carson city:

Governor’s idle hands

Gibbons chose passive stance on bills he didn’t like: He let them become law without signing them

By David McGrath Schwartz (contact)

Friday, June 12, 2009 | 2 a.m.

Chris Morris

Reader poll

Gibbons signs bills on child porn, hospital patient 'dumping' (6-8-2009)
Bills on judges, construction workers among 58 signed (6-5-2009)
Session's savior in his own eyes (6-5-2009)
Governor vetoes bill to allow state employee negotiations (6-4-2009)
Leaving door cracked for state tax overhaul (6-2-09)
Tax hike, vetoes and economic woes define session (6-2-09)
State falls $550 million short in funding governor's budget (5-1-2009)
To be clear, Gibbons is against tax increase (5-1-2009)
In Henderson, Gibbons reiterates his anti-tax stance (5-1-2009)
Gibbons to propose more salary cuts, says he'll veto tax hikes (4-30-2009)
Lawmakers eye county dough (4-30-2009)
Team Gibbons unveils new motto (4-17-2009)

Archive of Sun politics stories

Record-Breaking Session

Carson City — Nevada governors have always viewed bills from the Legislature as either-or propositions: Either sign it or veto it.

But Gov. Jim Gibbons chose a third route in handling some legislation this session — allowing seven bills to become law without his autograph.

The governor didn’t like the bills, but didn’t dislike them enough to veto them, according to his staff. Gibbons also exercised his veto power 48 times this session, more than any governor in state history.

“The general concept was he either had concerns or thought the legislation was unnecessary, but they didn’t rise to the level of a veto,” Chief of Staff Josh Hicks said. “It was symbolic.”

If Gibbons is trying to send a message, it’s not clear what that message is. Although the vetoed bills carried written explanations as to why the governor didn’t approve of the legislation, Gibbons has not publicized his non-signing of bills. (Legislative staff for the first time created a separate section on its Web site for these bills.)

The most controversial use of this option occurred near the beginning of the session, in March. Gibbons had included a 3 percentage point increase in the room tax in his budget. But once the Legislature passed the tax increase, Gibbons declined to sign it, passively letting it become law.

Senate Minority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, was furious, saying the governor had “misled” him.

Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford issued a statement at the time, questioning Gibbons’ leadership. “We must face the future with courage and competence, not with the cowardice the governor has demonstrated today,” Horsford said.

In the final weeks of the session, Gibbons allowed six more bills to become law without his signature.

The bills:

• banned novelty lighters;

• created a forced savings account for the state;

• mandated spay and neutering requirements for cats and dogs to be posted in veterinarian offices and public parks;

• increased the penalty for stalking and expanded the definition to include texting but, at the last minute, was amended to allow smoking at tobacco conventions;

• addressed technical issues on mortgage lending;

• limited development, including casinos, around Mount Charleston.

Dan Burns, Gibbons’ spokesman, denied that the governor was declining to lead by not signing the bills.

“If you choose not to choose, you still make a choice,” Burns said. “The governor decided that they become law. He’s just not going to put his stamp of approval on it.”

The most significant legislation that Gibbons handled in this fashion was Assembly Bill 165, which passed unanimously in both the Senate and Assembly. The bill requires money to be automatically set aside every two years for the state’s rainy-day fund — a so-called forced savings account. Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, who is planning to run for governor, sponsored the bill.

“You’re just left scratching your head,” Buckley said. “There was universal support for this. You’re either going to support it or not.”

Buckley said she remembers suggesting to Gov. Kenny Guinn during his tenure that he allow a bill to become law without his signature. She wanted it to pass, but he opposed it.

“He said ‘no,’ he was either going to support it or veto it,” she said. “He wasn’t going to waffle.”

Guinn could not be reached for comment Thursday.

There’s no clear record of how often governors have not signed bills but allowed them to become law.

But former Govs. Bob List, Richard Bryan and Bob Miller all said they had no recollection of doing that.

List, a Republican, said: “He’s the governor. He has to make his own decisions. I suppose one could adopt that rationale and go that route.”

Miller, a Democrat, said he considered allowing a bill to become law without his signature but discarded the idea. “It becomes law without your signature, so it’s a matter of semantics to suggest that by not signing it is some type of silent protest,” he said.

Miller said Gibbons has a different approach to the job than his predecessors.

“I think he has a different philosophical approach to being governor,” Miller said. “It appears to be very different than any of the governors. This is just one component of his style.”

Eric Herzik, a political science professor at the University of Nevada, Reno, said governors in other states have occasionally not signed bills. But Gibbons’ use of the tactic has watered down any protest message he was trying to send.

“Jim Gibbons has taken it to a new level of usage and it loses the impact by almost randomly using both the veto and the non-signing approach,” he said.

He pointed to the bill banning novelty lighters.

“That was a silly bill, maybe not worth a veto. He could’ve sent a message that was clear,” he said. “Now, with seven of these kind of random ... it loses the effectiveness of that protest.”

Discussion: 10 comments so far…

By CactusJack

6/12/09 at 6:55 a.m.

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The cartoon of Gov. Gibbons shows a complete lack of respect for the gov. Bravo. If most Nevadans knew who he was, his poll numbers would be even lower.
By mikey42070

6/12/09 at 7:31 a.m.

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I am very disappointed in The Las Vegas Sun. We have a Governor doing everything he can to keep government out of our lives and from growing out of control, and he is made out to be the bad guy. Why are the state legislatures praised for raising our taxes and not cutting program that are a drain on the states economy. For example the F street money. The people in that neighborhood seem lazy. They can make it out of the neighborhood to cry and whine about the closure now, but while it was open, almost no members of the community showed up to protest or have their voices heard prior to construction. Notice was given and they blew it off until it was too late, (well not really to late was it Steven Horsford). Gov. Gibbons is doing a great job with the tax crazy legislature around him. The people voted on the coat tails of change and change we will get. Rights and liberties will be stripped of every Nevadan if the current legislature is allowed to make law and pass tax bills.

Cut the welfare spending and cut taxes on corporations. The people who can afford to pay these tax increase will not stay here to pay them. We already have a short fall and the numbers "agreed" on for spending is greater than the actual revenue coming in (RJ reported this week).

Good luck Gov. Gibbons and there are a lot of people who support him and want to see he is reelected to Veto more frivolous spending.
By JBond

6/12/09 at 8:04 a.m.

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The perfect cartoon and I cannot wait to "veto" him out of office!
By neiman1

6/12/09 at 9:26 a.m.

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The Governor fought to protect the taxpayers. The legislature fought to protect their campaign donors. I think the Governor had the better economic plan. I really don't care about his personality or his personal life. Amazing how righteous the left has become.
By gmag39

6/12/09 at 9:32 a.m.

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mikey; At present, 1 in 5 Nevadans support your stamp crazed, love crossed Governor. I too am praying Gov'ner Gym is the next Republican nominee for Governor. That is probably not gonna happen. Do you think he'll run again under the banner of "Education Governor"?
The cartoon is, well, it's a masterpiece. It captures the essence of the man. I hope it wins an award!
LOVED the pictures in the RJ a couple days ago of the Luv
Guv on his now infamous cruise. Every picture tells a story, don't it?
By mikey42070

6/12/09 at 11:37 a.m.

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After reading some of the comments, it is clear that the Sun readers enjoy higher taxes and less freedoms, with more freeloaders. This is a sad time.
By truthfromreason

6/12/09 at 1:40 p.m.

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Hey Mikey, I have an idea. Why don't you and the other 20 percent of the state that still supports Gibbons and his radical anarchist ideology go start an anarchy commune in Elko. You could put up a huge fence to keep all of the "leftists" and minorities out, and keep all of your money in. That way, you could have a colony where no government services exists, only corporations. You would have plenty of stores, restaurants and individuals selling widgets, without those pesky roads, sewage treatment plants, electrical grids, libraries, schools, telephone lines, etc. At least you wouldn't have to deal with those lazy government workers and welfare recipients that cause so many problems out here in the real world. Good luck!
By truthfromreason

6/12/09 at 2:05 p.m.

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"If you choose not to choose, you still make a choice," Burns said.

Isn't that a line from a Rush song? Is that where Burns got his training in politics, from Geddy Lee? Oh wait, I get it - Rush, like Rush Limbaugh. Now I understand.
By Joe6

6/12/09 at 3:44 p.m.

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Next up: a story about how other governors do exactly the same thing, yes, even the ones that are not considered dinosaurs.

No wait, the Sun won't do THAT, they are FOR higher taxes and big government!
By mywallet700

6/12/09 at 11:22 p.m.

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We finally get a governor who fights for the little guy and working families... and all the Sun wants to do it embarass him. You Sun reporters should be embarassed to call yourself journalists with all the storitorials you write. When you get some facts, call me. And PLEASE leave your opinions out of the stories.