The Committee on Constitutional Amendments was called to order at 5:00 p.m., on Thursday, February 11, 1999. Chairman Robert E. Price presided in Room 3161 of the Legislative Building, Carson City, Nevada. Exhibit A is the Agenda. Exhibit B is the Guest List. All Exhibits are available and on file at the Research Library of the Legislative Counsel Bureau.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT:

Mr. Robert E. Price, Chairman

Mr. Harry Mortenson, Vice Chairman

Mr. Bernie Anderson

Mr. Greg Brower

Mr. Don Gustavson

Ms. Sheila Leslie

Ms. Kathy Von Tobel

GUEST LEGISLATORS PRESENT:

Speaker Joseph E. Dini, Jr.

STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT:

OTHERS PRESENT:

After calling the committee to order, Chairman Price recognized Assemblyman Anderson. Mr. Anderson proceeded to comment on his attendance of the previous week’s meeting. Chairman Price made introductory procedural remarks to those persons testifying. The Chair expressed thanks to the Speaker for forming the committee. He requested the members appreciate the importance of the committee, recognizing that constitutional change was more than statute. He also emphasized the importance of looking at the intent of constitutional law.

Assembly Joint Resolution 17 of the 69^th Session—Proposes to amend the Nevada Constitution to require that governor and lieutenant governor be affiliated with the same political parties and elected jointly. (BDR C-1122)

Bob Erickson, Committee Policy Analyst, gave a presentation (Exhibit C) on the resolution. Mr. Erickson presented statistical information about lieutenant governor election procedures. Ten states structured their elections the same way the resolution proposed to structure the Nevada election. Under the proposed measure, candidates would be paired up after the primary.

Chairman Price presented a document (Exhibit D) listing Nevada’s governors since 1947 and their lieutenant governors, along with each person’s party.

Mr. Erickson read letters from Nevada’s past governors and lieutenant governors (Exhibit E) stating their positions on the resolution. Governor Paul Laxalt replied he did not support the resolution. Governor Bob Miller supported the resolution. Chief Justice and former Lieutenant Governor Bob Rose supported the resolution as well. Lieutenant Governor Lonnie Hammargren supported the resolution. Lieutenant Governor Sue Wagner felt the voters would defeat the question if it were put on the ballot.

Speaker Dini emphasized compatibility was a large factor in working well together. The governor and lieutenant governor needed to have a comfortable working relationship.

Ike Yokum of the Independent American Party expressed his alarm over that amendment to the constitution. He was concerned changes in the constitution were made without due consideration. Mr. Yokum agreed with Governor Laxalt’s sentiment, asserting the system worked well already and did not see any reason to make a change.

Lucille Lusk of Nevada Concerned Citizens stated A.J.R. 17 of the 69^th Session was a philosophical issue. She commented trustworthiness was not dependent on party, and people had little patience with party rivalry. The public was only interested in good representation.

The testimony for A.J.R. 17 of the 69^th Session was concluded at that time.

David Horton of the Independent American Party of Nevada proposed a Bill Draft Request (BDR) for the committee to use. The proposal would enforce the Public Lands Ownership Act of 1979. Mr. Horton stated there were currently many public issues in Nevada regarding that act, like the Nuclear Waste Repository at Yucca Mountain. He showed the committee a stack of petitions regarding the Black Rock Desert proposed withdrawal, which, according to Mr. Horton, would impact mining, ranching, and sporting. He told the committee power was being taken away from the state and given to unelected bureaucrats. The definition of public lands in the BDR would be confined to those areas controlled by the Bureau of Land Management, whose existence had never been justified in his opinion.

Continuing, Mr. Horton stated there were preliminary indications current management of Nevada’s public lands by federal officials was causing one quarter of a billion dollars damage to the Nevada economy every year. He also asserted rural counties were hurt economically due to decline of mining in those areas since exploration had stopped. Mr. Horton stated the reason the mining exploration had stopped was because of interference with Nevada’s premier industry by government bureaucrats. Mr. Horton recommended the committee use its allocated BDR to propose that Public Lands Enforcement Act.

Mr. Anderson asked if the Chair would accept a motion that the Assembly Committee on Constitutional Amendments request a bill draft dealing with the Public Lands Enforcement Act as outlined by Mr. Horton. Chairman Price answered that he would entertain such a motion, and the committee indeed had two allocated bill draft requests.

Chairman Price explained an idea for another BDR for the committee concerning Question 17, a ballot question from the previous election. That question mandated term limits for Nevada’s congressional delegation. According to Chairman Price, eight different states had very similar resolutions pass by initiative which were declared unconstitutional. Among the states where the measure had been challenged were South Dakota, Maine, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Colorado. In some cases the statute was ruled unconstitutional by the state supreme court, and in others it was ruled unconstitutional by a federal district court. Chairman Price proposed a challenge to Question 17 by having a BDR drawn up to have the attorney general carry the case against the question, including an appropriation to defray any costs.

Mr. Anderson said he would feel more comfortable seeing some proposed language for the bill draft, as well as the text of Question 17. He would also like to see an investigation on the implications with the United States Constitution as well as the Constitution of the State of Nevada. A summary statement of the objections made by the federal court would also be helpful.

Chairman Price answered the United States Supreme Court decided an initiative was not an appropriate way to change the United States Constitution. He agreed with Mr. Anderson it would be appropriate to put together some material on the proposed resolution.

A.J.R. 4—Proposes to amend Nevada Constitution to repeal constitutional rule against perpetuities.

Upon returning to the resolution, Ms. Von Tobel said the first state to change its laws on perpetuities was South Dakota and the result was very positive. It was agreed that resolution would be discussed further during a future work session.

The meeting of the Committee on Constitutional Amendments was adjourned at 5:55 p.m.

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:

Kelly Gregory,

Committee Secretary

APPROVED BY:

Assemblyman Robert E. Price, Chairman

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