MINUTES OF MEETING

      ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS

 

      Sixty-seventh Session

      April 23, 1993

 

 

 

The Assembly Committee on Government Affairs was called to order by Chairman Val Z. Garner at 8:18 a.m. Friday, April 23, 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

      Mrs. Marcia de Braga

      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:

 

      Mr. James W. McGaughey

 

GUEST LEGISLATORS PRESENT:

 

      None

 

STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT:

 

      Dana Bennett, Sr. Research Analyst

 

OTHERS PRESENT:

 

      Mr. John Pappageorge, Clark County; Mr. Marvin Leavitt, City of Las Vegas; Ms. Carole Ann Vilardo, Nevada Taxpayers Association; Mr. Ashley Hall, Las Vegas Clark County Library District; Ms. Diana Wilson, Chair of Las Vegas Clark County Library District Board; Mr. Duncan R. McCoy, Boulder City Library; Ms. Carolyn Rawles-Heiser, Nevada Library Association; Mr. Clark Lee, Nevada Library Association; Mr. John Sherman, Washoe County;

 

 

ASSEMBLY BILL 468 - Makes various changes relating to powers and composition of board of trustees of consolidated library district.

 

Assemblyman Wendell Williams, District No. 6, testified he was sponsoring AB 468 which was requested by Clark County.  Mr. Williams indicated there was some language in the bill which caused some concern for library districts such as Washoe County, Henderson, Boulder City and others, and he had drafted amendments to address those concerns. 

 

Mr. Williams noted AB 468 was designed to provide checks and balances and oversight for the Las Vegas Clark County Library District (LVCCLD), which operated fairly independently.  He stated the library district was governed by a board of trustees comprised of ten members appointed by the Las Vegas City Council and five members appointed by the Clark County Commission.  Mr. Williams stressed while the City Council and County Commission appointed the board of trustees they had absolutely no further involvement.  The LVCCLD operated with taxpayer dollars but there was no governmental body elected to approve budgets or expenditures or to set policy for them.

 

Mrs. Segerblom asked if having a county commissioner and a city councilman on the board would solve the problem.

 

Mr. Williams replied current language in the bill allowed them to appoint themselves to the board.  He said the County Commissioners in particular felt they did not have the time to serve on another board, but they still needed some type of oversight to approve the spending and budgets.

 

Mrs. Segerblom questioned if the last bond issue had specified exactly how the money would be spent or was it a decision of the board.

 

Mr. Williams replied the LVCCLD was trying to build a museum with the money from the bond, even though the City Attorney and District Attorney both had yielded opinions a museum should not be built with the money.  He indicated the LVCCLD was still trying to move forward to build the museum with the bond money.

 

Mrs. Segerblom pointed out there was a lot of support for a museum.

 

Mr. Williams answered if there was support for a museum, then the LVCCLD should go out and specifically ask for money to build a museum.

 

Mr. Williams reviewed the proposed amendments for AB 468 (Exhibit C).

 

Discussion among committee members ensued.

 

Mr. John Pappageorge, Clark County, testified in favor of AB 468 (Exhibit D).  Mr. Pappageorge indicated agreement with the amendments set forth by Mr. Williams

 

Mr. Marvin Leavitt, City of Las Vegas, testified in favor of AB 468 with the proposed amendments.

 

Ms. Carole Ann Vilardo, Nevada Taxpayers Association, testified in full support of AB 468 with the proposed amendments.

 

Mr. Ashley Hall, Las Vegas Clark County Library District, indicated he had reviewed and agreed with the proposed amendments by Mr. Williams.  He stated there were two areas of concern, one in Section 1, subsection 4, the word "may," and the other in the portion of the amendment relative to formal budget approval.  Mr. Hall did not have a problem with going before the Board of County Commissioners or City Council for budget reviews, budget analysis or budget recommendations, but there was a concern on the board of trustees' part regarding the word "approval."  He stated Ms. Diana Wilson would give further clarification of the concerns.

 

Ms. Diana Wilson, Chair of Las Vegas Clark County Library District Board, responded to Mrs. Segerblom's question regarding the museum, stating the Board had stopped progress on the museum while waiting for further opinions which would be considered at a later date. 

 

Ms. Wilson felt the word "may" in Section 1, subsection 4 should read "shall," indicating they were not library professionals and did not see how a library district the size of Las Vegas Clark County could run without an executive director.

 

Ms. Wilson addressed the second concern regarding the word "approval" in the amendment (Exhibit E).

 

Discussion ensued among committee members, Ms. Wilson and Mr. Hall.

 

Mr. Duncan R. McCoy, Boulder City Library, indicated his opposition to AB 468 was answered by Mr. William's proposed amendments and offered his written testimony for the record (Exhibit F).

 

Ms. Carolyn Rawles-Heiser, Nevada Library Association, testified she had concerns with AB 468 as originally drafted and there were some items regarding the amendments she wanted to address (Exhibit G).

 

Mr. Clark Lee, Nevada Library Association, gave testimony in opposition to AB 468 (Exhibit H).

 

There being no further testimony, Chairman Garner closed the hearing on AB 468 until such time as the proposed amendments had been included in the bill.

 

Chairman Garner called a short recess at 9:04 a.m.  Committee was reconvened at 9:15 a.m. for a work session.

 

ASSEMBLY BILL 9 - Revises provisions governing local governmental purchasing of commonly used items and perishable commodities.

 

Mrs. Dana Bennett, Senior Research Analyst, indicated AB 9 had been heard on March 22 and assigned to a subcommittee consisting of Mr. Neighbors.

 

Mr. Neighbors said there was quite a bit of concern on AB 9, and discussions had been held with Catherine Green, Washoe County School District; John Ballantine, Washoe County Purchasing Contract Administrator; both the League of Cities and Nevada Association of Counties; and Noel Manoukian who represented Incline Village General Improvement District.  Mr. Neighbors reviewed the bill and previous testimony.  He felt AB 9 placed an undue burden on small entities such as general improvement districts, small cities and counties.  He felt the problem of those opposed to the bill was on page 1, lines 14-18 of the bill, and said AB 9 did not address what would happen if a purchase was made between the fiscal years.  Mr. Neighbors recommended postponement on the bill.

 

Discussion was held among committee members.

 

Chairman Garner pointed out there was a suggestion to put population clauses in which would take care of the problems of the smaller counties, and felt no action should be taken until further research.

 

Mr. John Sherman, Washoe County, testified the threshold issue was the definition of "aggregate amount" and felt the language which would define it was "accruing in a fiscal year" as opposed to some other period. 

 

ASSEMBLY BILL 19 -      Makes various changes regarding public employees.

 

Mr. Neighbors indicated there had been quite a few subcommittee meetings regarding AB 19 and felt the proposed amendment would satisfy all the concerns raised (Exhibit I).  Mr. Neighbors reviewed the amendment.

 

Chairman Garner stressed AB 19 was cost neutral and addressed a very serious problem with people who only worked in the system for five years being able to have benefits paid at higher rates than those who had worked in the system for a longer time.  He entertained a motion to amend and do pass.

 

      ASSEMBLYMAN NEIGHBORS MADE A MOTION TO AMEND AND DO PASS AB 19.

 

      ASSEMBLYMAN WILLIAMS SECONDED THE MOTION.

 

      THE MOTION CARRIED.  Assemblymen McGaughey and Bennett were not present.

 

Chairman Garner requested Mr. Neighbors handle AB 19 on the floor.

 

ASSEMBLY BILL 22 - Allows certain state employees to choose form of compensation for overtime and to choose work schedule based on seniority.

 

Mrs. Dana Bennett stated AB 22 was first heard February 10 and essentially allowed state employees to choose the form of compensation for overtime worked and allowed state employees to choose work schedules based on seniority.  She indicated the committee was quite clear they did not choose to do the latter and wanted the bill to deal only with choosing the form of compensation and the amendment dealt with those changes (Exhibit J).

 

      ASSEMBLYMAN BACHE MOVED TO AMEND AND DO PASS AB 22.

 

      ASSEMBLYMAN FREEMAN SECONDED THE MOTION.

 

      THE MOTION CARRIED.  Assemblymen McGaughey and Bennett were not present.

 

Chairman Garner requested Mr. Bache handle AB 22 on the floor.

 

ASSEMBLY BILL 152 - Allows counties and cities to finance projects on behalf of corporations for public benefit and projects for affordable housing through issuance of certain revenue bonds.

 

Mr. Williams indicated Assemblyman Guinchigliani had given him some amendments to AB 152 which he needed to discuss with other members of the committee.

 

ASSEMBLY BILL 153 - Directs coordination of governmental collection of money and information from business.

 

Mrs. Segerblom, chair of the subcommittee on AB 153, indicated the bill was not quite ready for committee action.

 

ASSEMBLY BILL 172, 177, 178, 179 AND 180 - Subdivision of land.

 

Chairman Garner indicated he needed to speak with Mr. McGaughey regarding the referenced bills so would defer action until a later date.

 

ASSEMBLY BILL 194 - Reduces population of counties in which state fire marshal has primary jurisdiction.

 

Mr. Hettrick reviewed the proposed amendment to AB 194 (Exhibit K).

 

      ASSEMBLYMAN ERNAUT MOVED TO AMEND AND DO PASS AB 194.

 

      ASSEMBLYMAN NEIGHBORS SECONDED THE MOTION.

 

      THE MOTION CARRIED.  Assemblymen McGaughey and Bennett were not present.

 

Chairman Garner requested Mr. Hettrick handle AB 194 on the floor.

 

ASSEMBLY BILL 247 - Requires welfare division of department of human resources to comply with Nevada Administrative Procedure Act.

 

Mr. Ernaut reported the subcommittee meeting on AB 314 was scheduled for the following Tuesday.

 

ASSEMBLY BILL 314 - Makes various changes to application process for permit for appropriation of public waters and to fees assessed by state engineer.

 

Chairman Garner indicated Mr. Bennett was still working on AB 314 and progress was being made.

 

ASSEMBLY BILL 339 - Revises provisions relating to specialized or local ethics committees.

 

Mrs. Dana Bennett stated AB 339 was heard on March 30 and had been requested by Clark County.  She indicated an amendment had been proposed (Exhibit L) which was supported by Clark County. 

Chairman Garner entertained a motion to amend and do pass AB 339.

 

      ASSEMBLYMAN SEGERBLOM MADE A MOTION TO AMEND AND DO PASS AB 339.

 

      ASSEMBLYMAN de BRAGA SECONDED THE MOTION.

 

      MOTION CARRIED.  Assemblymen McGaughey and Bennett were not present.

 

Chairman Garner requested Mrs. Segerblom handle AB 339 on the floor.

 

ASSEMBLY BILL 352 - Authorizes unincorporated towns to impose impact fees.

 

Chairman Garner indicated Mr. McGaughey was working on AB 352.

 

ASSEMBLY BILL 355 - Amends provisions governing testing of state employees for use of alcohol or controlled substances.

 

Chairman Garner indicated AB 355 had been requested by Department of Personnel.  He entertained a motion to do pass.

 

      ASSEMBLYMAN HETTRICK MOVED TO DO PASS A.B. 355.

 

      ASSEMBLYMAN NEIGHBORS SECONDED THE MOTION.

 

      MOTION CARRIED.  Assemblymen McGaughey and Bennett were not present.

 

Chairman Garner requested Mrs. de Braga handle AB 355 on the floor.

 

ASSEMBLY BILL 357 - Directs librarian to establish pilot project to provide grants to certain public libraries for purchase of books and library materials.

 

Mrs. Augustine indicated an amendment had been proposed at the subcommittee meeting (Exhibit M) and stated everyone was satisfied with AB 357 with the amendment.

 

      ASSEMBLYMAN ERNAUT MOVED TO AMEND AND DO PASS A.B. 357.

 

      ASSEMBLYMAN AUGUSTINE SECONDED THE MOTION.

 

      THE MOTION CARRIED.  Assemblymen McGaughey and Bennett were not present.

 

Chairman Garner indicated the bill would go to Ways and Means Committee.

 

ASSEMBLY BILL 359 - Makes various changes regarding administration of program of deferred compensation for public employees.

 

Mr. Bache introduced a proposed amendment to AB 359 and a letter from Mr. Will Keating (Exhibit N).

 

      ASSEMBLYMAN BACHE MOVED TO AMEND AND DO PASS A.B. 359.

 

      ASSEMBLYMAN HETTRICK SECONDED THE MOTION.

 

      THE MOTION CARRIED.  Assemblymen McGaughey and Bennett were not present.

 

Chairman Garner requested Mr. Bache handle AB 359 on the floor.

 

ASSEMBLY BILL 364 - 368 - Public Records Bills.

 

Chairman Garner indicated these bills were being handled in subcommittee and no action would be taken until they came out of subcommittee.

 

Chairman Garner announced the subcommittee would be expanded to include Mrs. Segerblom and Mrs. de Braga.

 

ASSEMBLY BILL 415 - Raises threshold for requiring advertisement of competitive bids for purchases by local government.

 

Mrs. Dana Bennett indicated AB 415 had been heard on April 15 and was requested by Clark County which also proposed an amendment to the bill (Exhibit O).  Mrs. Bennett said no opposition had been expressed to the bill or amendment at the hearing.

 

Mrs. Lambert stated several people who arrived late at the meeting had concerns they wished to bring before committee.

 

Chairman Garner suggested they might have to address their concerns before the Senate. 

 

Mr. Hettrick said he did not have a problem with the bill except with the CPI adjustment, which was being raised 150 percent.

 

Chairman Garner concluded no action would be taken on AB 415 until the concerns had been addressed.

 

ASSEMBLY BILL 441 - Authorizes creation of municipal library district in North Las Vegas.

 

Chairman Garner presented a proposed amendment to AB 441 (Exhibit Q). 

 

Mrs. Dana Bennett indicated AB 441 was heard on April 14 and some concerns had been expressed regarding the SSCRT funds which the amendment addressed.

 

      ASSEMBLYMAN ERNAUT MOVED TO AMEND AND DO PASS A.B. 441.

 

      ASSEMBLYMAN BACHE SECONDED THE MOTION.

 

      THE MOTION CARRIED.  Assemblymen McGaughey and Bennett were not present.

 

Chairman Garner requested Mr. Williams handle AB 441 on the floor.

 

SENATE BILL 49 - Revises procedure for payment of claim from state treasury made pursuant to legislative appropriation or authorization.

 

Mr. Neighbors indicated he had been meeting with the Treasurer, Controller and Judy Matteucci and their staffs and there were still some concerns to be addressed on SB 49.

 

SENATE BILL 54 - Requires public body to retain permanently minutes of its public meetings.

 

Mrs. Dana Bennett stated SB 54 had been heard on March 19 and an amendment was proposed by the Division of Archives and Records (Exhibit Q).

 

Chairman Garner remarked there had been no opposition to the amendment.

 

      ASSEMBLYMAN BACHE MOVED TO AMEND AND DO PASS S.B. 54.

 

      ASSEMBLYMAN NEIGHBORS SECONDED THE MOTION.

 

      THE MOTION CARRIED.  Assemblymen McGaughey and Bennett were not present.

 

Chairman Garner indicated he would handle SB 54 on the floor.

 

Chairman Garner requested committee introduction of the following bill draft request:

 

BILL DRAFT REQUEST 58-1461 - Allows federal law enforcement agencies to obtain name and address of person in records of public utility.

 

      ASSEMBLYMAN ERNAUT MOVED FOR COMMITTEE INTRODUCTION OF B.D.R. 58-1461.

 

      ASSEMBLYMAN BACHE SECONDED THE MOTION.

 

      THE MOTION CARRIED.  Assemblymen McGaughey and Bennett were not present.  Assemblyman Lambert abstained as her husband worked for a public utility.

 

There being no further business to come before committee, the meeting was adjourned at 9:55 a.m.

 

      RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:

 

 

                             

      LINDA FEATHERINGILL

      Committee Secretary

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Assembly Committee on Government Affairs

April 23, 1993

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