Legislative briefs for May 3, 2005

Tuesday, May 3, 2005 | 10:46 a.m.

Panel approves four new judges

The Senate Finance Committee approved a bill Monday to create four new District Court judges in Clark County, not the seven requested by the judges.

Senate Majority leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, chairman of the committee, said Clark County had opposed the adding of seven new judges because of the cost. A compromise was reached for four new judges to take office in January 2007 after running for the open seats in the November 2006 election.

There are currently 33 District Court judges in Clark County, including 13 in Family Court. One of the new judges will be a Family Court judge.

Senate Bill 195, which goes to the floor of the Senate, calls for the state to spend $333,104 to pay the judges. That's down from the original request of $608,000. The county picks up the other expenses for the jurists.

Assembly votes for Guinn veto

The Assembly voted unanimously Monday to concur with a veto issued in April by Gov. Kenny Guinn.

Guinn issued the veto -- his first since the 2001 session -- on Assembly Bill 135, which would have increased the assessment some insurance companies pay to the state. The money would go to the Special Investigative Account of the attorney general's office to investigate insurance fraud.

Guinn argued that he had already included money for two new investigators in his budget. Assembly Majority Leader Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, asked Assembly members to agree with Guinn's veto. She said her Commerce and Labor Committee approved the bill because it was backed by the attorney general's office and the insurance industry.