ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS AND PROCEDURES Sixty-eighth Session May 23, 1995 The Committee on Elections and Procedures was called to order at 3:50 p.m., on Tuesday, May 23, 1995, Chairman Giunchigliani presiding in Room 331 of the Legislative Building, Carson City, Nevada. Exhibit A is the Agenda. Exhibit B is the Attendance Roster. COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT: Mr. Jack D. Close, Chairman Ms. Chris Giunchigliani, Chairman Mrs. Joan A. Lambert, Vice Chairman Mr. Richard Perkins, Vice Chairman Mr. Joseph E. Dini, Jr. Mrs. Jan Evans Mr. Thomas A. Fettic Mrs. Vivian L. Freeman Mr. David E. Humke Mrs. Jan Monaghan Mr. Bob Price COMMITTEE MEMBERS EXCUSED: Mr. Dennis L. Allard GUEST LEGISLATORS PRESENT: Secretary of State Dean Heller Assemblyman Lynn Hettrick, District No. 39 STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT: Mr. Robert Erickson, Research Director OTHERS PRESENT: Chief Deputy Dale Erquiaga, office Secretary of State Ms. Leola Armstrong, Executive Director, Common Cause Nevada Ms. Ellen Nelson, Common Cause Kathryn Ferguson, Clark County Registrar of Voters Ms. Jan Gilbert, The League of Women Voters Alan Glover, Carson City Clerk Recorder Ms. Janine Hansen, representing Joel Hansen, Attorney for Independent American Party Ms. Joanne Herdt, President, Residents Against Mandatory Programs Ms. Valida McMichael, Member of United We Stand America and R.A.M.P. ASSEMBLY BILL 620 - Revises provisions relating to proposal and repeal of ordinances by initiative and referendum. Assemblyman Lynn Hettrick, District No. 39, asked to be taken out of order due to another meeting. The Chair asked him to make his introduction. Assemblyman Hettrick requested A.B. 620 because people in Douglas County had ballot initiatives placed on the ballot, and, when the ballot initiatives were on the ballot, the language did not match the original initiative. As a result, Assemblyman Hettrick was asked to submit a bill which would address the problem. The Secretary of State's elections bill addresses many of the same concerns, he conveyed. A.B. 620 establishes a procedure to allow the petitioners to have a right of approval and a procedure by which the language for the ballot will be reviewed by the office of the Secretary of State. Chairman Giunchigliani asked Assemblyman Hettrick if he would object to taking concepts from A.B. 620 and condensing into other election bills to be reviewed by subcommittee. Assemblyman Hettrick responded he would not object as his main concern was to help constituents get what they needed. Chairman Giunchigliani announced committee would hear public testimony on A.B. 620 later in the meeting. ASSEMBLY BILL 618 - Makes various changes in provisions governing elections. Secretary of State Dean Heller assumed the testimonial table and introduced Chief Deputy Dale Erquiaga who would review the technical aspects of A.B. 618. Secretary of State Heller began his presentation reading from prepared text (Exhibit C). Chairman Giunchigliani asked for confirmation if under Section 32, page 16, line 44, inserting after "political party," the word, "caucus" or similar language would be inserted. Secretary of State Heller affirmed she was correct. There were no questions from the committee. Chief Deputy Dale Erquiaga, office of Secretary of State, recapped each section of the bill. See (Exhibit D). Upon completion, Chairman Giunchigliani complimented Mr. Erquiaga for his outstanding presentation. Chairman Giunchigliani referred to Secretary of State Heller's and Chief Deputy Erquiaga's comments regarding the threshold, and she pointed out in her bill draft threshold went to zero rather than $100 and included caucuses. Since her bill was not yet out, she asked the committee to consider going to zero at a later date. Chairman Giunchigliani reminded Mr. Erquiaga of the challenge and the issue of the form on the felony, and she questioned whether forms for voter registration had been adjusted. Responding to Chairman Giunchigliani's question, Mr. Erquiaga said when the Secretary of State reproscribed forms under the federal standards, he would ensure the section was clarified. Clarification was necessary for Non-Partisans who registered to vote as Independents, an issue brought forward by Assemblywoman Freeman, Chairman Giunchigliani conveyed. Mr. Erquiaga, noting the issue seemed to be more of a problem of instructions to the voter and the way the form was designed, said as the applications to register to vote were re-done, the clearer language from the federal form would be used. Assemblyman Humke referred to page 7 references to the "indigent filer". Assemblyman Humke asked if Mr. Erquiaga's office had a policy to notify the public when someone filed as "indigent." Mr. Erquiaga replied there was not. Assemblyman Humke asked if Mr. Erquiaga would mind if that was amended into A.B. 618. Responding to Assemblyman Humke's query, Mr. Erquiaga replied he did not mind, but he would not speak for the Secretary of State. Mr. Erquiaga added committee could ask that the language be reflected on the lists prepared by the counties or by the Secretary of State. Those lists, he said, were distributed to the public or to the press. Assemblyman Humke thought the voters and the public should know. Assemblyman Humke referred to page 13, subsection 6 of Section 24, and asked if case law existed on the subject. He then asked if the information was normally considered public information. In responding to Assemblyman Humke's inquiry, Mr. Erquiaga said no voter registration document was currently declared confidential. The Senate was asked to address the same issue in another bill. Assemblyman Humke said it seemed a free speech aspect existed for the voter not to have his name listed, and asked if the voter could exercise his right to vote and properly register in order to vote and not have his or her name listed. Mr. Erquiaga could not speak regarding freedom of speech, but election law was based on residency. Registrars needed to know where to put the voter, and, he added, challenges were based on residency. If a voter never told where he lived, the right to challenge has been removed, he added. Assemblyman Humke said that would seem to be a worthwhile exception to either the right to privacy or free speech. Mr. Erquiaga stated it was the intent to have all 17 counties standard. Chairman Giunchigliani said a question concerning whether a special form existed was brought up by the Independent American Party the previous week. She asked if that was taken care of in the bill or would a form suffice. Mr. Erquiaga replied it was not placed in statute nor pending since it did not need to be. The Secretary of State already could proscribe any form deemed necessary. Assemblyman Close posed the question of whether or not modifications existed to deal with the problem of concern by the populace regarding not having a paper ballot. Mr. Erquiaga answered the question by explaining the issue of a paper ballot was largely a philosophical one. Current statutes and their current application provided for either a paper ballot or a punch card ballot or a report of that ballot termed a "functional equivalent". Mr. Erquiaga explained a bill was in the Senate which was specifically designed to address the concerns raised about direct record electronic machines. The bill seemed to be adequate, and nothing additional needed to be done, he assured. He communicated some people would never be happy unless a paper ballot with everyone's name on it was used. Nevada had not used a ballot of that nature since the mid 1970's. Current laws and current applications were adequate and met federal election standards as they were addressed in other states, he continued. Nevada was not charging ahead of its sister states in this area, he assured. Mr. Erquiaga believed A.B. 618 was sufficient, and, with the bill from the Senate, would address some of Clark County's concern. Assemblyman Close referred to Section 7, page 2, line 30 and asked about the minor political parties that may not have a central committee. Mr. Erquiaga replied they were required by another statute to file a set of bylaws with the Secretary of State. They would have some structure that either paralleled the central committee or a state central committee. Assemblyman Close conveyed the committee had discussed extending the length of residency before they filed a vote. The actual residence is 30 days before. He was not asking for an opinion but just to bring that up to the committee for discussion, he added. Mr. Erquiaga stated the statute was not amended in the bill. Assemblyman Close encouraged the committee to make modifications so that it was clearer. He thought it was clear that what committee wanted was the statewide office to have a different cap than the local office. Assemblywoman Freeman referring to page 14, Section 26, line 25, asked if people were currently in prison who had committed felonies related to voting. Mr. Erquiaga replied, "No," and explained the law was more preventative in nature. Chairman Giunchigliani stated three sections needed to be amended: Sections 11, 31 and 32. Four sections may be taken out because Sections 18 through 22 were in another bill, and Sections 44 and 45 were in another subsequent bill, she emphasized. Assemblyman Close reminded Mr. Erquiaga he had said the early voting situation would be dealt with somewhere else. Mr. Erquiaga said it probably was best to put all the early voting provisions together. It was a very specific process. Chairman Giunchigliani asked for committee introduction for the following Bill Draft Request requested by the Clark County Election Department: B.D.R. 24-1749: Revises provisions governing mechanical voting systems. ASSEMBLYMAN PERKINS MOVED FOR COMMITTEE INTRODUCTION OF THE BILL DRAFT REQUEST. ASSEMBLYWOMAN MONAGHAN SECONDED THE MOTION. Chairman Giunchigliani asked for discussion. There was none. THE MOTION CARRIED. ASSEMBLYMEN DINI AND PRICE WERE NOT PRESENT FOR THE VOTE. * * * * * * * * * Ms. Leola Armstrong, Executive Director, Common Cause Nevada, a proponent of A.B. 618, began her presentation reading from prepared text. See (Exhibit E). Common Cause supported A.B. 618 in its entirety with one exception. The portion opposed by Common Cause would be addressed by Board Member Ellen Nelson, Ms. Armstrong said. Ms. Armstrong addressed the committee stressing the committee pay particular heed to money funneled to candidates through the partisan political P.A.C.'s since the amount was so large. Information obtained by Common Cause from former Secretary of State showed 35,000 contributions of $500 and under reported for legislative races. She concluded by urging committee to give consideration to unrevealed campaign contributions which she thought was important for the voting public to know. Mr. Price saw going to the lower reporting points as a concern since some people may not give contributions because they would not want other candidates bothering them for contributions. Many actually gave to both sides, he declared. Assemblyman Price thought the lower thresholds would restrict people from using their own money, and would give a built in advantage to the more affluent who might decide to run for office and spend their own money. He asked if Common Cause, either nationally or statewide, had ever put any case to that kind of a theory. Ms. Armstrong said nationally they had worked very hard to keep the multi- millionaire syndrome out of it, but could not. People could not be prohibited from giving themselves a million dollars because that would be a violation of their first amendment rights, but it could be declared which was important, she said. Ms. Ellen Nelson, a member of Common Cause, referenced Pages 3 and 4, Sections 8 and 10 of A.B. 618 which referred to the filing of minor political parties and major political parties. In a recent election, it was uncertain who would be on the ballot in the general election because the minor political parties did not have to list their names before the primary. She would like to see an even playing field regarding the contributions. Anyone running for office should have the same beginning filing date and the same closing filing date, she felt. Ms. Nelson reiterated she would like to see an even playing field where everybody knows who is on the ballot. Chairman Giunchigliani informed committee she reviewed another bill to try to comply and shorten the time for filing so that everybody was within a certain date. Kathryn Ferguson, Clark County Registrar of Voters, announced her support of A.B. 618. She distributed prepared testimony (Exhibit F) and offered comments and concerns regarding A.B. 618. Concluding, she said the District Attorney had concerns with regard to Section 25, drafting the language of those questions, but would work with committee in Work Session. Chairman Giunchigliani announced committee was now a subcommittee. Ms. Jan Gilbert, representing The League of Women Voters, announced support of A.B. 618 particularly the two sections regarding lowering of campaign thresholds and including Political Action Committees. She recommended the book, "Money and Politics" which gave thresholds and chiefly dealt with the Western States. Nevada was extraordinarily high compared to other states. Idaho was $100, Oregon $50, Utah $50 and Montana $35. She said the book made forty one percent of Nevada's contributions to campaigns unidentifiable. She supported a lower threshold and stated contributions should be disclosed. Alan Glover, Carson City Clerk Recorder, and Mrs. Hammer Caldwell, Chief Deputy Election Clerk, Carson City, assumed the testimonial table to support A.B. 618. Mr. Glover testified A.B. 618 was one of the better bills introduced. He submitted and briefly discussed a list of technical amendments which he felt were important. See (Exhibit G). Carson City had a separate form for campaign disclosures less than $300. He favored lowering the threshold to allow Carson City to abolish the provision in its city law, and candidates would only have to fill out one form instead of two. Ms. Janine Hansen, representing Mr. Joel Hansen, Attorney for the Independent American Party, stated a concern on Page 3, Section 9, line 37. Minor parties do not have party nominations, she said. Section 9, line 47 had a September 1st deadline. She read a statement from the Supreme Court regarding a case test in Connecticut. She said the Independent American Party anticipated going to court if the situation occurred again. On Page 4, she continued, the form made up as a part of the statute does not apply to minor parties because on line 20 on page 4 it states again, "for a party nomination" and a separate form was needed which did not read, "for a party nomination for minor parties." The form also discusses the September 1st deadline, she added. Chairman Giunchigliani informed Ms. Hansen that Mr. Erquiaga, from the Secretary of State's office, assured there was a form for the candidacy for the minor parties, and there was not a need to put it in A.B. 618. Mr. Erquiaga would make sure the form was disseminated to all the clerks. Ms. Hansen said she had concerns about where it lowered the contribution because it was difficult as regulations increased for running for office. Ms. Hansen referenced page 18, lines 14 and 15, and stated she felt the logistics of reporting would be impossible to comply with. ASSEMBLY BILL 620 - Revises provisions relating to proposal and repeal of ordinances by initiative and referendum. Ms. Hansen asked to give her testimony on A.B. 620 since she would not be able to stay for the remainder of the meeting. Ms. Hansen commented on who would have an opportunity to say something about the ballot language against a question. There was not always an organized group opposing a question. Chairman Giunchigliani told Ms. Hansen Mr. Hettrick had introduced A.B. 620, but testimony had not been taken. Similar language was in the Secretary of State's bill. There was no process for a public hearing especially before a school board or a county commission that puts language on a ballot. There should be opposing as well as supporting recommendations as they are drafted in the language, she said. Enclosed is (Exhibit H) sent by fax from Mr. Russ Driver, President, United We Save America, Inc., relative to A.B. 618. Chairman Giunchigliani closed the hearing on A.B. 618. ASSEMBLY BILL 620 - Revises provisions relating to proposal and repeal of ordinances by initiative and referendum. Chairman Giunchigliani opened the hearing on A.B. 620 for testimony. Chairman Giunchigliani noted for the record Elections and Procedures Committee was back to a full committee. Ms. Joanne Herdt, Residents Against Mandatory Programs, (R.A.M.P.), testified in favor of A.B. 620 and stated her group gave Assemblyman Hettrick information to present to the bill drafters. She also went to the Secretary of State three days after he was elected and spoke to him about the problems Douglas County had which brought them to this point. A.B. 620 was extremely important for the public and she asked committee to support the legislation. The people ran into issues which they thought would never happen because they believed in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. They went through the process, worked extremely hard, and, after going through the process, Douglas County sued them because the County did not believe the people's initiatives fit their image of what they wanted as far as law went. She continued, stating her group went to court, won and got their initiatives on the ballot, the initiatives were successful and passed. She stated her group was composed of people who cared about what was happening with law and with their rights. Ms. Herdt introduced Ms. Valida A. McMichael, member of United We Stand America and of R.A.M.P. Ms. McMichael stated United We Stand America formed a coalition with R.A.M.P. The initiatives addressed within Douglas County were discussed and debated countywide, she said, and because they were initiatives, the group disagreed with the local government. When the group went to the election laws and filed a complaint with the Secretary of State after the election, the group found the election laws had some loopholes which the lawyers had seen. Consequently, R.A.M.P. came to the legislature asking that some of the loopholes be closed. Ms. McMichael's group had three concerns: they wanted the District Attorney's duties delineated within the election laws at the county level, and they wanted the initiative and the referendums that were signed by the citizens to be the same as they were able to vote on at election time. That was not done in Douglas County. The explanation and the arguments for and against, that went with the sample ballot, should have been fair and truthful. The group was able to write the argument for, the District Attorney's office got to write the argument against, and it would have been nice if it had been truthful, Ms. McMichael told committee. The initiatives were either one sentence long or two sentences long. They were very clear, very concise and very easy to understand. That was the problem. It was too easy to understand, she said, so they had to add an extra 25 words to one of them, or change a few words in another one and make some additions which were not necessary. The judge said it was not necessary, but they ignored the court order also. Chairman Giunchigliani stated it was arrogant, and informed what was attempted in the bills was a public process and a public hearing would be assured. Ms. McMichael said R.A.M.P. liked Section 47 in the Secretary of State's bill which went along with Assemblyman Hettrick's except Assemblyman Hettrick's bill was more detailed and set out the procedure. She stated the Secretary of State's bill had Section 3 which R.A.M.P. liked. Ms. McMichael thought a combination of the two would be good, and she asked committee to make it as strong as possible. Chairman Giunchigliani stated they would work with the Secretary of State's bill to see which should be more in a regulatory process for proper open hearing versus the statute. Assemblyman Price said A.B. 620 spoke of the Secretary of State, and the petitioners committee could be any group of folks starting a petition. Ms. McMichael said the group had to file with their local County Clerk to identify the Petition Committee. After questions from Assemblyman Price, Chairman Giunchigliani clarified a point made when she spoke with Assemblyman Hettrick earlier in the meeting. She said, "We are going to probably take this language or parts of this language and leave it within the Secretary of State's bill which already has language in it." Secondly, she said, the point that was made was for statewide issues. The Secretary of State dealt with language through a previous open hearing. Chairman Giunchigliani said this was dealing with a locally generated ballot where the individuals who circulated the petition, the language that was signed by the registered voters, was changed by the County Commission. They had no authority nor right to change that language. Committee was attempting to make sure that does not occur. There being no other testimony, Chairman Giunchigliani closed the hearing on A.B. 620. Chairman Giunchigliani notified committee Mr. Bob Erickson was distributing information regarding a proposed interim study (Exhibit I). She recognized Assemblywoman Evans who gave an explanation to the committee. Assemblywoman Evans explained the request for a bill draft and noted it had been a long time since a study was done on the workload, staffing, studies and other considerations in Legislative Counsel Bureau. Chairman Giunchigliani asked committee if there would be a motion. ASSEMBLYWOMAN EVANS MOVED TO REQUEST A BILL DRAFT TO ALLOW FOR THE CONTINUANCE OF THE STUDY DONE WITHIN LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL BUREAU. ASSEMBLYMAN PERKINS SECONDED THE MOTION. THE MOTION CARRIED. * * * * * * * * * Chairman Giunchigliani clarified a vote on the housing which was tied to the block grant changes. It would be a very narrow focus. Mrs. Lambert and Mr. Humke had asked for confirmation. Assemblyman Close added the motion did pass. It was not passed until Mr. Perkins voted and was Do Pass eight to three that day. Chairman Giunchigliani reminded committee they would meet at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, May 25, for a one hour Work Session. At 4:30 p.m. in Ways and Means Committee Room, Elections and Procedures would have a Joint Meeting with Senate Government Affairs Committee on the A.B. 619, the National Voter Rights Act. There being no further business to come before committee, the meeting was adjourned at 5:40 p.m. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED: Bobbie Mikesell, Committee Secretary APPROVED BY: Assemblyman Jack D. Close, Chairman Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, Chairman Assembly Committee on Elections and Procedures May 23, 1995 Page