Editorial: Opening government

Thursday, April 26, 2007 | 7:03 a.m.

There are a number of bills moving through the state Legislature that would provide a much-needed dose of accountability to state government.

Two bills recently were approved by the full Assembly: Assembly Bill 605, which would regulate legal defense funds set up by elected officials, and AB433, which would mandate that the state Tax Commission make its decisions in public. The bills have widespread support - AB605 passed unanimously and AB433 passed 41-0 with one member not voting. The Senate now has a chance to act on these two common-sense measures that would give the public the ability to better see how government makes decisions and who influences those decisions.

AB605 comes in response to Gov. Jim Gibbons' legal defense fund, which was set up in secret to collect thousands of dollars from donors to pay for Gibbons' lawyers. The governor disclosed the existence of the fund only after Las Vegas Sun columnist Jon Ralston asked his office about it.

Secretary of State Ross Miller declared that the governor didn't break any laws, but that is largely because of loopholes in the law that allow such funds to exist in secret.

AB 605 would change that. It would set rules for creating such funds and would require elected officials to get clearance from the secretary of state's office. It would also limit the amount of the contributions and require disclosure of the fund and the donors.

AB433 is a response to the Tax Commission's closed-door decision to give an out-of-state utility a $40 million refund without an explanation. The Tax Commission believes that the law allows people and businesses that appeal tax decisions to not only give the Tax Commission proprietary information in private, but that the commission can also debate and vote in secret on th ose requests. As we have said before, that is wrong.

Citizens have a right to know how and why governments make decisions, and they have a right to know who may be influencing those decisions. These bills would help further that cause. The Senate should pass them.