MINUTES OF THE meeting
of the
ASSEMBLY Committee on Government Affairs
Seventy-First Session
April 19, 2001
The Committee on Government Affairswas called to order at 8:15 a.m., on Thursday, April 19, 2001. Chairman Douglas Bache presided in Room 3143 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. Douglas Bache, Chairman
Mr. John J. Lee, Vice Chairman
Ms. Merle Berman
Mr. David Brown
Mrs. Vivian Freeman
Mrs. Dawn Gibbons
Mr. Roy Neighbors
Ms. Bonnie Parnell
Mr. Bob Price
Mrs. Debbie Smith
Ms. Kathy Von Tobel
Mr. Wendell Williams
COMMITTEE MEMBERS EXCUSED:
Mr. David Humke
Mr. Harry Mortenson
GUEST LEGISLATORS PRESENT:
Assemblyman John Carpenter, Assembly District No. 33
Senator Mark Amodei, Capital Senatorial District
STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT:
Eileen O’Grady, Committee Counsel
Dave Ziegler, Committee Policy Analyst
Glenda Jacques, Committee Secretary
OTHERS PRESENT:
Thomas J. Grady, Lobbyist, Nevada League of Cities and Municipalities
Janice Ayres, Chairman, Northern Nevada Railway Foundation
Madelyn Shipman, Assistant District Attorney, Washoe County
Senate Bill 272: Makes various changes to charter of City of Wells. (BDR S-1225)
Assemblyman John Carpenter, Assembly District No. 33, introduced S.B. 272, which would amend the city of Wells charter. He questioned whether “all sessions and proceedings of the board of councilmen must be public” should be subject to the open meeting law.
Mr. Neighbors asked for clarification of “other employment” on page 1, line 4. Thomas J. Grady, Lobbyist, Nevada League of Cities and Municipalities, stated the issue was clarified in subsection (a). The provision prohibited city councilmen from being employed by Elko County.
Chairman Bache asked Ms. O’Grady if the intent of the bill was clearly stated. Eileen O’Grady, Committee Counsel, replied “certain employment” could be added into the lead line to clarify only certain employment was affected.
Chairman Bache suggested adding the word would clarify the bill. He did not want someone to lose his or her job over language in the city charter.
Assemblyman Carpenter thanked the Chairman for making the bill more understandable.
Mrs. Smith asked Ms. O’Grady if the language in Section 4, subsection 3, was standard language that related to public meetings and the open meeting law. Ms. O’Grady said the language was cleanup language and did not make any substantive changes to the bill.
Ms. Smith wondered if saying the meeting was “public” automatically included it in the open meeting law statute. Ms. O’Grady responded city council meetings were governed by the open meeting law and she did not think it was necessary to add additional language.
Chairman Bache asked Mr. Grady why some city charters specified the open meeting law and some did not. Mr. Grady clarified the open meeting law was addressed in NRS 266 and they were currently updating all city charters. The bill stated it would conform to NRS 266.
Chairman Bache asked Dave Zeigler, Committee Policy Analyst, to take note of the provision for when they voted on the bill.
Assemblyman Carpenter felt it would be proper to add a section to the bill stating public meetings were subject to open meeting laws.
Chairman Bache closed the hearing on S.B. 272 and opened the hearing on S.B. 334.
Senate Bill 334: Expands and changes name of Tricounty Railway Commission. (BDR S-604)
Senator Mark Amodei, Capital Senatorial District, explained S.B. 334 expanded the Tricounty Railway Commission. The commission was created to pursue the reconstruction of the Virginia and Truckee (V&T) Railroad between Virginia City and Carson City. Presently, Carson City, Storey County, and Lyon County had members on the commission. The bill expanded the membership to include Washoe County, Douglas County, and three appointments: one by the Assembly speaker, one by the Senate majority leader, and one by the Governor. The additional seats would provide regional input and financial resources appropriate to the commission’s goals. The name of the commission would be changed to the “Nevada Commission for the Reconstruction of the V&T Railway.”
Currently, Governor Guinn was negotiating a donation of 17 miles of rail and hardware near Moapa Valley in southern Nevada with the Union Pacific Railroad. The Mead Lake railway would be the primary hardware from Gold Hill to Carson City.
Janice Ayres, Chairman, Northern Nevada Railway Foundation, stated the commission had held several meetings to get the project moving. The railway was a national treasure located in northern Nevada. Commissioners from Washoe and Douglas County served on the nonprofit Northern Nevada Railway Foundation that raised money for the railway commission. She thanked Senator Amodei for introducing the bill.
Mr. Lee questioned how many miles the railway would run. Mr. Amodei replied the current track length was approximately 17 miles. It went from Brunswick Canyon, Carson City to Gold Hill Depot, Virginia City.
Mr. Lee asked if the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) regulated the railroad. Mr. Amodei clarified statute dictated all railroad operations were under PUC jurisdiction.
Mr. Lee asked for clarification of the railroad license plate bill. Mr. Amodei explained S.B. 77 was an attempt to access potential revenue sources for the project via the mechanism of license plates.
Mrs. Gibbons questioned if appointees were from the body of the Legislature or the general public. Mr. Amodei answered the appointees would be foundation-type people and would develop the railroad with their fund-raising expertise.
Mr. Williams asked if the bill was needed because of anticipated railroad expansion and questioned what would happen if the expansion did not happen.
Mr. Amodei stated the scope of the project had remained the same and the expansion talked about in the bill was the board’s expansion. The commission needed to be expanded because the project was regional in nature and had regional impacts.
Mr. Williams asked if the bill was needed to move the project further. Mr. Amodei replied the commission should have been structured this way from the beginning. The project would continue without the bill, but would be stronger with it.
Ms. Parnell supported the legislation and thanked Ms. Ayers and Senator Amodei for all their hard work. She encouraged everyone to visit the railroad museum.
Mr. Price questioned the location of the southern Nevada Lake Mead railway.
Mr. Amodei answered Tom Feters of Union Pacific Railway could supply the specifics. He knew it was out by Moapa Valley, but did not know the exact location.
Senator Amodei said he would arrange a tour of Virginia City and the railway for any interested committee member before session adjournment.
Ms. Parnell questioned if the proposed railway path would parallel the Carson River. Mr. Amodei replied yes and it would go along the original railroad right-of-way through Brunswick Canyon and towards Silver City.
Madelyn Shipman, Assistant District Attorney, Washoe County, stated they supported the bill and were glad to be a part of the expanded commission.
Chairman Bache closed the hearing on S.B. 334.
ASSEMBLYWOMAN PARNELL MADE A MOTION TO DO PASS S.B. 334.
ASSEMBLYWOMAN SMITH SECONDED THE MOTION.
THE MOTION UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED BY THOSE PRESENT.
Chairman Bache seeing no further business adjourned the meeting at 8:55 a.m.
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:
Glenda Jacques
Committee Secretary
APPROVED BY:
Assemblyman Douglas Bache, Chairman
DATE: