MINUTES OF THE
SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE AND LABOR
Sixty-seventh Session
May 4, 1993
The Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor was called to order by Chairman Randolph J. Townsend, at 8:30 a.m., on Tuesday, May 4, 1993, in Room 227 of the Legislative Building, Carson City, Nevada. Exhibit A is the Meeting Agenda. Exhibit B is the Attendance Roster.
COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT:
Senator Randolph J. Townsend, Chairman
Senator Sue Lowden, Vice Chairman
Senator Ann O'Connell
Senator Mike McGinness
Senator Raymond C. Shaffer
Senator Leonard V. Nevin
Senator Lori L. Brown
GUEST LEGISLATORS PRESENT:
Senator Dina Titus, Senate District 7
STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT:
Denise Pinnock, Committee Secretary
Brian Davie, Senior Research Analyst
OTHERS PRESENT:
Tim Carlson, Director, Division of Economic Development, State of Nevada
Dale Keller, Executive Director, Nevada Test Site Contractors Association
George McNally, Lobbyist, Nevada Trial Lawyers Association
Lois Lazor, Lobbyist, Representing Self
David Lazor, Private Citizen
John Wiles, Advocate For Insurance Customers, Department of Insurance, State of Nevada
Ray Sparks, Chief, Registration Division, Department of Motor Vehicles and Public Safety, State of Nevada
Charles Knaus, Property/Casualty Actuary, Department of Insurance, State of Nevada
Chairman Townsend opened the meeting by asking the committee to consider a bill draft request (BDR).
BDR 58-1021: Declares policy of the legislature concerning regulation of public utilities.
SENATOR McGINNESS MOVED FOR COMMITTEE INTRODUCTION OF BDR 58-1021.
SENATOR NEVIN SECONDED THE MOTION.
THE MOTION CARRIED. (SENATOR O'CONNELL WAS ABSENT FOR THE VOTE.)
* * * * *
Senator Townsend explained he had asked Frank Krajewski, Senior Research Analyst, to research the average amount of time for a Nevada State Industrial Insurance System Board of Directors meeting. The memorandum with the figures was submitted (Exhibit C).
Senator Townsend opened the hearing on Senate Joint Resolution (S.J.R.) 19.
S.J.R. 19: Urges Congress to develop contingency plans for alternative employment of workers at Nevada Test Site if operations are substantially reduced or closed and to include in those plans use of any money available from President Clinton's program for transfer of governmental technology to private sector.
Senator Dina Titus, Senate District 7, Las Vegas, submitted a packet of information supporting the resolution (Exhibit D). She gave a short historical background on the testing of nuclear weapons. Senator Titus stated:
One thing I would like for the record to show, though, is that while I support the conversion of the test site and I think this is very important, I don't in any way want this to be mistaken as support for the project at Yucca Mountain [Nevada]. I do not support that....My feeling is that two wrongs don't make a right. When the decision was made to put testing in ... since that time we've learned a lot about the testing program, we've learned a lot about radiation. This is something that we have, and that we have to deal with. That doesn't in any way justify putting in another project that has only radiation in common.
Senator Nevin said:
I think this resolution does just the opposite of what everybody's concern is on the dump compared to the test site, because this resolution takes us away from the atomic bombs and the testing and makes it a whole different type of environment there. So, we're saying, 'We have the test site. We've put all this money into it. Now let's use it for something other than atomic bomb testing.' It just pulls us further away from the dump issue, because now we're saying we want to do something other than bomb testing, and make it a more meaningful project. I don't think there's going to be any coalition between this type of resolution compared to Yucca Mountain.
Senator Titus pointed out the types of projects proposed for the test site are very positive, environmentally sound things, such as solar energy.
Senator Townsend asked who would make the choice on the use of the site. Senator Titus said she thought it would not be just one decision. She said there would be a whole series of projects, which would be bid for, both publicly and privately.
Tim Carlson, Director, Division of Economic Development, State of Nevada, submitted a letter from Lieutenant Governor Sue Wagner urging the committee to support S.J.R. 19 (Exhibit E).
Senator Lowden asked whether the Commission on Economic Development had taken a position on the Yucca Mountain project. Mr. Carlson said they had not, but agreed to bring it up as an issue before the commission.
Dale Keller, Executive Director, Nevada Test Site Contractors Association, submitted written testimony in support of the bill (Exhibit F).
SENATOR O'CONNELL MOVED TO ADOPT S.J.R. 19.
SENATOR LOWDEN SECONDED THE MOTION.
THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
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Senator Townsend closed the hearing on S.J.R. 19, and opened the discussion on mandatory automobile liability insurance.
George McNally, Lobbyist, Nevada Trial Lawyers Association, spoke of his concerns about pay-at-the-pump insurance. He stated that he did not see the projected savings making up for what would be given up. Mr. McNally also disputed some of the figures presented by the insurance industry.
Senator Townsend submitted a document titled "Where the Premium Dollar Goes" (Exhibit G) which had been used in the previous day's meeting. He asked Mr. McNally to come back to the committee with the Nevada Trial Lawyers Association's reaction to the document. Senator Townsend asked if Mr. McNally had "a sense of why we're having more bodily injury claims per 100 property damage claims." Mr. McNally said the first thing an adjuster would do when notified of a loss is assess some kind of a reserve on that loss. If a person called the adjuster and stated he had just hit someone the adjuster would call that person and ask if there were any injuries. The person might say they were not sure. In that case the adjuster would reserve that claim with some bodily injury, in addition to the property damage. If, during the follow-up, there proved to be no injury, the company might end up settling the property damage claim without taking off the bodily injury reserve.
Lois Lazor, Lobbyist, Representing Self, submitted Exhibits H and I, written testimony and newspaper articles, and some figures on property damage liability claim size. She wanted to make clear that she did not support pay-at-the-pump insurance.
David Lazor, Private Citizen, commented on the condition of the legal profession.
John Wiles, Advocate For Insurance Customers, Department of Insurance, State of Nevada, said that, from a policy standpoint, the legislature needed to indicate to the public that fraudulent insurance practices are unacceptable and harmful to everyone.
Ray Sparks, Chief, Registration Division, Department of Motor Vehicles and Public Safety (DMV), State of Nevada, explained the DMV role in the mandatory liability insurance arena.
Senator O'Connell asked what the process was for determining when a person only insured his vehicle long enough to register it, then canceled the insurance. Mr. Sparks stated insurance companies were required to notify the DMV of policy terminations. The department would then send a letter to the registered owner of the vehicle asking for the name of their insurer and the policy number. If the person did not respond there would be a second request. If they did not respond after that the vehicle registration would be suspended.
Senator O'Connell asked if there are figures on how many policyholders there are in the state. Charles Knaus, Property/Casualty Actuary, Department of Insurance, State of Nevada, explained one of the problems with getting those figures was that private passenger vehicles are insured in many different ways. He said he would try to come as close as possible.
Senator Lowden asked if there was any follow-up done with the out-of-state drivers who did not license their vehicles here. Mr. Sparks stated when the DMV receives complaints they refer them to the Highway Patrol, which attempts to enforce the law.
As there was no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 10:30 a.m.
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:
Denise Pinnock,
Committee Secretary
APPROVED BY:
Senator Randolph J. Townsend, Chairman
DATE:
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Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor
May 4, 1993
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