The Committee on Government Affairs was called to order at 9:52 a.m., on Friday, May 21, 1999. Chairman Douglas Bache presided in Room 3143 of the Legislative Building, Carson City, Nevada. Exhibit A is the Agenda. All Exhibits are available and on file at the Research Library of the Legislative Counsel Bureau.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT:

Mr. Douglas Bache, Chairman

Mr. John Jay Lee, Vice Chairman

Mrs. Vivian Freeman

Ms. Dawn Gibbons

Mr. David Humke

Mr. Harry Mortenson

Mr. Roy Neighbors

Ms. Bonnie Parnell

Ms. Gene Segerblom

Mr. Kelly Thomas

Ms. Sandra Tiffany

Ms. Kathy Von Tobel

COMMITTEE MEMBERS EXCUSED:

Ms. Merle Berman

Mr. Wendell Williams

STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT:

Chairman Bache stated amendments had been passed out to the committee to concur or not concur with (Exhibit B).

The first amendment was to A.B. 297, which was the bill dealing with information being available for a peace officer position under certain circumstances. Captain Nadeau of Washoe county indicated the sheriff’s association was in agreement with the Senate’s amendment. It deleted language giving the ability to file civil action to compel an employer to provide the information. He added if there was no objection from the committee, he would recommend the Assembly concur with the amendment.

Chairman Bache indicated the next amendment to be considered was to A.B. 306. It would delete section 3 of the bill, which dealt with eminent domain and redevelopment. He had discussed it with Assemblywoman Giunchigliani who had agreed to support the amendment. He added if there was no objection from the committee, he would recommend the Assembly concur with the amendment.

The next amendment he wanted to discuss was A.B. 318. The amendment basically was language in S.B. 139, that had been amended to provide county commissioners may donate surplus personal property as well as cities. The amendment was placed on the bill in the Senate, but it was already contained in S.B. 139 in slightly different language. He wished to recommend the committee not concur with the amendment; however, he had not discussed the issue with Ms. Buckley. The proposed amendments affecting chapters 244, 268 were essentially what was done in S.B. 139, which brought the state, city and county into conformance. He pointed out that once the governor signed S.B. 139, a conflict notice would be generated because it affected the same chapters in the statutes.

Eileen O’Grady stated basically they were the same, there were some differences that needed fixing, but they addressed the same objective.

The chairman stressed he would speak with Ms. Buckley but he would suggest they not concur with the amendment due to a conflict notice. As there was no objection he would recommend the Assembly not concur with the amendment.

Chairman Bache indicated the amendment to A.B. 424 would be the next issue to address. As it was Mrs. Freeman’s bill he asked if she would like to comment. Mrs. Freeman said she had just picked up the amendment and asked Mr. Ziegler, Legislative Counsel Bureau (LCB) analyst, if the amendment addressed the problem she had when testifying in the Senate.

Mr. Ziegler stated it appeared to be consistent with what had occurred in the Senate committee hearing and the action that was taken in that hearing. Mrs. Freeman stated she would rather discuss the amendment further with Mr. Ziegler before any action was taken. Chairman Bache said he would hold the amendment until she and Mr. Ziegler had a chance to confer. He asked if the committee would agree to concur if Mrs. Freeman approved of the amendment. The committee agreed to concur or not-concur with the amendment after Mrs. Freeman determined if it met with her approval.

The amendment to A.B. 530 was the next item Chairman Bache asked the committee to review. He noted that was Mr. Neighbors’ bill and was fairly simple. It addressed the subject of veterans’ meetings and stated the "meetings of the veterans service commission must be held in Las Vegas, Reno, or any other location if conducted by teleconference." It was not a significant departure to what was passed out as the original language stated "held any location deemed appropriate by the chairman." Mr. Neighbors interjected he was not entirely happy with the amendment because teleconferencing was not always available, but as it was so late in the session he would go along with it. It was at least an improvement to what was currently in statute. The Chairman added if there was no great objection from the committee, he would recommend the Assembly concur with the amendment.

The chairman said the amendment placed on A.B. 569 was satisfactory to Assemblyman Williams who was one of the sponsors of the bill. A lot of the amendment resolved conflicts with two other bills, S.B. 121 and S.B. 542. The committee agreed to concur with the amendment and the chairman would recommend it be concurred in.

A.B. 604 created districts for road maintenance. Chairman Bache indicated the amendment made only technical changes as indicated on the last page of the handout (Exhibit B). Mr. Humke stated he understood it was a series of private roads, so the county should not be receiving the interest off money that was not truly taxpayer funding. As there was no objection the chairman would recommend the Assembly concur with the amendment.

The Chairman pointed out one bill not received back in the committee was A.J.R. 1 but he knew it had passed. It was his bill addressing withdrawal of the United States Air Force within Nellis Air Force Base for an indefinite time period under certain circumstances. He added he was not completely happy with the amendment, but he had talked with Senator Rhoads and felt they were close to an agreement on the language so he wanted to talk it to conference. For the record there was no testimony on the Senate side from the Governor or any of his staff. There was an amendment proposed by the Air Force and he agreed with their main concern but other language they wanted inserted caused him concern. He and Senator Rhoads agreed the appropriate language could be done by conference that would allay the concerns of the Air Force.

Chairman Bache asked if there was anything else the committee wanted to address. There being no further business the meeting adjourned at 10:14 a.m.

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:

Virginia Letts,

Committee Secretary

APPROVED BY:

Assemblyman Douglas Bache, Chairman

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