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Thursday, March 18, 2010 | 4:31 p.m.
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Sun Coverage
CARSON CITY – Gov. Jim Gibbons and the Nevada Legislature have joined to ask the state Supreme Court to force the Clean Water Coalition in Las Vegas to turn over $62 million to help the financially troubled state government.
A petition was filed Thursday with the court, saying the coalition has no authority to ignore the law passed by the special legislative session to transfer the money.
Two suits have been filed in district court in Las Vegas -- one by the coalition and one by the M Resort -- to stop the state from taking the money. They argue the Legislature had no constitutional right to take the money that is to be used to build a pipeline into Lake Mead.
This petition for a writ of mandamus in the Supreme Court will get the case decided more quickly than the suits in Clark County District Court, a spokesman for the Legislature says.
The petition says the governor, Legislature, Treasurer Kate Marshall and Controller Kim Wallin believe the state “deserves immediate resolution of this matter at the highest levels.” It said months, even years would be required if the suits in Clark County went through their normal legal process.
“The state needs prompt resolution to be able to dependably provide essential services and to plan for the future,” says the petition written by Senior Principal Deputy Legislative Counsel Kevin C. Powers and Solicitor General C. Wayne Howle of the state Attorney General’s office.
The petition says the law approved by the Legislature and signed by Gibbons advances statewide issues “which transcend purely local interests…”
The action says there is no violation of federal or state constitutional rights “because customers who pay money for reasonable utility charges do not have any constitutionally protected rights in that money once it is paid to the local government utility.”
The state faced an $887 million shortfall in its budget during the current biennium. Gibbons called the Legislature into special session and one of the fixes was to order the water coalition to transfer the money.
The Legislature said it took “unspent surplus funds from various sources” and the law was clear that the water authority must shift the $62 million to the state treasury.
The water coalition was created by the state and includes the Clark County Water Reclamation District and the cities of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas.
The suit says “political subdivisions cannot challenge state legislation which requires the transfer of property from the political subdivision on these constitutional grounds.”
The water coalition now will submit an answer to the Supreme Court.
Give it back to the people who paid it. The state will only dump it into their huge rathole.
Why isn't anyone looking into the $25 million the state took from the Clark County School District Bond Fund? That money was supposed to be used to build schools. $25 million will build an elementary school with money left over.
How can they take that money that the voters approved to go to education? The issue is no different than the Clean Water money grab the state did.
I don't get it.
What IS IT with Nevada, always robbing Peter to pay Paul?
All this "shell game with money" stuff cannot be LEGAL, can it???
How much money has Clark County lost to "The State" in terms
of raided budget dollars?
Gym Gibbons seems to have his own little rule book for being
Gov'ner... it's a very short tome, one page in length, and it simply reads;
"I will do whatever I want. Try to stop me! I am the Great & Powerful OZ...er Governor! That gives me SPECIAL POWERS!"
(at least that's what Sig told me!)
According to the informal "Dillon's Rule," when the state and a local government conflict, the state will nearly always prevail. This is because local governments have no independent constitutional standing--they are merely creations of the state. It would be like your arm challenging you, arguing that they would like to go their own way. It's unlikely the NV Supreme
Court will validate the positions taken by the Clean Water Coalition and the M Resort.
The Clean Water Coalition has the sound of something that should benefit Las Vegas residents. This is not the case. It is a way of making money for about five or six people and that is it. Clean water is a good goal to have. The good news is there are already many dedicated people at work on the water systems of Nevada, and the rest of our nation from the USGS, and EPA as well as DRI. These agencies have first rate scientists and research capabilities and we get our tax moneys worth from them. The state or the taxpayers deserve this money not the scammers behind this cleverly named money maker. Federal regulation of local water politics is very necessary due to the ability of greed to destroy the integrity of local agencies.
It's time for "Home Rule"...!
The State has sovereign authority over this CWC scam.
Let the State take that $62 million; that other $100 million that CWC extorted; and, dismantle it.
Let the individual County Commissioners who created their CWC interprise and its participants to INDIVIDUALLY pay the water users their restitution, under the antitrust laws.
Correction: interprise should have been spelled enterprise.