Las Vegas Sun

March 19, 2024

As Gibbons gains power, lawmakers see danger

Democrats worry he will abuse broad authority to spend taxpayer money

Click to enlarge photo

Gov. Jim Gibbons

The governor’s office gained authority Monday to swiftly and unilaterally spend federal stimulus money without legislative approval, causing some lawmakers to worry that Gov. Jim Gibbons and his successors can now wield unchecked power over taxpayer dollars.

According to an attorney general opinion released Monday, Gibbons can legally adjust budgets and accept federal money if he first declares an immediate need for action “for the protection of life or property.”

The short-term result: Gibbons will largely have carte blanche over $2.2 billion in federal stimulus spending.

Less clear is how far Gibbons, or his successors, will take this authority, which longtime observers of state government say hasn’t been invoked except during natural disasters.

Gibbons had argued future grants under the federal American Recovery and Relief Act — which has strict reporting requirements and time lines — would be imperiled if he couldn’t move quickly. His office said Monday that he has no plans to exercise the authority beyond the stimulus.

But some lawmakers said Gibbons could use the attorney general’s opinion to take money the Legislature budgeted for one purpose — say, education — and move it to another — such as corrections — as long as he first declares that immediate action is required for the protection of life or property.

The need for legislative oversight was illustrated by Gibbons’ request for additional staff in the governor’s Energy Office, according to Assemblywoman Debbie Smith, D-Sparks.

The office originally requested 10 positions, at a cost of $3.47 million, to oversee $34.7 million in energy money in the stimulus. After questioning by lawmakers this month, the office requested just three new positions.

Following Gibbons’ victory Monday, Robin Reedy, the governor’s chief of staff, said the office now plans to fill all 10 of those positions, and it won’t be asking the Interim Finance Committee, a body of the legislature that meets between sessions, for approval.

Nevada’s executive branch already enjoys broad authority, a historic imperative given that the state’s part-time Legislature meets only every two years for 120 days.

Spurred by Gibbons’ unpopularity, legislators while in session sought to take more control over state government. Among the changes they debated was requiring the governor to gain legislative approval for his appointees. Those efforts failed.

But lawmakers continued their attempt to expand their authority after the session ended June 1, by trying to gain control over the stimulus. This month the Interim Finance Committee rejected the governor’s request for a stimulus coordinator position and a plan to spend $10.5 million weatherizing homes.

With Gibbons threatening to challenge the constitutionality of the Interim Finance Committee, the panel of lawmakers approved the requests Monday.

“The Legislature was trying to expand the breadth of what they do,” Reedy said. “This is an ever-so-slight correction.”

Gibbons’ office boycotted Monday’s meeting and most Republican lawmakers abstained from voting because they agreed with Gibbons, that a legislative vote wasn’t necessary.

Reedy said the administration plans to bring almost all stimulus spending to the Interim Finance Committee as informational items, over which committee members would have no say. The vast majority of the stimulus will be solely controlled by the governor, she said.

She denied Gibbons’ stance amounted to a power grab.

Controller Kim Wallin, who initially wanted lawmakers’ approval before entering stimulus spending in the state’s accounting system, expressed concern over the governor’s new authority.

“With the governor’s ability to declare there’s an emergency, and a danger to life and property, where are the checks and balances?” asked Wallin, a Democrat. “Where does declaring an emergency end?”

Click to enlarge photo

Nevada Sen. Randolph Townsend, R-Reno, speaks on the floor in the Senate chambers at the Legislature in Carson City.

Sen. Randolph Townsend, R-Reno, pointed out that the governor would have to bring emergency budget changes to the Legislature as informational items.

“At that point, we have no authority over it,” he conceded. But he blamed the battle between Democrats and the Republican governor on partisanship.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve had one party in the executive branch and one in the legislative branch,” he said.

Senate Minority Leader Bill Raggio abstained on the votes to approve the stimulus coordinator and weatherization plan, which he called unnecessary. But he wouldn’t commit to doing that in the future. He said he’d take items on a case-by-case basis.

“I’ll have to look at the request,” Raggio said.

Assembly Majority Leader John Oceguera, D-Las Vegas, said, “The constitution also provides for the Legislature to oversee the appropriation of money.”

The two items passed with only Democrats voting in favor.

Assemblywoman Smith said the provision of state law that allows the governor to expend money if life or property are at risk is likely to be examined by the Legislature when it next meets in 2011. She said she still believes the Legislature has authority over the money.

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy