Editorial: Consumer agency in flux

Thursday, Jan. 11, 2007 | 7:04 a.m.

G ov. Jim Gibbons fired three people last week, including state Consumer Affairs Division Commissioner Patricia Morse Jarman, in what an aide says was a move to eliminate duplication and save taxpayers money.

What Gibbons does with the rest of the consumer affairs division will say a lot about his plans for state government and whether his small-government philosophy will trump a legitimate and needed public service.

Mike Dayton, Gibbons' chief of staff, told the Las Vegas Sun's Cy Ryan that changes are being made because the consumer affairs division's work is duplicated by the state attorney general's consumer advocate.

That is not exactly accurate, as the division not only regulates trade practices - much as the attorney general's office does but without the prosecutorial power - but it also registers and bonds several types of businesses, including telemarketers, travel agents and weight-loss clinics. That is important in a state that sees a high number of fly-by-night operations and scams .

There has been discussion that the consumer advocate could take over the responsibilities of the division. It is important to note that while the consumer advocate in the attorney general's office works with and shares some oversight with the consumer affairs division, its responsibilities are largely different. Much of the consumer advocate's focus is on cases involving utility rate increases.

Dayton said consumer protections would not be weakened, which shouldn't be hard given the relatively weak protection consumers have in Nevada. The question is whether the governor's plan is just a move to find a place to cut government or whether it could actually strengthen consumer protection.

Until Gibbons provides complete details of his plan, we can't know whether it will be better for the consumer or not. The bottom line is that we need beefed-up consumer protection in the state, not less, and we hope that Gibbons agrees.