MINUTES OF THE

      ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS

 

      Sixty-seventh Session

      April 2, 1993

 

 

The Assembly Committee on Ways and Means was called to order by Chairman Morse Arberry, Jr., at 9:29 a.m., on Friday, April 2, 1993, in Room 352 of the Legislative Building, Carson City, Nevada.  Exhibit A is the Meeting Agenda.  Exhibit B is the Attendance Roster.

 

 

COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT:

 

      Mr. Larry L. Spitler, Vice Chairman

      Mrs. Vonne Chowning

      Mr. Joseph E. Dini, Jr.

      Mrs. Jan Evans

      Ms. Christina R. Giunchigliani

      Mr. David E. Humke

      Mr. John W. Marvel

      Mr. Richard Perkins

      Mr. Robert E. Price

 

COMMITTEE MEMBERS ABSENT:

 

      Mr. Morse Arberry, Jr., Chairman            (Excused)

      Mr. Dean A. Heller                              (Excused)

      Ms. Sandra Tiffany                              (Excused)

      Mrs. Myrna T. Williams                    (Excused)

 

STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT:

 

      Mark Stevens, Fiscal Analyst

      Gary Ghiggeri, Deputy Fiscal Analyst

     

 

 

STATE OCCUPATIONAL INFORMATION COORDINATING COMMITTEE - PAGE 1111

 

Vice Chairman Spitler apologized to the agency for having to postpone this hearing three times.

 

Ms. Valorie Hopkins, Executive Director, State Occupational Information Coordinating Committee (SOICC), introduced Ms. Beverly Barker, Service Coordinator, Career Information System.

 

Ms. Hopkins distributed copies of fact sheets from SOICC's parent organization, the National Occupational Information Coordinating Committee (Exhibit C), and the Nevada Career Information System (Exhibit D).  She explained SOICC was partially funded by basic assistance grants from the U.S. Departments of Labor and Education.  Additional funding was generated through user service fees charged to Career Information System clients.

 

Ms. Hopkins noted her agency consisted of three staff members.  The agency secretary was currently on leave to work for the Legislature, pursuant to statute, leaving a staff of two plus a temporary secretary.

 

Mr. Humke asked if Ms. Hopkins was referring to the statute which allowed employees in state service in the Executive Branch to be excused to work for the Legislature during the legislative session.  Ms. Hopkins said she was referring to a bill introduced by Mr. Dini.  She indicated she supported the statute.  However, in a small agency there was no one to absorb the work load of the person on leave.

 

Mr. Humke inquired whether the position could be filled in the absence of the person on leave.  Ms. Hopkins replied the budget provided funding for a temporary secretary.  However, the temporary secretary could only provide minimal support and there was no time available for the other two staff members to train her.

 

Mr. Humke noted perhaps the statute should have been limited to agencies with 10 or more employees.

 

Vice Chairman Spitler pointed out the performance indicators referred to the distribution of publications.  He asked if the agency produced publications or simply distributed other agencies' publications.  Ms. Hopkins stated SOICC distributed federal and state publications and published occupational information as well as handbooks accompanying the Career Information System.

 

VETERANS AFFAIRS - PAGE 1455

 

Mr. Randy Day, Commissioner for Veterans Affairs, explained the agency functioned in three primary areas:  1) operation of cemeteries in Boulder City and Fernley; 2) assisting veterans and their families or survivors of veterans in acquiring benefits available to them from the federal and state governments; and 3) operation of a guardianship program to handle the financial affairs of incompetent veterans or the dependents of veterans.  He noted the program administered approximately 50 guardianships and was currently petitioning the court for an additional 5 guardianships over the next month and 5 guardianships the following month.

 

Mr. Day reported budget enhancements included increased income and expenses which resulted from an increased number of burials in the two cemeteries.  Additionally, spousal burial fees would be increased from $150 to $250.  He noted actual costs of burials averaged approximately $500.  He distributed to the committee members copies of a Report of Burials for Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemeteries (Exhibit E).

 

Mr. Day stated S.B. 336, currently pending in the Senate, would allow the Commissioner to charge a 5 percent fee against the annual income of veterans in the guardianship program.  He explained similar fees were charged by several other states.  The fee was justified to pay for the social work services provided by the program.

 

Vice Chairman Spitler asked Mr. Day to explain the guardianship program and how long it had been in existence.  Mr. Day answered the program had been in effect since approximately 1968.  It managed the financial affairs of veterans who had been declared incompetent to do so by the Veterans Administration.  Veterans who wished to leave the program were required to open a bank account, pay their own bills and demonstrate they were capable of handling their budget.  Most veterans in the program were not able to meet that criteria.

 

Vice Chairman Spitler asked if guardianships were awarded by court action.  Mr. Day answered affirmatively.  He said petitions for guardianship were filed with the court by the Attorney General.

 

Vice Chairman Spitler questioned if there was currently a fee assessed for guardianship services.  Mr. Day replied there was presently no fee.

 

Vice Chairman Spitler asked how the 5 percent fee would be assessed.  Mr. Day responded assessments could be charged against individual guardianship accounts at the discretion of the Commissioner.

 

Vice Chairman Spitler inquired whether fees could be assessed against savings accounts.  Mr. Day said the fees would be assessed against annual income only.  He noted the basic income of the veterans in the program was from Social Security and Veterans Administration pensions.

 

Vice Chairman Spitler asked what the fee percentage was in other states.  Mr. Day said other states charged 5 percent.  Vice Chairman Spitler inquired whether S.B. 336 was capped at 5 percent.  Mr. Day responded affirmatively.

 

Vice Chairman Spitler inquired if the Commissioner had the discretion to assess fees within the range of 0 percent to 5 percent.  Mr. Day answered affirmatively.

 

Mr. Day indicated the revenue increase would be used to offset the cost of inmate labor from the honor camps at the two cemeteries.  Vice Chairman Spitler questioned how the cemetery maintenance would be performed if the honor camps were closed.  Mr. Day replied the agency would prefer to hire an additional groundskeeper rather than using inmate labor which required constant retraining.  However, without inmate labor the agency would have to return to the Interim Finance Committee to request additional funding for personnel expenses.  Mr. Day said he understood the Silver Springs honor camp, which served the Fernley cemetery, was not scheduled for closure but the Jean honor camp, which provided labor to the Boulder City cemetery, would be closed.

 

Mr. Dini pointed out the honor camps which remained open would have increased firefighting duties and would not have as much time to devote to the cemeteries.  He noted the cemetery program had always been underfunded.

 

Mr. Day stated if the Jean honor camp was closed, inmate labor would be transported to the Boulder City cemetery from Indian Springs, which represented additional travel time of approximately one hour.

 

Vice Chairman Spitler requested an update of the operation of the Fernley cemetery.  Mr. Day indicated there had been problems with the sprinkler system due to poor workmanship.  Repairs had been made and although the system had not been turned on yet this year some remaining problems were anticipated.  Staff would attempt to repair those problems early in the year before they became unmanageable.

 

Mr. Day reported the development of the cemetery program was currently in phase two.  Five acres would be added to the Fernley cemetery and eight acres would be added to the Boulder City cemetery.  Efforts would be made during the construction process to prevent future problems.

 

Vice Chairman Spitler asked if the state had any recourse against the sprinkler contractors.  Mr. Day replied some of the contractors had filed bankruptcy.  Additionally, the statute of limitations on the contracts had run.

 

Mr. Day explained the Executive Budget reflected an anticipated increase in donations.  The additional revenue would fund the purchase of equipment.

 

Vice Chairman Spitler inquired about the outside fundraising activities.  Mr. Day answered there were three fundraising groups operating in the state which provided funding for the cemeteries.  The Veterans Affairs program functioned independently from those operations but received many goods and services from them.

 

Vice Chairman Spitler noted use had exceeded expectations.  He inquired whether phase two construction would enable the operation to keep pace with demand.  Mr. Day answered the new construction would carry the operation through 1995 or 1996.

 

Mr. Humke asked if there were problems coordinating honor guards and other activities by veterans groups.  Mr. Day responded the Fernley cemetery was fortunate to have access to the services of a veterans group.  There was no such group in southern Nevada.

 

Vice Chairman Spitler questioned how veterans groups had responded to the proposed reorganization of Veterans Affairs to the Military Division of the Department of Public Safety.  Mr. Day said he had heard very few comments.  Veterans had inquired about the possible effects of the reorganization but it was difficult to anticipate what those effects might be.  There was some concern about being thrown into a bureaucracy.

 

STATE CLIMATOLOGIST - PAGE 1703

 

Mr. John James, State Climatologist, distributed copies of an information packet (Exhibit F) to the committee members.  He said he had come before the committee to enlist their support in reinstating funding for the State Climatology Office in the Executive Budget.

 

Mr. James explained his office had climate records from over 400 locations in the state.  Over half were current and half were currently unavailable in published literature.  He said his office supported ranchers, miners, municipalities, water planners, engineers, the news media, developers, scientists and developers of tourism by making climate information available.  He said he also worked with the public to determine their needs and inform them of data availability.

 

Mr. James pointed out all states had a State Climatologist who was expert in his or her field and state.  Many had over 20 years of experience.  Mr. James stated he had been a professional climatologist for 35 years--25 years in Nevada.  This expertise was important in solving the public's climatic problems.

 

Mr. James referred to pages 1 and 2 of Exhibit F which listed a sample of calls to the State Climatology Office requesting information.  He noted as examples a call from an eastern firm which was interested in opening a paper storage warehouse in Fernley, a call from the Town of Laughlin for information necessary to construct a storm water monitoring system and a call from a group who were interested in starting an agricultural venture near Jean.  He noted he was very familiar with the entire state, both geographically and climatically.

 

Mr. James explained requests for information could not be satisfied without a detailed knowledge of the state, its climate and topography or without access to both published and unpublished data.

 

Mr. James referred to page 3 of Exhibit F, a sample of speaking engagements.  He explained he traveled throughout the state and out of the state to make those speeches.

 

Vice Chairman Spitler noted the Governor proposed moving the responsibilities of the State Climatologist's Office to the Department of Natural Resources.  He asked Budget Division staff how the transfer was reflected in the Executive Budget.  Mr. Don Hataway, Chief Assistant Budget Administrator, replied the proposal was to move the responsibilities to the Division of Water Resources.  He indicated there was no associated funding transfer.

 

Mrs. Evans questioned who in the Division of Water Resources would perform the duties of the State Climatologist.  Mr. Hataway responded delegation of the duties would be left to the discretion of the Director and the division head.  He noted they would have the talents of existing agencies to draw on such as the Desert Research Institute, Soil Conservation Service, U.S. Weather Bureau and U.S. Geological Service.  He said Mr. James would remain an available resource.

 

Mrs. Evans pointed out the State Climatologist's job was very specialized and could not easily be assumed by others.

 

Mr. James pointed out the Desert Research Institute maintained climatology data pertaining to the western region of the United States, not data specific to Nevada.  Additionally, the State Climatology Office had access to weather stations which were not available to the Desert Research Institute.

 

Mrs. Evans expressed the hope the committee would give careful consideration to the proposed elimination of this office.  She pointed out this was a small budget and its work was liable to become lost in a large bureaucracy.  It would be a grave mistake for a state where weather information was so vital to lose this office.

 

Vice Chairman Spitler said he appreciated Mrs. Evans' remarks.  He added it was the intention of the committee to look into this matter further.

 

Ms. Giunchigliani asked if the State Climatologist was a one-quarter time position.  Mr. James replied he was a one-quarter time State Climatologist and a three-quarter time university professor.

 

Ms. Giunchigliani stated the committee agreed state bureaucracy needed to be reduced but she expressed concern for the ultimate effect of the proposed reorganization on delivery of services.

 

Mr. Marvel asked Mr. James if he worked closely with water planners.  Mr. James responded affirmatively.  Mr. Marvel noted economist positions were being lost in the Water Resources budget.  He pointed out water was a critical issue for Nevada.

 

Mr. Marvel inquired whether Mr. James spent any out-of-pocket money in the performance of his job.  Mr. James replied he was appointed State Climatologist in 1985 but was not provided with a budget.  He developed the program and personally funded it through grants for the first two years.  He was provided a budget in 1991; however, fiscal year 1991-92 funding was cut 40 percent and staff support was lost as a result.

 

Mr. Marvel stated past administrations had recognized the importance of Mr. James' work.  He also pointed out Mr. James was instrumental in helping Reno and Washoe County develop water conservation plans.  Mr. James stated he had been deeply involved in the water situation.  He noted former Governor Bryan had appointed him chairman of the drought committee.  He added the drought committee would be holding its final meeting in two weeks because the present administration no longer saw it as a viable committee, even though past experience indicated the recent wet winter did not signal the end of the drought.  He warned people should not become complacent about the drought situation.

 

Mr. Marvel inquired whether Mr. James had provided information to the Department of Energy regarding Yucca Mountain.  Mr. James responded he had exchanged information with the Department of Energy.  His office was currently collecting data from approximately 100 sites at the Nuclear Test Site.  His office maintained more information about the test site than any other area of the state.

 

Mr. James stated he had tried to supplement the data in the state weather network.  His efforts had resulted in an additional 150 weather stations throughout the state.  He explained he used surplus equipment from the National Weather Service to build weather stations.

 

Mr. Humke inquired if the agency request for staff was to replace the position lost to budget cuts.  Mr. James stated he would like to receive $25,611 for his total budget, which was 20 percent less than was approved by the Legislature in the 1991 legislative session.  His salary expenses would total $12,160 and did not include retirement or fringe benefits.  He requested $700 for out-of-state travel, $2,000 for in-state travel to maintain the system, $2,882 for operating expenses and $7,869 for a part-time assistant.

 

Mr. Humke noted the program description in the Executive Budget indicated the State Climatologist had to be approved by the National Climatic Data Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Western Regional Director of the National Weather Service and an officer of the University and Community College System.  Mr. James said the office was created by the federal weather system when federal climatologist positions in each state were eliminated for budget purposes and the states were allowed to take over the programs.  The approval of the two federal agencies and a third party was a requirement of that transfer.

 

Mr. Humke asked if staff in the Division of Water Resources could qualify for those requisite approvals.  Mr. James replied there were no other professional climatologists or professional meteorologists in state service.  He noted he was a professional meteorologist and had provided weather forecasts when requested.

 

Mr. Humke said he echoed the remarks of other committee members regarding this budget.

 

Mr. Price thanked Mr. James for the weather reports which he supplied to the legislators.  He said elimination of the State Climatology Office made little sense and he hoped the committee could help resolve this situation.

 

Mr. Perkins stated it appeared as if the state continued to fund failures and penalize successes and this was just another example.

 

Mrs. Chowning said she wished to echo the sentiments of the other committee members.  She pointed out one of the requests for information was from the Motion Picture Office.  She noted the Motion Picture Office had brought substantial revenue to the state and the State Climatologist provided a valuable service which supported generation of that revenue.  Mr. James indicated he had received several requests for climate information from the Motion Picture Office.  He said he formerly worked as a weather forecaster for some major movie studios.

 

Mrs. Chowning suggested assessing the Motion Picture Office for the services of the State Climatologist.

 

Mrs. Chowning asked Mr. James what his role would be if his office was abolished.  Mr. James replied he probably would not continue to provide climatology services to the state.  He was preparing for retirement.

 

Mr. James expressed his appreciation to the committee for their comments.

 

Vice Chairman Spitler inquired about the Senate Finance hearing on this budget.  Mr. James said the hearing went fairly well.  He noted he was performing a public relations function that would cease to exist without his office.

 

Mr. Marvel noted the State Climatologist provided an important service to the mining industry by providing them with information to assist them in compliance with environmental standards.  Mr. James said the mining industry also assisted his office by providing evaporation pans to measure water deficits in the state.

 

Vice Chairman Spitler noted the committee members had all reflected their appreciation of the State Climatologist's important contribution to the state.  He said he always enjoyed reading the information he received from the State Climatologist's Office.  He indicated the committee would consider Mr. James' proposal.

 

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 10:25 a.m.

 

                                                RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:

 

 

                                                _________________________

                                                C. Dale Gray

                                                Committee Secretary

??

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Assembly Committee on Ways and Means

April 2, 1993

Page 1