MINUTES OF THE meeting
of the
ASSEMBLY Committee on Government Affairs
Seventy-First Session
February 23, 2001
The Committee on Government Affairswas called to order at 8:08 a.m., on Friday, February 23, 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
Ms. Dawn Gibbons
Mr. David Humke
Mr. Harry Mortenson
Mr. Roy Neighbors
Ms. Bonnie Parnell
Mr. Bob Price
Ms. Debbie Smith
Ms. Kathy Von Tobel
Mr. Wendell Williams
GUEST LEGISLATORS PRESENT:
Senator Mark E. Amodei
STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT:
Eileen O’Grady, Committee Counsel
Dave Ziegler, Committee Policy Analyst
Cheryl Meyers, Committee Secretary
OTHERS PRESENT:
LeRoy Goodman, Lyon County Commissioner, Lyon County, Nevada
Mary C. Walker, CPA, Principal and Owner, Walker & Associates
Steve Snyder, Lyon County Manager, Lyon County, Nevada
Thomas J. Grady, Executive Director, Nevada League of Cities
Carole Vilardo, President, Nevada Taxpayer’s Association
Dana Bilyeu, Operations Officer, Public Employees Retirement System
Assembly Bill No. 181: Revises membership of county fair and recreation board in certain less populous counties. (BDR 20-336)
Mary C. Walker, CPA, Walker & Associates, announced the support of A.B. 181 by the Lyon County Commissioners. The change was needed in the membership board because of the recent incorporation of the city of Fernley. Lyon County would be the only rural county in Nevada with two cities. Without a change in the legislation on the makeup of the fair and recreation board the majority of board members would come from the city of Yerington with a population of 3000, one member from the city of Fernley, and none from the rest of the county. The county was requesting better representation on the fair and recreation board.
LeRoy Goodman, Lyon County Commissioner, Lyon County, Nevada, stated this was a Lyon County bill because of the pending incorporation of the city of Fernley. He added when the incorporation was completed, July 1, 2001, four members of the board would be from Yerington and one from the city of Fernley. The current fair and recreation board was also the room tax board. Section 4 of A.B. 181 proposed membership of the board to include one from each incorporated city, two members from the hotel/motel operators, one from a commercial interest, one to represent the county at large, and one county commissioner also. The board would expand from six to seven members and would have proper county representation.
Assemblywoman Parnell asked Mr. Goodman if any other counties were impacted by A.B. 181. Mr. Goodman stated only Lyon County would be impacted. Ms. Parnell questioned how the people of Yerington felt about the proposed bill and would there be support from that city. Mr. Goodman stated the city of Yerington would still retain one person on the board. He felt the commissioners had their approval.
Assemblyman Mortenson asked for clarification on the seven-person board.
Chairman Bache queried why the board composition was not changed to include only elected officials instead of public and private members. He stated the private members would now become the majority of the board. Mr. Goodman clarified the private members presently existed on the board as stated in Section 8 of the new proposed bill.
Chairman Bache asked for further questions on A.B. 181. Senator Amodei testified in support of A.B. 181 at the request of Mr. Goodman.
Assemblyman Price questioned Mr. Goodman about the other types of businesses that could be represented on the board other than hotel/motel operators. Mr. Goodman stated other commercial entities on the board could include those from ranching, mining, printing, farming, etc. The primary issue was the room tax that was generated and dispensed throughout the county.
Thomas J. Grady, Executive Director, Nevada League of Cities (NLOC), reported in response to Ms. Parnell’s previous question. He had called the city manager of Yerington and one of the councilmen in Yerington and they had voiced their support of A.B. 181.
Chairman Bache closed the hearing on A.B. 181 with a question to Eileen O’Grady in regard to the language in Section 4 that pertained to one member who represented the county at large and one member who represented each city. Mr. Bache queried if the language meant a member had to be a member of the governing board of those organizations or could the member be someone else the city or county chose. Ms. O’Grady stated she believed the language meant the one member must be a member of the incorporated city and the member of the county at large would be a member of the public. Mr. Bache reopened the meeting on A.B. 181 for question of clarification of intent addressed to Ms. Walker and representatives from Lyon County on language intent in Section 4. He assumed there would be a member on the board from each city council and a county commissioner.
Mr. Goodman stated that the city of Yerington chose whomever they wanted to serve on the board. Currently the member was not a city council member.
Assemblywoman Von Tobel stated for clarification that apparently the reason for A.B. 181 was for every city to have a representative on the board; that was not the case at the present time.
Ms. Walker replied in Section 3, without the strikeouts, the current language was interpreted to mean there would be four board members from one city, and only one from a newly incorporated city, Fernley. That would not work in Lyon County as it did in Elko. Ms. Von Tobel was assured A.B. 181 would make sure each city had equal representation on the board.
Chairman Bache closed the hearing on A.B. 181 and the committee began a work session. Mr. Bache asked Ms. O’Grady to hand out proposed amendments to the bills the committee would review. He stated the committee would not be discussing A.B. 96, as there was a constitutionality question that would require some time to research.
Assembly Bill No. 56: Authorizes counties to transfer or sell certain real property to certain persons without offering property to public under certain circumstances. (BDR 20-96)
Assemblyman Roy Neighbors restated A.B. 56’s purpose for the committee. (Exhibit C) The bill gave the counties the authority to deal fairly with residents who had occupied property, but were not currently deemed to hold valid claims, in the state’s historic town sites when the property was transferred to the town sites by federal legislation. The bill allowed the county to sell or transfer real property obtained from the federal government without offering the property to the public. Mr. Neighbors stated the BLM met with the officials of Nye and Esmeralda counties to work out the details of the transfers and sales. The bill proposed there were certain conditions that must be met as viewed on page 1, line 7 and page 2, line 39. He stated A.B. 56 would be a landmark piece of legislation.
ASSEMBLYMAN NEIGHBORS MOVED TO DO PASS
ASSEMBLYWOMAN GIBBONS SECONDED THE MOTION
THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
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Chairman Bache asked Mr. Neighbors to chair a subcommittee on A.B. 94. Members of the subcommittee were to include Mr. Humke and Mr. Price.
The Chairman decided to work on A.B. 90 and A.B. 122 concurrently because both amended the same statute. A.B. 90 would be referred to the Assembly Ways and Means Committee because of fiscal impact.
Assembly Bill No. 90: Eliminates limitation on amount of unused sick leave employee in public service is entitled to carry forward from year to year. (BDR 23-532)
ASSEMBLYMAN LEE MOVED TO DO PASS AND REREFER TO WAYS AND MEANS.
ASSEMBLYMAN LEE SECONDED THE MOTION.
THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
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Assembly Bill No. 122: Requires payment for all accrued unused sick leave of state employee under certain circumstances. (BDR 23-691)
ASSEMBLYWOMAN VON TOBEL MOVED TO DO PASS.
ASSEMBLYMAN LEE SECONDED THE MOTION.
THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
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Assembly Bill No. 99: Revises dates on which certain special elections may be held by local governments. (BDR 31-418)
ASSEMBLYMAN LEE MOVED TO DO PASS.
ASSEMBLYMAN NEIGHBORS SECONDED THE MOTION.
Chairman Bache asked for discussion. Assemblywoman Gibbons stated there was an amendment proposed and asked Mr. Lee to consider. Mr. Lee replied he was not aware of the amendment. The Chair called Ms. Carole Vilardo to restate the amendment.
Ms. Vilardo, President, Nevada Taxpayer’s Association, stated there was an amendment requested that would clarify the initiative in order to qualify the absolute cut-off date was the third Monday in July. There was concern that an election could have certain ballot questions that would extend beyond the July date. Mr. Lee withdrew his motion and Mr. Neighbors withdrew his second of the motion.
ASSEMBLYMAN LEE MOVED TO AMEND AND DO PASS.
ASSEMBLYMAN NEIGHBORS MOVED TO SECOND THE MOTION.
THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
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Assembly Bill No. 100: Authorizes board of county commissioners to provide by ordinance for compensation of members of advisory board. (BDR 20-412)
Chairman Bache stated an amendment to this bill clarified language in Section 2 to read, “such members of an advisory board are entitled to receive such travel expenses as are authorized in the ordinance that established the advisory board”. (Exhibit D)
ASSEMBLYMAN HUMKE MOVED TO AMEND AND DO PASS.
ASSEMBLYWOMAN VON TOBEL SECONDED THE MOTION.
Mr. Lee queried if there was a certain qualification contained in the statute that concerned a minimum amount of mileage or a maximum amount of mileage. Chairman Bache stated the board of county commissioners planned to use the federal reimbursement table that allowed a certain amount per mile for travel.
Assemblyman Neighbors stated the language was permissive and allowed those entities that had not budgeted for travel the ability to have the money to provide for travel expenses.
THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
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Assembly Bill No. 101: Requires inclusion of certain portions of county roads, state highways and railroads in territory annexed by cities in larger counties. (BDR 21-362)
Chairman Bache stated there was an amendment that clarified language for Clark County and asked Mr. Grady of NLC if his organization had agreed and approved the amendment. Mr. Grady stated in the affirmative.
ASSEMBLYMAN MORTENSON MOVED TO AMEND AND DO PASS.
ASSEMBLYMAN PRICE SECONDED THE MOTION.
THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
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Assembly Bill No. 102: Revises qualifications for membership on Comstock historic district commission. (BDR 33-546)
Assemblyman Humke wanted to gauge any concerns of committee members that thought it might be appropriate to add Washoe County and Carson City representatives to this state commission. Mr. Humke asked the Chair for discussion. Chairman Bache stated there was no motion at the time; however, the committee could have discussion. Mr. Price stated previous testimony indicated the concern might be appropriate. Mrs. Gibbons remembered the testimony and recalled the two members for the general engineer and general contractor positions on the commission would be from Washoe County or Carson City in lieu of the fact the selection population would be greater.
Chairman Bache recalled in testimony for A.B. 102 one of the reasons the bill changed from architects to include general building contractors or general engineering contractors was because there was no architect living in the Comstock area. The prime effort of the bill was to include people in the area on the commission.
ASSEMBLYWOMAN GIBBONS MOTIONED TO DO PASS.
ASSEMBLYWOMAN FREEMAN SECONDED THE MOTION.
Ms. Gibbons stated she felt very comfortable with the testimony that indicated the commission would include Carson City and Washoe County. Some engineers in those counties had been very involved in working with the area already.
Ms. Parnell indicated that, as the Assemblyperson on the committee who represented Carson City, she would have been aware of a concern from her constituents if there had been one prior to this consideration.
THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
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Assembly Bill No. 117: Revises provisions regarding rules adopted by local governments that affect businesses. (BDR 19-495)
ASSEMBLYMAN HUMKE MOVED TO DO PASS.
ASSEMBLYWOMAN GIBBONS SECONDED THE MOTION.
THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
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Assembly Bill No. 138: Clarifies formula for determining amount payable by State of Nevada toward cost of insurance for certain retired employees. (BDR 23-1065)
Chairman Bache indicated there was a proposed amendment written by Ms. O’Grady on behalf of the Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) that clarified the formula from a flat amount for state retirees to a sliding scale based on years of service with the state. (Exhibit E) The amendment proposed retirees who currently collected the health insurance benefit would still collect the subsidy; however, those who retired after July 1 of this year would not. It would not be appropriate for the state to take away a benefit currently being enjoyed.
Dana Bilyeu, Operations Officer, PERS, stated her information technology manager had run reports to clarify the impact of the subsidy currently being administered, including service for other public employment. There were approximately 2,300 individuals that were retired and received the state subsidy in varying amounts dependent upon time of service. Of those numbers, less than 100 were receiving subsidy on the basis of other public employment. Ms. Von Tobel asked for clarification as to whether the proposed amendment could take away from retirees that currently received the subsidy. Chairman Bache stated the amendment would not take the benefit away from people currently on the subsidy. It was never legislative intent to offer the subsidy to retirees that had other public service. As proposed, the benefit would apply to retired state employees only after July 1 of this year.
Ms. Von Tobel stated for clarification, someone that retired June 30 could still receive the benefit of combined city, county and state employment. Mr. Bache stated there might be approximately five to ten people that might qualify for retirement before the June 30 date and fall into that category. Ms. Von Tobel wanted assurance the people affected by the proposed amendment would be served notice of the new law.
Ms. Bilyeu stated PERS would publish the information in their newsletter.
ASSEMBLYWOMAN GIBBONS MOTIONED TO AMEND AND DO PASS.
ASSEMBLYWOMAN BERMAN SECONDED THE MOTION.
THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
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Chairman Bache closed the work session of the committee.
Mr. Neighbors questioned about action on A.B. 181. Chairman Bache stated there were a few questions he had to research and the bill would be revisited on Monday or Tuesday. There would be two bills considered on Monday. The Chair assigned A.B. 100 to Mr. Brown to introduce on the Assembly floor and the Chair would introduce the amendment. A.B. 101 was assigned to Mr. Lee for floor statement, A.B. 117 was assigned to Mr. Goldwater, A.B. 102 was assigned to Ms. Parnell, A.B. 138 was assigned to Ms. Berman and A.B. 90 and A.B. 122 would be passed to Assembly Ways and Means.
Assemblywoman Berman asked if there was a fiscal note on A.B. 138. Mr. Bache stated there was not and if there were, it would be a positive one for the state.
Chairman Bache questioned the committee concerning any further business and seeing none adjourned the meeting at 9:08a.m.
Cheryl Meyers
Committee Secretary
APPROVED BY:
Assemblyman Douglas Bache, Chairman
DATE: