Facebook
Fark
Digg
Reddit
StumbleMEMO FROM CARSON CITY:
Gibbons ready to tear at legislative patch
Critical of interim finance panel, he’s thinking about constitutional challenge
Sunday, Aug. 9, 2009 | 2 a.m.
Gov. Jim Gibbons
Sun Archives
Sun Coverage
Beyond the Sun
As governor, what do you do when a legislative committee, controlled by Democrats, gives you conniptions, moving staff positions out of your office and delaying the spending of stimulus dollars?
Step one is to take your case to the public and accuse Democrats of playing partisan games to pressure them to change their ways.
Next, you think about the nuclear option — challenging the constitutionality of the committee in court.
It’s something Gov. Jim Gibbons says he’s considering.
The Legislature’s Interim Finance Committee has been around since 1969, composed of about one-third of the lawmakers. It meets about every 45 days when the Legislature is not in session.
The meetings are usually mundane, with the committee tweaking budget accounts formally passed by lawmakers in the past session.
But it also performs a vital government function, allowing flexibility in budgets in a state with a Legislature that passes spending plans two years at a time and meets for only four months every two years.
The questionable constitutionality of the Interim Finance Committee has been an open, if uncomfortable, secret of Carson City for decades. Imagine a third of the U.S. Congress meeting during the August recess to change department budgets.
But the rancorous relationship between the Democrat-controlled Legislature and Republican governor has brought those questions into the open.
After last week’s vote by the committee to delay a plan to spend $10.5 million weatherizing homes and to take a stimulus coordinator out of the governor’s office, Gibbons said he’s willing to test it.
“I question whether the IFC is constitutionally legal or not, let alone whether the actions (it’s) taken are legal,” said Gibbons, a former assemblyman.
Asked whether he’s willing to challenge it, he said: “I’m damn well willing to challenge it. I’m damn well willing to stand up and say ‘enough is enough.’ We’re all in this to help the people of Nevada. We’re not here to help somebody’s pet project, union agenda or the whim of some legislator.”
There are two possible grounds for a challenge, according to state government observers. The first is the more immediate: Did the Interim Finance Committee exceed its statutory authority with some of its actions last week?
Those who say no argue that the committee can approve or reject spending plans brought by state agencies.
But when it took the governor’s proposal to create a stimulus coordinator in his office and put the position under Controller Kim Wallin, a Democrat, did it go too far? Was it, in effect, legislating?
The bigger issue, the one that could upend state government, is whether the committee is constitutional.
Sen. Bob Coffin, D-Las Vegas, said he has long had concerns about it. Without a full meeting of the 63 legislators, a resident of a district without a senator or assemblyman on the board is not represented, the argument goes.
“The system creates a sort of superlegislator,” said Coffin, who has served on the committee for 23 of his 27 years in the Senate.
(The committee’s members are legislators who sit on the Assembly Ways and Means and Senate Finance committees.)
If a court dissolves the IFC system, it could grind state government to a halt. There would be no mechanism to move money among accounts or accept federal funds.
“The IFC has allowed us to avoid special sessions for budgetary purposes since its creation, up until this last biennium when we had a historic recession,” said Lorne Malkowich, director of the Legislative Counsel Bureau.
Without the committee, Coffin said, “we’d muddle along” — a special session of the full Legislature every month or two — until the next session in February 2011.
On Friday, Dan Burns, Gibbons’ communications director, would say only that “steps are being taken to determine if the IFC’s action — that will do nothing but delay and harm the people of the state — are legal and constitutional.”
He left details of what action Gibbons would take an open-ended question — just like the status of the Interim Finance Committee.
Discussion: comments so far…
Comments are moderated by Las Vegas Sun editors. Our goal is not to limit the discussion, but rather to elevate it. Comments should be relevant and contain no abusive language. Comments that are off-topic, vulgar, profane or include personal attacks will be removed. Full comments policy. Additionally, we now display comments from trusted commenters by default. Those wishing to become a trusted commenter need to verify their identity or sign in with Facebook Connect to tie their Facebook account to their Las Vegas Sun account. For more on this change, read our story about how it works and why we did it.
Only trusted comments are displayed on this page. Untrusted comments have expired from this story.
No trusted comments have been posted.
Post a comment
Most Popular
- Viewed
- Discussed
- E-mailed
- Photos: Olivia Culpo, 20, of Rhode Island is crowned 2012 Miss USA at Planet Hollywood
- Photos: Derek Hough celebrates 27th birthday at Tabu Ultra Lounge
- More than 43,000 have voted early in Clark County
- US Navy hopes stealth ship answers a rising China
- Firefighters respond to reports of explosion; find vacant building in flames
Everything Under the Sun
Blogs
The Kats Report
Las Vegas Philharmonic says search for new music director to begin 'immediately' (1 Comment)
With Shenandoah project stalled, Wayne Newton hits back legally (7 Comments)
Where does a Playmate play when she turns 21? Vegas! (3 Comments)
Ice Ice Billy
The road to six-toed cats and Mayor Bubba
The Kats Report
David Itkin tells L.V. Philharmonic officials he's on his way out (14 Comments)
Diamond Dave sells it well as Van Halen pours out the power at MGM Grand (2 Comments)
Entering debut at Tryst, Nick Hissom is a model for a rapid rise to prominence (3 Comments)
- Locally owned and independent since 1950; Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service, best news website in the nation & DuPont Award for broadcast journalism
Just resign already, you sorry excuse for a man.
I do not see in the Nevada Constitution where it empowers an oligarchy Legislative branch.
If they want to pass laws and budgets to be enforced by the Executive branch then it should be voted by the entire Legislative branch.
So, all of these kinds of sessions and so on are considered fine and go unchallenged as long as the north has control over the south? But the moment the south begins to gain power, the north gets all uppity about it? Reno has run this state for far, far too long. I think southern Nevada should simply become its own state and let the north fend for its own self financially. Why send all of our money up there when they do nothing for us?
Why doesn't Gibbons just tell us who "the guy" is. He has questioned why the IFC doesn't just put "the guy" in his office. So who is this lard arse that Gibbons wants to give a BLOATED SALARY to?
I do not like the Gov at all because of his mentality.
Now will agree with him that the IFC may not be legal in there action.
Gibbons should "Out" them. Let the public know who's behind the blockages of progress.
if that little gibbon monkey starts a fight...
why do i get the feeling we are going to get see a whole bunch of his dirty laundry...
hmmm...
he hasn't been laying low for nothing!!!
The legislature knows the committee is unconstitutional. They now have the choice of undoing their interference or having all of their assumed authority taken away.
Hey all. Today (August 10) on "Face to Face with Jon Ralston," we are talking with Gov. Gibbons' Chief of Staff Robin Reedy about this and other topics. That's at 5:30pm, 6:30pm, and 8pm on Las Vegas ONE, Cox Cable Channel 19.
As Nevada grows isn't it about time to get the legislature meeting every year? That is why these issues keep coming up because they only meet every other year. Twice a year would probably even be better. The Governor does have to adjust to the fact that the Democrats are presently in power and we know they will flex their muscles in these type of situations. Also if the legislature knows this is unconstitutional they will just lose a fight with the Governor and he will get what he wants. A little more cooperation and less head butting. That doesn't mean I support a Governor who has been an embarrassment to our state with many of his actions. I look forward to voting for someone new who can do the job of governor properly. Of course that is my opinion and I could be wrong.