MINUTES OF MEETING
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS
Sixty-seventh Session
April 21, 1993
The Assembly Committee on Government Affairs was called to order by Chairman Val Z. Garner at 8:23 a.m. Wednesday, April 21, 1993, in Room 330 of the Legislative Building, Carson City, Nevada. Exhibit A is the Meeting Agenda. Exhibit B is the Attendance Roster.
COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT:
Mr. Val Z. Garner, Chairman
Mr. Rick C. Bennett, Vice Chairman
Mrs. Kathy M. Augustine
Mr. Douglas A. Bache
Mr. Pete Ernaut
Mrs. Vivian L. Freeman
Mr. Lynn Hettrick
Mrs. Erin Kenny
Mrs. Joan A. Lambert
Mr. Roy Neighbors
Mrs. Gene W. Segerblom
Mr. Wendell P. Williams
COMMITTEE MEMBERS ABSENT:
Mrs. Marcia de Braga, Excused
Mr. James W. McGaughey, Excused
GUEST LEGISLATORS PRESENT:
Senator Ernie Adler, Capital Senatorial District
Assemblyman Dean Heller, District No. 40
STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT:
Dana Bennett, Sr. Research Analyst
OTHERS PRESENT:
Ms. Mary Sanada, Chief Accountant for State Controller; Ms. Pam Wilcox, State Lands; Mr. Jay Meierdierck, Vice-Chairman of Carson City Parks and Recreation Commission; Mr. Guy Rocha, State Archives and Records Administrator; Mr. Robert H. van Straten, State Records Manager; Mr. Tom Grady, Nevada League of Cities; Ms. Helaine Jesse, Associate Liaison for Chapter 388, Vietnam Veterans of America; Mr. Ken Braker, Chapter 17, Vietnam Veterans of America; Mr. Bruce Bertram, Past President of Chapter 388; Mr. Steven Long, State Council, POW/MIA Committee Chair;
SENATE BILL 109 - Makes various changes relating to certain accounts maintained for use by office of secretary of state.
Ms. Mary Sanada, Chief Accountant for State Controller, testified SB 109 was a simple, non-controversial bill to clean up statutory language in order to help streamline the operations of the Controller's Office. She reviewed the changes in the bill, indicating the first request was to change the language in NRS 225.160 Section 1 from requiring the Secretary of State to use the outside bank account to make all refunds, to make it permissive to use the revolving account for immediate refunds if necessary. Ms. Sanada continued, stating Section 2 asked that Section 3 of NRS 225.165 be eliminated as it required the money in the trust account be invested the same as other funds in the state, but since the funds in the trust account were deposited with the State Treasurer, it would happen anyway. She asserted the language was redundant and should be removed, and the bill had been discussed with the Secretary of State's office which had no objections to it.
Chairman Garner asked if there had been opposition expressed on the Senate side. Ms. Sanada indicated they had been in complete agreement.
There being no further testimony, Chairman Garner closed the hearing on SB 109.
SENATE BILL 147 - Requires state land registrar to convey certain land adjoining Governor's Field to Carson City.
Ms. Pam Wilcox, State Lands, indicated she was surprised there was no one to present the bill to committee as it had not originated in her office but in Carson City. She stated she would be happy to present the bill as had been given on the Senate side, and then give her position.
Chairman Garner said he was somewhat concerned as it was a Jacobsen-Adler bill which would transfer state lands to the City of Carson.
Ms. Wilcox commented she supported SB 147 with an amendment (Exhibit C), which was also agreeable to the other parties involved.
Chairman Garner asked if she had testified on the Senate side. Ms. Wilcox answered she had.
Chairman Garner queried if the amendments had been presented at that time.
Ms. Wilcox indicated there were actually two amendments presented on the Senate side, one was a technical amendment which corrected the legal description in the bill, and the second was the amendment she was presenting today. She stated agreement had been reached on all of them, but only the amendment which corrected the legal description was added to the bill. Ms. Wilcox said the bill and the addition of this amendment had been discussed and agreed upon, and she had hoped someone would have been at the meeting to testify to that fact.
Ms. Wilcox testified the indicated piece of land which belonged to the state was to be added to Governor's Field, a ball park field on Roop Street in Carson City. She said the Carson City Little League had requested permission to have the land for a T-Ball field for the smaller children. Ms. Wilcox stressed state land was restricted by law to be given away, they were only allowed to sell it for fair market value, and there had been a long history of requests to obtain state land for free, which required an act of the legislature. She stated the state did not need the land in question at the present time, but as it was contiguous to the Capital Complex there were concerns the land might be needed for some state purpose in the future. Ms. Wilcox felt the bill was a good idea with the amendment which would allow the state to take the land back with two years' notice, at which time the city could remove anything from the land before returning it to the state. She indicated the city did not plan on putting buildings on the land, it was only going to be used as a ball field.
Mr. Jay Meierdierck, Vice-Chairman of Carson City Parks and Recreation Commission, indicated he was available to answer any questions of the committee.
Mrs. Augustine questioned where the amendment would be placed in the bill.
Ms. Wilcox answered she assumed the bill drafter would place the amendment in the appropriate place, and felt it should be at the end of Section 2.
Mrs. Lambert asked Mr. Meierdierck if Carson City supported the amendment.
Mr. Meierdierck answered yes, this had come before the Parks and Recreation Commission and the Carson City Board of Supervisors, both of which had endorsed it.
There being no further testimony, Chairman Garner closed the hearing on SB 147.
SENATE BILL 171 - Requires state librarian to adopt regulations to carry out program to establish and approve minimum period of retention for records of local governments.
Mr. Guy Rocha, State Archives and Records Administrator, testified the responsibility the Division of Archives and Records had for preparing minimum retention schedules for local governments was the result of a legislative study authorized by SCR 30 in 1975 in which a Records Retention Procedures for Local Governments had been initiated. He stated it had been recommended the State Archives should be staffed and funded to provide regular technical assistance to local governments. Mr. Rocha said the staff and funding was not forthcoming at that time, in 1981 they received a federal grant to produce the minimum records retention schedules, and in 1985 they finally were able to get one individual on staff to produce the schedules. Mr. Rocha pointed out this bill would allow them to streamline the procedures and do the job more efficiently, which was particularly important as they were taking substantial staff cuts.
Mr. Robert H. van Straten, State Records Manager, testified in favor of SB 171 (Exhibit D).
Mr. Neighbors asked if there was a fiscal impact involved in SB 171.
Mr. Rocha suggested the fiscal impact would be a reduction of cost in terms of time consumed to produce the minimum retention schedules.
Mr. Tom Grady, Nevada League of Cities, stated the League had testified in support of SB 171 in the Senate and wished to indicate their continued support.
There being no further testimony, Chairman Garner closed the hearing on SB 171.
SENATE BILL 173 - Make various changes relating to state records.
Mr. Guy Rocha, State Archives and Records Administrator, testified SB 173 would create a committee to review records retentions schedules produced at a state level.
Mr. Robert H. van Straten, State Records Manager, testified SB 173 would relieve the State Board of Examiners from the obligation of reviewing the schedules, and would provide a lesser time frame in the approval of records retention schedules. He gave a brief review of the changes involved in SB 173 (Exhibit E).
Mr. Bennett asked Mr. van Straten to address the last section of the bill regarding the definition for an official state record as opposed to the definitions dealt with in the other public records bills.
Mr. van Straten replied NRS 239.080 currently stated records retentions schedules be provided for "official" state records, in that law there was no definition listed so it was being added to SB 173. Mr. van Straten indicated the definition was the short version of Title 44, United States Code Section 3301.
Further discussion ensued.
Mr. Jay Meierdierck stated he was testifying as a lay person and his concern was with the terminology "ex officio" indicating he did not fully understand the term. He said he had been involved in government and citizen committees all his life and he thought an "ex officio" member was one who did not vote on a board.
Chairman Garner questioned if Mr. Meierdierck had testified in the Senate hearing. Mr. Meierdierck indicated he had not.
Mr. Rocha responded to Mr. Meierdierck's concerns stating he had worked closely with Legislative Counsel Bureau Legal Division and they had chosen the language in the bill. He indicated LCB Legal had explained the definition was "by virtue of office."
Chairman Garner asked Mr. Meierdierck to talk to Mr. Malkiewich about his concerns regarding the terminology and return to committee with his findings.
There being no further testimony, Chairman Garner closed the hearing on SB 173.
ASSEMBLY CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 36 - Urges persons in charge of state buildings to display flag of National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia.
Assemblyman Dean Heller, District No. 40, testified as a proponent of ACR 36. He declared it was both a privilege and an honor to sponsor a resolution such as ACR 36. Mr. Heller distributed a handout which showed what the flag in question would look like (Exhibit F) and introduced Ms. Helaine Jesse.
Ms. Helaine Jesse, Associate Liaison for Chapter 388, Vietnam Veterans of America, testified in favor of ACR 36 (Exhibit G) and urged the committee passage of the bill.
Ms. Jesse indicated several members of the audience had attended the hearing in support of ACR 36. She introduced Mr. Ben Duncan, State Council Delegate for Chapter 388; Mr. Steven Long, State Council, POW/MIA Committee Chair; Mr. Bruce Bertram, Past President of Chapter 388; Mr. Roger Crossman, Treasurer of Chapter 388; Mr. Ken Braker, Treasurer of State Council; Mr. Walt Moses, founding member of Chapter 388; Mr. Randy Day, Commissioner of Veteran Affairs for Chapter 388; and Mr. Bruce McKuen, President of Chapter 388.
Mr. Ken Braker, Treasurer of Nevada State Council, indicated he was representing Chapter 17 of the Vietnam Veterans of America and the City of Las Vegas Council, and testified Mr. Bob Nolen, Councilman of the City of Las Vegas had asked he read a proclamation from the City of Las Vegas Council (Exhibit H).
Mr. Braker added he was a 20-year veteran of the armed forces and considered those people still missing as brothers-in-arms and stressed the flags would be purchased by the Council and no money would be asked for them.
Mrs. Lambert indicated she supported the resolution but questioned how many state buildings actually had flag poles and if the resolution should be worded to indicate the POW/MIA flag should fly wherever the American flag was.
Mr. Braker indicated it would be fine and reiterated the Council was prepared to purchase all of the necessary flags.
Chairman Garner remarked the question was pertinent and he would not expect those buildings which did not have a flag to install a pole for the flag.
Mr. Hettrick stressed he fully supported the intent of ACR 36, but had a concern with reconciling who would be responsible for determining when all missing persons had been accounted for and felt if even one person objected, the flags could fly forever.
Ms. Jesse and Mr. Braker discussed the problem with Mr. Hettrick at some length.
Mr. Hettrick also raised the question of veterans of other wars (specifically World War II and Korea) coming forward asking for their flags to be flown.
Ms. Jesse answered her group were there on behalf of all POW's missing since 1940, which would include WW II and the Korean War. She stated they had the support of the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Chairman Garner commented there would be a need to press for return of POWs so long as America was engaged in military activities, and felt the wording of the resolution could be changed to include the prospect that the flag would be flown so long as America was engaged in warlike activities.
Mr. Heller addressed Mrs. Lambert's question regarding how many flagpoles there were on state buildings in Nevada. He indicated he had asked John Crossley who in turn went to General Services with the question. General Services could not provide an answer as to how many flagpoles there actually were, but the closest figure arrived at was approximately 100 flagpoles across the state.
Mr. Heller stated he agreed with Chairman Garner's suggestion for an amendment to include POW/MIAs of the Korean war and World War II as well as Vietnam.
Mr. Bruce Bertram, Past President of Chapter 388, testified in favor of ACR 36. He referenced the question posed by Mr. Hettrick regarding the flag flying until a full accounting was achieved, and suggested if at some future date an agreement was reached that a full accounting had been attained, a resolution could be adopted to remove the flag. Mr. Bertram did not think that point would ever be reached.
Chairman Garner stressed ACR 36 would most likely be passed, there just needed to be some minor changes made before passage.
Mr. Steven Long, State Council, POW/MIA Committee Chair, testified he had a special interest in ACR 36 as he had been one of almost 600 men who became missing in action in Laos and he was one of only seven who had returned home at the end of the war.
Mr. Long said, "The resolution you have before you today is going to put another flag up there. A flag that is going to symbolize that same compassion that the State of Nevada can show for all of the families, the friends, and the relatives of the men that are still missing; the concern, the compassion, and the love for those that are still unaccounted for."
Chairman Garner asked Mr. Hettrick to work with Mr. Heller to put appropriate language in ACR 36 which would expand the definition of "prisoners of war" and "missing in action" and return it to committee for action.
There being no further testimony, Chairman Garner closed the hearing on ACR 36.
Senator Ernie Adler gave testimony on SB 147, stating the amendment had been worked out on the Senate side but had not been included at the time of passage. He indicated it was agreed the amendment would be placed in the bill on the Assembly side.
Chairman Garner indicated he had received an interpretation from Kim Morgan, Assembly Bill Drafting Advisor, on the terminology of "ex officio" which had been questioned in SB 173, stating, "ex officio does not mean not voting. It means by right of the office they hold. Example: whoever is serving as Secretary of the State will be a member."
Chairman Garner entertained motions on the following:
ASSEMBLYMAN ERNAUT MOVED TO DO PASS S.B. 109.
ASSEMBLYMAN AUGUSTINE SECONDED THE MOTION.
THE MOTION CARRIED. Assemblymen de Braga and McGaughey were absent for the vote.
Chairman Garner requested Mrs. Segerblom handle SB 109 on the floor.
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ASSEMBLYMAN WILLIAMS MOVED TO AMEND AND DO PASS S.B. 147.
ASSEMBLYMAN SEGERBLOM SECONDED THE MOTION.
THE MOTION CARRIED. Assemblymen de Braga and McGaughey were absent for the vote.
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ASSEMBLYMAN WILLIAMS MOVED TO DO PASS S.B. 171.
ASSEMBLYMAN AUGUSTINE SECONDED THE MOTION.
THE MOTION CARRIED. Assemblymen de Braga and McGaughey were absent for the vote.
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ASSEMBLYMAN BENNETT MOVED TO DO PASS S.B. 173.
ASSEMBLYMAN LAMBERT SECONDED THE MOTION.
THE MOTION CARRIED. Assemblymen de Braga and McGaughey were absent for the vote.
Chairman Garner indicated he would not drop SB 173 until Mr. Bennett had an opportunity to look at the public records bills.
There being no further business to come before committee, the meeting was adjourned at 9:32 a.m.
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:
LINDA FEATHERINGILL
Committee Secretary
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Assembly Committee on Government Affairs
April 21, 1993
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