the committee that this would take place only if the state had extra money.

Paul Enos, representing the Retail Association of Nevada, said the group supports the bill because it would help the consumer and the merchant.

The committee did not take any action.

Special admission to gaming sought

The Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday introduced a bill to allow a hotel to charge a fee for admission to certain gaming areas.

Senate Bill 444 would require the Nevada Gaming Commission to adopt regulations to permit the chairman of the state Gaming Control Board to give administrative approval for a gaming business to charge a fee.

Alfredo Alonso, who represents the Palms and other hotels, said some resorts hold pool parties or other similar events where they place slot machines.

The present law prohibits charging a fee to get into a gaming area. Alsonso said hotels cannot charge a cover charge to recover the money spent on entertainment and food if there are slot machines in the area.

The bill was referred back to the Judiciary Committee for study.

Subsidy for state workers targeted

Gov. Kenny Guinn's plan to stop providing a subsidy to future retired state workers to help them pay their health insurance premiums was introduced in the Senate Tuesday.

Senate Bill 484 provides that any state employee hired after July 1, 2006, is not entitled to receive a subsidiary for health insurance coverage after they retire. The 2003 Legislature approved an average subsidy of $316 per month for this fiscal year.

Guinn, in his State of the State message, said his plan would save taxpayers $500 million over the next 30 years. It would not impact state workers who are presently employed.

The bill, introduced by the Senate Legislative Operations and Elections Committee, was referred to the Senate Finance Committee.

Emergency room waits addressed

The Senate Human Resources and Education Committee sponsored a bill aimed at the Clark County problem over the long waits ambulance patients must endure before being taken into emergency rooms.

Testimony before the committee said patients sometimes must wait hours while the ambulance driver stands by. The ambulance cannot return to the streets to help other patients until the nurse or attendant accepts the patient.

Senate Bill 458 says a hospital emergency ward should accept the patient within 30 minutes, but there are no penalities for failure to meet the deadline.

It requires the state Health Division to conduct a study to determine the cause of excessive wait time for emergency patients -- if it does in fact exist. Only the hospitals in Clark County with emergency services must participate in the study.

The division must submit quarterly reports to the Legislative Committee on Health Care and a final report to the 2007 Legislature.

Another 152 bills introduced

A swirl of activity surrounded Tuesday's deadline for committees to introduce bills.

A total of 152 bills were introduced, bringing the lis of measures to 1,042.

The Senate received 107 new bills, and the Assembly saw 45, bringing the total in the Senate to 488 bills and in the Assembly to 554.

The next deadline in the 2005 Legislature is April 5 when the Assembly Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee starts approving budgets.

The following deadline is April 15 when the committees in each house must pass out bills introduced in that house or the bills die.

The 120-day session ends June 6.