Carson City (Tuesday), February 16, 1999
Assembly called to order at 4:23 p.m.
Mr. Speaker presiding.
Roll called.
All present except Assemblyman Marvel, who was excused.
Prayer by the Chaplain, The Reverend Bruce Henderson.
Father, we began this week with a day to celebrate love. Love, an odd thing to mention in state government. Allow me today, Lord, to request a spirit of love, joy, and peace in these chambers as we go about our daily business. Thank You. I pray in the Name of the One who taught us, "Love one another as I have loved you." Amen.
Pledge of allegiance to the Flag.
Assemblyman Perkins moved that further reading of the Journal be dispensed with, and the Speaker and Chief Clerk be authorized to make the necessary corrections and additions.
Motion carried.
MESSAGES FROM THE Senate
Senate Chamber, Carson City, February 15, 1999
To the Honorable the Assembly:
I have the honor to inform your honorable body that the Senate on this day passed Senate Bills Nos. 11, 31, 48, 52.
Also, I have the honor to inform your honorable body that the Senate on this day passed, as amended, Senate Bill No. 13.
Mary Jo Mongelli Assistant Secretary of the Senate
MOTIONS, RESOLUTIONS AND NOTICES
By Assemblymen Hettrick, Cegavske, Dini, Anderson, Angle, Arberry, Bache, Beers, Berman, Brower, Buckley, Carpenter, Chowning, Claborn, Collins, de Braga, Evans, Freeman, Gibbons, Giunchigliani, Goldwater, Gustavson, Humke, Koivisto, Lee, Leslie, Manendo, Marvel, McClain, Mortenson, Neighbors, Nolan, Ohrenschall, Parks, Parnell, Perkins, Price, Segerblom, Thomas, Tiffany, Von Tobel and Williams; Senators Raggio, Amodei, Care, Carlton, Coffin, Jacobsen, James, Mathews, McGinness, Neal, O'Connell, O'Donnell, Porter, Rawson, Rhoads, Schneider, Shaffer, Titus, Townsend, Washington and Wiener:
Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 18—Memorializing former Nevada Legislator and engineer Max J. Bennett.
Whereas, The members of this legislative body note with regret the sad passing of former Nevada Legislator Max J. Bennett on September 19, 1998; and
Whereas, Max Bennett was born in the town of Duncan, Oklahoma, on July 10, 1952; and
Whereas, Max Bennett attended East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma, and earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in mathematics and in physics; and
Whereas, After moving to Nevada, Max Bennett joined the Clark County Republican Party Central Committee, served on its Executive Committee and was honored in 1994 with the Clark County GOP “Leadership Award”; and
Whereas, In 1994, Max Bennett was elected to the Nevada Legislature to represent Assembly District No. 14; and
Whereas, During Max Bennett’s term in the 68th session of the Nevada Legislature, he received praise for his sincerity and hard work as a member of the Assembly Standing Committees on Education and on Government Affairs, in addition to his service as a Vice Chairman on the Assembly Standing Committee on Natural Resources, Agriculture and Mining; and
Whereas, One of Max Bennett’s special interests was working with the Department of Education’s Educational Outreach Program; and
Whereas, Former Assemblyman Max Bennett is survived by two daughters, Nicole of Biloxi, Mississippi, and Jennifer of Las Vegas, a son, Matthew, of Blanchard, Oklahoma, his father, Jack Sr., of San Antonio, Texas, and a brother, Jack Jr., of Countyline, Oklahoma; now, therefore, be it
Resolved By The Assembly Of The State Of Nevada, The Senate Concurring, That the members of the 70th session of the Nevada Legislature extend their heartfelt condolences to the family of Max J. Bennett; and be it further
Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly prepare and transmit a copy of this resolution to Max Bennett’s children, Nicole, Jennifer and Matthew.
Assemblyman Hettrick moved the adoption of the resolution.
Remarks by Assemblymen Hettrick, Koivisto, Carpenter, Humke, Chowning, Nolan and Ohrenschall.
Resolution adopted unanimously.
Assemblyman Hettrick moved that all rules be suspended and that Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 18 be immediately transmitted to the Senate.
Motion carried unanimously.
INTRODUCTION, FIRST READING AND REFERENCE
By Assemblymen de Braga, Freeman, Neighbors, Segerblom, Goldwater, Bache, Mortenson, Claborn, McClain, Koivisto, Parnell, Anderson, Arberry, Giunchigliani, Williams, Parks, Collins, Manendo, Ohrenschall, Price, Gibbons, Lee, Buckley, Perkins and Chowning:
Assembly Bill No. 246—AN ACT relating to state employees; requiring payment for all accrued unused sick leave of a state employee in certain circumstances; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.
Assemblyman de Braga moved that the bill be referred to the Committee on Government Affairs.
Motion carried.
By Assemblywoman Chowning (by request):
Assembly Bill No. 247—AN ACT relating to passenger cars; increasing the fee a short-term lessor of a passenger car may charge for a waiver of damages; authorizing a short-term lessor of a passenger car to charge a short-term lessee an additional fee for certain additional authorized drivers; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.
Assemblywoman Chowning moved that the bill be referred to the Committee on Transportation.
Motion carried.
By Assemblymen Chowning, Giunchigliani, Parks, de Braga, Hettrick, Dini, Perkins, Evans, Arberry, Freeman, Gibbons, Neighbors, Beers, Parnell, Humke, Claborn, Mortenson, Koivisto, Tiffany, McClain, Brower, Leslie, Buckley, Goldwater, Segerblom, Anderson, Bache, Angle, Gustavson and Price:
Assembly Bill No. 248—AN ACT relating to contracts of insurance; authorizing an insurer to provide a copy of a policy or contract of insurance written in a language other than English; providing that the policy or contract of insurance written in English is controlling in the case of a dispute; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.
Assemblywoman Chowning moved that the bill be referred to the Committee on Commerce and Labor.
Motion carried.
By the Committee on Health and Human Services:
Assembly Bill No. 249—AN ACT relating to Medicaid; amending the provisions governing the recovery of assets pursuant to the Medicaid estate recovery program; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.
Assemblywoman Freeman moved that the bill be referred to the Committee on Health and Human Services.
Motion carried.
By the Committee on Health and Human Services:
Assembly Bill No. 250—AN ACT relating to elderly persons; revising the provisions governing the duties of the specialist for the rights of elderly persons within the aging services division of the department of human resources; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.
Assemblywoman Freeman moved that the bill be referred to the Committee on Health and Human Services.
Motion carried.
By the Committee on Health and Human Services:
Assembly Bill No. 251—AN ACT relating to county hospitals; authorizing county hospitals to join purchasing groups for the purpose of purchasing supplies, materials and equipment used by the hospital; authorizing county hospitals under certain circumstances to purchase supplies, materials and equipment without complying with the Local Government Purchasing Act; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.
Assemblywoman Freeman moved that the bill be referred to the Committee on Health and Human Services.
Motion carried.
By the Committee on Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Mining:
Assembly Bill No. 252—AN ACT relating to public water; revising the provisions governing liens upon lands entitled to receive water from an irrigation district; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.
Assemblyman de Braga moved that the bill be referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Mining.
Motion carried.
By the Committee on Commerce and Labor:
Assembly Bill No. 253—AN ACT relating to industrial insurance; removing the limitation on the payment of a death benefit for the transportation of the remains of a deceased employee beyond the continental limits of the United States; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.
Assemblywoman Buckley moved that the bill be referred to the Committee on Commerce and Labor.
Motion carried.
By the Committee on Government Affairs:
Assembly Bill No. 254—AN ACT relating to the incorporation of cities; deleting certain requirements for the incorporation of cities by general law; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.
Assemblyman Bache moved that the bill be referred to the Committee on Government Affairs.
Motion carried.
By the Committee on Government Affairs:
Assembly Bill No. 255—AN ACT relating to state financial administration; requiring biennial reporting by the director of the department of administration on the status of internal accounting and administrative controls in certain state agencies; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.
Assemblyman Bache moved that the bill be referred to the Committee on Government Affairs.
Motion carried.
By the Committee on Government Affairs:
Assembly Bill No. 256—AN ACT relating to county government; increasing the number of members on the board of county commissioners in certain counties; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.
Assemblyman Bache moved that the bill be referred to the Committee on Government Affairs.
Motion carried.
By the Committee on Government Affairs:
Assembly Bill No. 257—AN ACT relating to public employment; requiring the Department of Personnel to add steps to the pay plan for classified employees; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.
Assemblyman Bache moved that the bill be referred to the Concurrent Committees on Government Affairs and Ways and Means.
Motion carried.
By Assemblymen Chowning, Segerblom, de Braga, Mortenson, Claborn, McClain, Koivisto, Freeman, Bache, Anderson, Tiffany, Thomas, Parks, Gibbons, Berman, Evans, Cegavske, Price, Arberry, Ohrenschall, Manendo, Humke, Dini, Perkins, Buckley and Brower:
Assembly Bill No. 258—AN ACT relating to automotive repairs; requiring a garageman to display at his place of business certain information concerning the repair of motor vehicles and to file a bond with the department of motor vehicles and public safety under certain circumstances; revising the provisions concerning a written estimate of cost to repair a motor vehicle; extending the date upon which the advisory board on the repair of motor vehicles expires by limitation; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.
Assemblywoman Chowning moved that the bill be referred to the Committee on Commerce and Labor.
Motion carried.
By Assemblymen Lee, Giunchigliani, Arberry, Goldwater, Thomas, Berman, Chowning, Dini, Perkins, Neighbors, Carpenter, Segerblom, Gibbons, Buckley, Hettrick, Humke, Gustavson, Angle, Claborn, McClain, Koivisto, Tiffany, Freeman, Bache, Anderson, Williams, Parks, Manendo, Collins, Ohrenschall and Price:
Assembly Bill No. 259—AN ACT relating to the state contractors’ board; revising the membership, terms of office and duties of the board; specifying that the attorney general shall enforce the requirements of chapter 624 of NRS; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.
Assemblyman Lee moved that the bill be referred to the Committee on Commerce and Labor.
Motion carried.
By the Committee on Government Affairs:
Assembly Bill No. 260—AN ACT relating to ethics in government; revising the definition of "public officer" to exclude a county health officer; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.
Assemblyman Bache moved that the bill be referred to the Committee on Government Affairs.
Motion carried.
By the Committee on Government Affairs:
Assembly Bill No. 261—AN ACT relating to counties; clarifying the authority of a board of county commissioners to take final action at a meeting held outside the county seat; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.
Assemblyman Bache moved that the bill be referred to the Committee on Government Affairs.
Motion carried.
By Assemblymen Parks, Perkins, Bache, de Braga, Segerblom, Anderson, Neighbors, Thomas, Buckley, Lee, Arberry, Collins, Manendo, Williams, Cegavske, Beers, Brower, Tiffany, Gustavson, Chowning, Evans, Leslie, Koivisto, Freeman, Carpenter, Parnell, Gibbons, Goldwater, McClain, Dini, Nolan, Price, Berman, Von Tobel, Claborn, Mortenson, Giunchigliani, Humke and Hettrick:
Assembly Bill No. 262—AN ACT relating to juveniles; revising provisions concerning notification of a parent, guardian or custodian of a child who is taken into custody for committing an offense; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.
Assemblyman Parks moved that the bill be referred to the Committee on Judiciary.
Motion carried.
By Assemblyman Hettrick:
Assembly Bill No. 263—AN ACT relating to state financial administration; creating a trust fund for money received from manufacturers of tobacco products; establishing provisions regarding the appropriation of money in the trust fund; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.
Assemblyman Hettrick moved that the bill be referred to the Committee on Health and Human Services.
Motion carried.
By Assemblyman Hettrick:
Assembly Bill No. 264—AN ACT relating to counties; extending the authority to make charitable grants to include surplus personal property; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.
Assemblyman Hettrick moved that the bill be referred to the Committee on Government Affairs.
Motion carried.
By Assemblymen Leslie, Gibbons, Buckley, de Braga, Parnell, Parks, Williams and Manendo; Senator Townsend:
Assembly Bill No. 265—AN ACT relating to facilities for the treatment of substance abuse; providing in skeleton form for the licensure and regulation of facilities for the treatment of abuse of alcohol or drugs by the bureau of alcohol and drug abuse in the rehabilitation division of the department of employment, training and rehabilitation; transferring the duties of the department of human resources related to such facilities to the bureau of alcohol and drug abuse; providing a penalty; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.
Assemblywoman Leslie moved that the bill be referred to the Committee on Health and Human Services.
Motion carried.
By Assemblyman Dini (by request):
Assembly Bill No. 266—AN ACT making an appropriation to the Garlic and Onion Growers’ Advisory Board for research on White Rot; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.
Assemblyman Perkins moved that the bill be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.
Motion carried.
By Assemblymen Perkins, Williams, Lee, Carpenter, Ohrenschall, Thomas, de Braga, Berman, Claborn, Anderson, Collins, Parnell, Neighbors, Mortenson, Segerblom, Buckley, Freeman, Evans, Goldwater, Brower, Chowning, McClain, Parks, Manendo, Bache, Tiffany, Hettrick, Price, Gibbons, Leslie, Nolan, Beers, Giunchigliani and Dini; Senators James, Rawson, Coffin, O'Donnell, Titus, Amodei, Care, Carlton, Mathews, Neal, Porter, Schneider, Shaffer, Washington and Wiener:
Assembly Bill No. 267—AN ACT relating to public safety; requiring a person under certain circumstances to report certain violent or sexual offenses against a child to a law enforcement agency; providing for criminal penalties and civil liability for a person who fails to report certain violent or sexual offenses against a child to a law enforcement agency; revising the provisions governing reports of the abuse, neglect, exploitation or isolation of persons who are 60 years of age or older; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.
Assemblyman Perkins moved that the bill be referred to the Committee on Judiciary.
Motion carried.
By the Committee on Elections, Procedures, and Ethics:
Assembly Bill No. 268—AN ACT relating to the legislature; requiring the disclosure of legislators and registered lobbyists who request legislative measures; requiring cosponsorship or withdrawal of certain duplicative legislative measures; revising the date by which the report of the economic forum must be presented to the legislature; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.
Assemblywoman Giunchigliani moved that the bill be referred to the Committee on Elections, Procedures, and Ethics.
Motion carried.
Senate Bill No. 11.
Assemblyman Perkins moved that the bill be referred to the Committee on Judiciary.
Motion carried.
Senate Bill No. 13.
Assemblyman Perkins moved that the bill be referred to the Committee on Commerce and Labor.
Motion carried.
Senate Bill No. 31.
Assemblyman Perkins moved that the bill be referred to the Committee on Commerce and Labor.
Motion carried.
Senate Bill No. 48.
Assemblyman Perkins moved that the bill be referred to the Committee on Government Affairs.
Motion carried.
Senate Bill No. 52.
Assemblyman Perkins moved that the bill be referred to the Committee on Government Affairs.
Motion carried.
MOTIONS, RESOLUTIONS AND NOTICES
Mr. Speaker appointed Assemblymen Collins and Williams as a committee to invite the Senate to meet in Joint Session with the Assembly to hear an address by United States Senator Richard Bryan.
The members of the Senate appeared before the bar of the Assembly.
Mr. Speaker invited the members of the Senate to chairs in the Assembly.
IN JOINT SESSION
At 4:53 p.m.
President of the Senate presiding.
The Secretary of the Senate called the Senate roll.
All present.
The Chief Clerk of the Assembly called the Assembly roll.
All present except Assemblyman Marvel, who was excused.
The President of the Senate appointed a Committee on Escort consisting of Senator Titus and Assemblywoman Segerblom to wait upon Senator Bryan and escort him to the Assembly Chamber.
The Committee on Escort in company with The Honorable Richard Bryan, United States Senator from Nevada, appeared before the bar of the Assembly.
The Committee on Escort escorted the Senator to the rostrum.
Mr. Speaker welcomed Senator Bryan and invited him to deliver his message.
United States Senator Richard Bryan delivered his message as follows:
Message To The Legislature Of Nevada
Seventieth Session, 1999
Her honor, the Lieutenant Governor, Mr. Speaker, Majority Leader Raggio, members of the Legislature, guests and my fellow Nevadans. This will be the last legislative session of the century. A new millenium awaits us with different challenges; but pausing to reflect for a moment, if one goes back a century ago, one sees how different the challenges were that our state faced at that time.
No state in the Union has been more dramatically transformed in the past century than Nevada. A century ago, Nevada was struggling to maintain a population which was barely reaching 40,000 people. The fabled riches of the Comstock Lode had faded from view and they were tough times indeed. How different is the twentieth century and the twenty-first century that we are about to embark upon.
In 1899, it was the Nineteenth Session of the Nevada Legislature, there were 15 senators and 30 members of the Assembly. May I assure you, my friends, that not all wisdom is a product of the twentieth century. They were able to complete their endeavors in 54 days and enact 102 pieces of legislation. Perhaps this is an instructive message for all of us who are part of the legislative process.
These are extraordinary times for the nation’s economy. We are amidst the ninety-fifth consecutive month of economic expansion—the largest peacetime expansion in the nation's history. If ten years ago, when I left for Washington, D.C., I had said there would be a budget surplus at the national level ten years later, I believe a fellow with a net and white jacket would have been sent to promptly dispatch me. It is something none of us foresaw. A decade ago we were talking about budget deficits of $292 billion annually. Today our budget surplus is $70 billion, sort of.
I have been privileged to serve as your governor. I understand that the politics of surplus may be even more daunting than the politics of shortfall. Now there is a great hue and cry in the nation’s capitol as to how we should spend the money. To the right of center, there is a great ground swell building to give tax cuts across the board. That has enormous political appeal. All of us in this chamber who hold elective office understand that none of us is penalized when we say, “Look, elect me. I want to reduce your taxes.” That has a favorable reaction. We are also not unaware that there are unmet needs in our state as there are in the nation. There are many programs that may be advanced and others which can be enriched; it is an enormous temptation. I would hope that we could resist that temptation. We do not know how long the economic expansion may continue. There is no short-term prospect for any economic turn down; but the reality is, the business cycle has not been repealed.
We have an opportunity. That opportunity can profoundly affect each of you. Social security, Medicare and Medicaid programs consume a vast percentage of the federal budget. Because of longer longevity and because of the advent of 76 million Americans born between the years 1946 and 1964—the so call “baby boom generation”—social security will be under enormous pressure. In the year 2032, if we do nothing, social security benefits will have to be reduced by 25 percent. Medicare, upon which 40 million Americans depend for their health coverage, faces an even shorter-term prospect of running into financial problems. Medicaid, in which you participate with us, and which has an enormous impact on your budget, has problems as well.
We have an opportunity—it seems to me, having emerged from the travails of the past month which have engulfed us in the Senate and the nation— to work together in a bipartisan way; Democrats and Republicans, the White House, and the Congress, to sustain and preserve the financial integrity of social security and to restore the solvency of Medicare. If we respond to that challenge and exercise a little financial discipline, the challenges that await you with Medicaid and other health related expenditures will be eased considerably.
Looming out on the horizon are some issues that have a federal genesis that I want to talk with you about—issues which pose some challenges for us. The National Gambling Study Commission is a commission that did not have its genesis by request from state legislatures such as ours in Nevada. It was not requested by any municipal governments. It was not requested by any outpouring of local or state leadership. It was a proposal which was generated by those who define gambling as a moral issue. The commission will be reporting to the Congress this year. I do not know what the report’s contents may be, but gaming looms large on the economic horizon in America.
Having left the confines of Nevada, 48 states now have gaming in some form or another. Only Hawaii and Utah do not. The report of the National Gambling Impact Study Commission could have a significant impact on our economy.
No one is this chamber is unmindful of Proposition 5 and what its impact may be upon us. California is the largest source of tourism for both northern and southern Nevada. Indian gaming is proliferating. There has been a misguided attempt by the Secretary of Interior to suggest that he has the power, under the law, to supersede a state’s governor in his negotiations with a gaming tribe—that he can define what the terms of that compact may be. Nothing could be more potentially dangerous for us. Nothing represents a more unsound policy.
The 1988Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was enacted with the premise that Native Americans should have the same opportunity as any other American to participate in gaming ventures, so as along as it was consistent with the law of the state. Utah and Hawaii, states without gaming, should have no tribe able to negotiate any kind of gaming activity. We were successful in the last session of the Congress to add such an amendment to the appropriation bill. I will do so again in this session of the Congress. It is of critical importance to us.
Let us talk for a moment about air service. One of the critical arteries of commerce for our state is tourism revenue with the millions of tourists coming to Nevada. At a meeting this morning at the Reno airport, I talked about some of the challenges that are faced in northern Nevada. The acquisition of Reno Air by American Airlines has put into question whether or not the only air service that we have in northern Nevada from Chicago to Reno, currently provided by Reno Air, will continue. I indicated as a follow up to a meeting in Dallas, that American Airlines has reassured us that they will maintain and continue that service. That is extremely important for the economy of northern Nevada.
In southern Nevada, the challenge has also been to generate additional air traffic. At a time when the economic expansion has made it more economic, in terms of dollar alignment and budgets, to use air service for business travel rather than for recreation, we need every plane that can to fly into our airports in Nevada.
The so-called “perimeter rule” which was a creation of the Congress in 1986, prevents an airplane from departing Washington National and traveling further than 1250 miles. Conversely, this rule prevents an aircraft which originates beyond the perimeter of 1250 miles from departing and arriving at Washington National. This was a creation of the Congress we need to repeal. Senator John McCain chairs the Commerce Committee on which I serve as a member of the Aviation Subcommittee. This past week, legislation was passed out of the Commerce Committee that will amend the perimeter rule. It will permit direct flight service from Washington, D.C., to Las Vegas’ McCarran International Airport. That is something which is going to be critically important to help fill those thousands of new hotel rooms that are coming on line in southern Nevada.
We all know—those of us who travel frequently by air, and all of you do— what the congestion at the nation’s airports has meant in terms of providing basic creature comforts for travel. More frequently, passengers are being bumped; airline schedules have been delayed; and there is difficulty in getting fare information or understanding how your frequent-flyer miles are going to be handled. Last week I introduced what a number of colleagues and the Commerce Committee are calling, a “Passenger Bill of Rights.” It states that the nation’s airlines must inform you if you are being booked on a flight which is overbooked, and your baggage must be delivered 24 hours after your arrival. This does not seem unreasonable to me. They must fully provide you information about fare structures and what options are available to you as a traveler. They must also tell you how they are going to deal with your frequent-flyer miles. This legislation is a must, in my judgment.
Let me say a word about education that is a priority of Governor Guinn and this legislature. It is a priority of the Congress of the United States and of the President. In order to sustain this remarkable economic expansion that I have discussed earlier, we will need an educated work force—a work force that will be able to do the kinds of things that a generation ago were the kind of things you read about in a science fiction magazine. For the great majority of Nevadans and great majority of Americans, that means attention to the public school systems of our state and of our nation.
I am a cosponsor of legislation which in no way seeks to preempt the primacy of state and local school district autonomy, but would do three things. It would help provide an additional 100,000 teachers which, as the demographics indicates to us, will be needed. It would also assist in class-size reduction, something that has been a long time goal shared in this chamber. It would also provide a funding mechanism for new construction. In some parts of our state, as well some parts of the nation, it is not new construction that we need, but the rehabilitation and renovation of an aging school infrastructure. This piece of legislation should enjoy bipartisan support which, I hope, we are able to have.
This morning, under the Governor’s leadership, we convened a “Nuclear Summit.” As you know, for 17 years I have been in the arena; I know firsthand about the fight; and I have had countless meetings. It is the first time we have ever had the entire delegation—the Governor, the constitutional officers, and key legislative leaders—to design and work on a common strategy. My friends, the nuclear express is moving down the tracks again. Its name is HR 45. It would attempt to situate, as its predecessors did, an interim storage facility at the Nevada Test Site for the storage of high-level nuclear waste. If we lose that fight, the site becomes the de facto permanent waste dump for America.
This in an issue that I am sad to report has nothing to do with science. It was not science which selected us as the only site in the nation to be considered. The science is beginning to come home for us, however; seismic activity seemed like something out of the geologic past but last month there were six significant earthquakes. There have been more than 200 in the last 20 years. More evidence continues to abound that the seismic activity may continue to grow. It is an area which is the third most active earthquake region in the nation. That is the site the nuclear industry has chosen.
Volcanic activity has also been indicated. Current scientific reports indicate volcanic activity much more recently than previously contemplated. There is also news that plutonium, as well as water, has migrated through the geologic formations. This should frighten us all, in terms of the health and safety of future generations of Nevadans.
If science were the only criteria, this would be a contest which would be a winner without any serious heavy lifting. Unfortunately, it is politics that we deal with. The political deck, to some extent, is stacked against us. That is why this summit convened this morning was so terribly important. We need your help in working with your congressional delegation to fund Bob Loux’s office, to make sure that scientific work can continue and that we are not out-gunned and out-fought by the nuclear utilities and the Department of Energy, which seem to have endless resources available. Not to provide those resources is to, in effect, unilaterally disarm us. This is not a partisan issue in Nevada. I know of no issue, in the more than 35 years of public service that I have rendered in this state, that has galvanized and unified Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives, rural and urban Nevadans. This is an issue that we can win.
This morning, which has frequently happened, the nuclear utilities and their skeptics planted seeds of doubt. Will the President veto this legislation? I know he said that last year. Well, we got on the phone and here is a letter from the White House; “Dear Dick, I am with you again.” I will make a copy of this letter available for everyone. The President’s veto commitment is the bedrock upon which our strategy is predicated. There is also encouraging news that Congressmen Gibbons and Berkeley shared with us—they are within striking distance of getting 147 votes, enough to sustain the President’s veto. We need your help. I hope that we can count upon you for that support.
Let me move to another issue that was one of our major accomplishments in the last Congress. I introduced in the Senate, and Congressman Ensign carried it in the House, the Southern Nevada Public Lands bill. That bill has the potential of being the most important environmental legislation, Nevada specific, in decades. As many of you know, it involves the sale of BLM lands in the metropolitan Las Vegas area. The proceeds from those sales have been estimated to be at as much as $500 million. Every cent remains right here in Nevada. Five percent will go to help finance the public school system in our state and 85 percent will be used to either acquire additional environmentally sensitive lands, or in southern Nevada to improve facilities heavily impacted by our own growth and millions of visitors each year. Some of these facilities, such as Lake Mead National Recreational Area, the Spring Mountain National Recreational Area, the Desert Wildlife Refuge, the Red Rock National Conservation Area, need to be improved.
And Lake Tahoe, the crown jewel of the Sierra—within its boundaries lies land under the old Santini-Burton Act, which many of you will recall from the early 1980s. The sale of land which occurs in that area—which is smaller than the entire BLM land that is to be sold—will represent approximately $50 million which will go into the Santini-Burton Fund to help fund Lake Tahoe environmental projects.
To use the Jack Nicholson line, “Is that as good as it gets?” No. In the 11 years that I have been in the United States Senate I have devoted most of my time during the summer traveling to rural Nevada with my wife Bonnie and our staff. I understand that in rural Nevada there is a challenge of how to generate economic growth. There is also the prospect that in some counties, where 99 percent of the land in the rural community is owned by the federal government, there can be a limitation on that growth. The Southern Nevada Public Lands bill can be the model to help us move the concept aimed at southern Nevada to rural Nevada. It would provide rural Nevadans with the opportunity to experience the growth that they need and yet, at the same time, receive benefits from the sales of that land. I have asked the Bureau of Land Management, via meetings earlier this year and over the recess period, to look into that and I believe it is going to be possible for us to work out some kind of bipartisan approach which would allow that to occur.
This leads me to the Rural Lands Initiative in Douglas County. How do Nevadans preserve the lifestyle that we all love? The open space? Douglas County is challenged with enormous growth. The Rural Lands Initiative will make it possible for lands to be sold in Lincoln County to acquire a conservation easement in which the ownership of the property is retained by the private sector, but the land is retained in open status. It strikes me as the best of both worlds, and I am committed to work on that as well.
Coming into Washoe Valley every day, as you look to the left and right of Highway 395, you see some of the loveliest scenery in Nevada. It is a part of the Casey Estate. This afternoon we had a meeting with the executor of the estate, the lawyers, and others on how can we acquire it and retain it for public usage. We are working on that challenge, either through legislation to provide some estate tax credit because of the estate's liability, or by some other means. Obviously, sales from the BLM lands under the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act would assist us as well.
Let me just say something about my wife, Bonnie, and her involvement in a project that is near and dear and a source of pride to all of us as Nevadans: our national park. As Nevada’s First Lady, she was the one who was the honorary chairman and presided over the dedication of those facilities over a decade ago. She is leading a nonpartisan private sector group to help the Great Basin National Park, which needs so many more amenities that are not acquired through the appropriation stream in Washington, D.C. Bonnie, I salute your efforts, even if it means you are not home preparing our dinner each evening. Thank you very much.
Tom Brokaw has a bestseller, The Great Generation. If you haven’t read it, get it. It is an extraordinary book. It is a testament to the amazing men and women who were part of World War II and their experience in America. In a sense, it is even a greater testimonial to the veterans of all wars and all times. We have a special obligation to those who have fought and served in the nation’s armed services.
Eleven years ago, we did not have a veterans’ hospital in southern Nevada and one was not even on the drawing board. We did not have an adequate outpatient clinic. The Ioannis Lougaris Federal Hospital in Reno was very crowded and obsolete. Although I had signed a bill as governor to provide for veterans’ cemeteries in Nevada, they were not yet completed—they were still in the construction process. Now, a new wing will be completed later this year at Ioannis Lougaris. We have a federal hospital in southern Nevada and a new outpatient clinic. In Pahrump, a new outpatient clinic is opening. Plans also move forward with a veterans’ home, through a joint federal/state partnership. Later this year, we hope to see a ground breaking for a multidenominational chapel at the Southern Nevada Veterans’ Cemetery. We need all of you to work together as we try to build a northern Nevada veterans’ home that would do honor and justice to northern Nevada veterans. It is a partnership. We will do our share. I hope that we can count on you doing your share for our nation’s veterans.
In 1452, Johan Guttenburg perfected movable type. It transformed his time. It hastened the end of a thousand years, from the fall of the Roman Empire, that history records as the Dark Ages. It made it possible for books, education, and learning to spread not only to those who were part of the affluent in society, but to ordinary citizens as well. The Internet is for our time like movable type was in the fifteenth century.
There are enormous educational opportunities—tremendous opportunities in terms of growth. Ten million Americans were on the Internet in 1995; today there are 140 million. The Internet will redefine the way in which we acquire knowledge and the way in which we conduct our business. It is a way of doing things that could not have been dreamed of just a decade ago.
A couple of issues, however, warrant our consideration and I want to share them with you. In the twilight days of the last session of the Congress I was able to put together a piece of legislation working with the online providers, aimed at the various Web sites. There are commercial Web sites, the content of which as parents we would approve, but they target our children for various kinds of products. More significantly, in a survey we found 95 percent of those Web sites were asking children under the age of 12 about family bank accounts, stock accounts, where they spend their time on vacation, and what kind of automobile they owned. The point I am making is that the right of privacy as we have known it in America is today at risk.
It is at risk because computers make it possible to collect, store, and transmit volumes of information at an unprecedented level. So too, it is possible to compile this kind of data that I have discussed with you. We were successful with legislation, the Child Online Privacy Act. Under this legislation, commercial Web sites that target children and children’s audiences will be required to get permission from the parents prior to asking the kinds of very personal and invasive family questions that I just discussed.
Two other issues concern us: the theft of identification and privacy. We have an enormous challenge to make sure information that is collected about us is not simply transmitted into cyberspace for anybody to acquire. Under the current law it is legally possible for your bank, your stock broker, and your insurance agent to share all of the financial information about you: when your certificate of deposit is due; what kind of insurance coverage you have; or what is in your stock portfolio. That information has enormous commercial value. Imagine the kinds of vendors that would want certain kinds of profiles, indicating more affluent people who might be receptive to various products which are being sold.
We are doing a financial restructuring act in this Congress, I hope. I will not belabor the time to talk about it at length; but, suffice it to say, the right of privacy needs to be protected. We need to make sure that information you share with the expectation that it remains confidential does so.
Theft of identification is possible. Someone can steal and appropriate your name. A young man in Carson City had the experience where his name, literally, was stolen. The young man who stole this identity married, went into the Army, and ran up a whole lot of debts. The individual whose name was stolen could not get that straightened out. Fraudulent appropriation of an individual’s name is part of protecting our privacy, as well. Those will be a couple of priorities I will be working on with a number of my colleagues in a bipartisan way in this coming session of Congress.
Let me conclude by acknowledging—as I have each time that I have appeared before you—how privileged we are to serve. In the history of our state, there have been 1956 state legislators. For the first time in the state’s history, all four members of our congressional delegation have had legislative experience. They have sat here, as you have, in this chamber and struggled firsthand with the problems that confront our state.
It is fair to say you represent different parts of our state, different political parties, and different political philosophies. Thirty years ago, when I first became a member of the state legislature, was one of the happiest days of my life. I respect very much the challenges that confront each of you. They are not easy. I would hope that we might, as was the case a generation ago, help instill in the young people of our state that public service, as you and I have chosen, is an honorable undertaking; that what you do each and every day of this legislative session and throughout the year, is to try as best you can to represent the constituents that elect you and to serve the public good. Somehow, we have lost that a little bit, in America. We see a generation of cynics that think unkindly of all, irrespective of party or political persuasion. Discourse and disagreement is what the legislative process is all about, but we ought to respect each other's opinions where we differ.
You have all done a much, much better job than we have done at the federal level. The public elected us, not to quarrel in a partisan sense, not to see us divided in a regional sense, but in a bipartisan way to work in the best interests of the state of Nevada. Those of us who are privileged to represent you in the Congress of the United States receive a similar charge.
I pledge today that we will try to put the divisiveness of this past year behind us. We will work together in a bipartisan way to represent the best interests of our state, to defend it when it’s under attack, to advance its cause, and to work in the best interest of America. I know that you, too, will be working in the best interest of the state of Nevada.
Thank you again for the opportunity to address you.
Senator Shaffer moved that the Senate and Assembly in Joint Session extend a vote of thanks to Senator Bryan for his timely, able and constructive message.
Seconded by Assemblywoman McClain.
Motion carried unanimously.
The Committee on Escort escorted Senator Bryan to the bar of the Assembly.
Senator Schneider moved that the Joint Session be dissolved.
Seconded by Assemblywoman Parnell.
Motion carried.
Joint Session dissolved at 5:35 p.m.
ASSEMBLY IN SESSION
At 5:49 p.m.
Mr. Speaker presiding.
Quorum present.
Assemblyman Perkins moved that Assembly Bills Nos. 93, 128 and 129 be taken from the General File and placed on the General File for the next legislative day.
Motion carried.
GUESTS EXTENDED PRIVILEGE OF ASSEMBLY FLOOR
On request of Assemblyman Collins, the privilege of the floor of the Assembly Chamber for this day was extended to Toby Lamuraglia, Sr.
Assemblyman Perkins moved that the Assembly adjourn until Wednesday, February 17, 1999, at 11:00 a.m.
Motion carried.
Assembly adjourned at 5:54 p.m.
Approved: Joseph E. Dini, Jr.
Attest: Jacqueline Sneddon