Tiffany: Data available to all

Thursday, March 9, 2006 | 7:17 a.m.

CARSON CITY - Sen. Sandra Tiffany, R-Henderson, says she never used her elective position to gain special information from other states that would help her private eBay surplus equipment selling business.

The information she sought about the process of obtaining surplus equipment was available to the public, Tiffany said. "A person could walk in off the street and ask for it," she said Wednesday on a Reno TV show, "Nevada Newsmakers."

A panel of the state Ethics Commission said Tuesday that Tiffany secured "unwarranted privileges, preference, or advantages" for herself and her company, Stockdales Property Auction, by using her position in contacting eight states for information about their unclaimed property procedures.

The panel also charged that Tiffany used her position to seek business contracts in six states to allow her company to sell surplus items on eBay.

Tiffany stressed that the information she sought was "nonproprietary" and available to anyone who sought it. She also pointed out that she never did business with any other state.

The ethics panel has affidavits from officials in other states stating that Tiffany cited her state office in trying to gather information purportedly to benefit Nevada in its handling of surplus property. In effect, she was gaining the information to help her own business, the panel said.

Laywon Boatner, an area manager for the Texas comptroller, said he believed Tiffany's visit "was in an official capacity on behalf of the state of Nevada in order to gather information about Texas' online auction procedures for its unclaimed property."

Officials in other states gave similar sworn statements.

Ted Irwin, a program analyst for California, said it was "my understanding that Sen. Tiffany was visiting our facility in her official capacity as Nevada state senator to research methods for marketing unclaimed contents found in safe deposit boxes."

"To the best of our knowledge this information was to be used by Nevada to set up and structure its own online auction procedures," Irwin said.

Noting there is nothing criminal about her actions, Tiffany said: "Anyone can ask them how they do business. They're state agencies."

A hearing before the full Ethics Commission has been set for Sept. 13 in Las Vegas. But Tiffany said she has a right to a hearing within 45 days and that is something "we will consider."

The issue arose during the 2005 Legislature when it was disclosed that Tiffany had a contract with Nevada to sell discarded vehicles on eBay. She also introduced a bill to allow her to sell the vehicles without a broker's license, a permit that the Department of Motor Vehicles said she needed.

Tiffany had a legal opinion from legislative attorneys saying that the contract with Nevada was legal. But the state Purchasing Division said it would not renew the contract because it did not result in extra profits for the state. And the bill she introduced died in the Legislature.