The Committee on Ways and Means was called to order at 5:00 PM, on Wednesday, April 8, 1998. Chairman Morse Arberry Jr. presided in Room 3137 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. Morse Arberry Jr., Chairman

Mrs. Jan Evans, Vice Chair

Mr. Bob Beers

Mrs. Barbara Cegavske

Mrs. Vonne Chowning

Mrs. Marcia de Braga

Mr. Joseph Dini, Jr.

Mr. David Goldwater

Mr. Lynn Hettrick

Mr. John Marvel

Mr. David Parks

COMMITTEE MEMBERS ABSENT:

Mr. Robert Price (Excused)

Mr. Richard Perkins (Excused)

Ms. Chris Giunchigliani (Excused)

STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT:

Mr. Stevens reminded committee members the Budget Division and Western Interstate Commission for Higher Exchange (WICHE) staff had requested an amendment to the bill the previous day. As written Mr. Stevens explained the bill would allow an advance from the state General Fund up to the limit of 25 percent.

He then referred to testimony given by Don Hataway, Deputy Director of the Budget Division, which indicated the 25 percent advance would be insufficient to allow WICHE to make loan payments before December 1, 1999. Mr. Hataway had requested the advance amount to be increased to 50 percent.

Mr. Stevens commented the bill required peace officers that had received Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST) training and subsequently had left state employment within a 2-year period to be responsible for the costs associated with the training. He related Bob Gagnier, President of the State of Nevada Employees Association (SNEA) had requested the bill be amended to exclude correctional officers.

Referring to Exhibit C, Mr. Stevens pointed out Category I classified Highway Patrol troopers, whereas Category II classified Parole and Probation, Wildlife and other law enforcement positions. Mr. Stevens explained Category III classified correctional officers. He felt the debate over an amendment to the bill centered around requiring repayment for training in Category I only, as that was the area where the Department of Motor Vehicles and Public Safety had the most difficult time retaining employees.

Mr. Beers inquired if the goal of the bill was to retain employees.

Speaker Dini responded the state had been paying the cost of training Highway Patrol Officers when shortly after, officers left the state’s employment for higher paying jobs elsewhere.

Mr. Beers then submitted a component to the training costs was the salary paid to the officers during the period in which they were trained.

Mr. Stevens affirmed Mr. Beers comment but stated the bill did not include salary costs, only costs associated directly with training.

Chairman Arberry asked the committee for a motion to rescind previous action taken on A.B. 219.

Chairman Arberry then requested a reconsideration of A.B. 219.

Mr. Stevens indicated the committee had desired Assemblywoman McClain to be added to the list of the bill’s sponsors, yet legislative protocol prohibited the addition of a sponsor after the bill had been acted upon. Therefore, Mr. Stevens thought the only alternative left would be to pass A.B. 219 and A.B. 241 separately.

In regard to A.B. 219, Mr. Stevens said the committee needed to consider amending Section 2 Subsection 3, to exclude expenditures financed with bond proceeds made over the last three years for maintenance and repair of equipment, vehicles, buildings, and facilities. He maintained the measure approved by the committee the previous day would allow bond expenditures in that category to be excluded from that 3-year calculation. The measure would also delete Section 4 in its entirety.

Mr. Stevens related another provision previously discussed would have added a new section to the bill that would require the legislative auditor to audit up to 10 percent of school sites or 45 schools. Mr. Stevens thought A.B. 241, which was heard by the committee on March 8, 1999, could be amended by deleting it in its entirety and adding the auditor provision.

Mr. Stevens remarked A.B. 460 had been heard by the committee previously. He said the bill changed the qualifications for the director of the Department of Libraries, Museums, and Arts (MLA). The bill also proposed unclassifying four division-level positions within the department. He then noted those positions had been changed from unclassified to the classified service during the Sixty-ninth Legislative Session.

Ms. Evans commented she had been contacted by a number of constituents regarding the alteration of the qualifications for the department’s director. She expressed concern that the employees of MLA were professionals who had obtained both Masters and Post-doctoral degrees and were not being justly compensated in the classified service. She mentioned there was significant opposition to loosening the qualifications for the director’s position. Therefore, she voiced her opposition to the change of job qualifications for the director in the bill.

Mr. Hettrick then commented the director’s position was an administrative one that required certain qualifications. He did not see how an augmentation of the position’s responsibilities would negatively impact the operation of the agency.

Speaking metaphorically, Mr. Beers stated "the president of General Motors is not an auto-worker." He felt there was a place for the Management Specialist to ensure the proper allocation of funds to that function; however he did not think that the MLA director’s responsibilities included responsibilities additional to those already mentioned. Thus, he voiced his support for the job qualification change in the bill.

Ms. Evans conceded the director’s position was an administrative one. Regardless, the MLA director’s position had a scholarly bent to it. Also, she felt the bill would relegate the policy and agenda for the department to a low standard of work. She noted the Department of Transportation had specialized requirements, which called for a particular experiential and academic background.

Chairman Arberry stated the bill was up for discussion only.

As the committee had no other business to attend to, the meeting was adjourned at 5:45 p.m.

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:

Janine Marie Toth,

Committee Secretary

APPROVED BY:

Assemblyman Morse Arberry Jr., Chairman

DATE: