THE FIFTY-FOURTH DAY

                               

Carson City(Friday), March 26, 1999

    Senate called to order at 10:31 a.m.

    President Hunt presiding.

    Roll called.

    All present.

    Prayer by the Chaplain, the Reverend Bruce Henderson.

    We come before You today to thank God it’s Friday! We have passed some milestones this week, and next week we’ll pass the half-way mark in our time here. We are grateful for the privilege of serving You while we serve the people of this great state. May our batteries be recharged this weekend, and may we never forget the people and their needs. We pray this in the Name each of us holds dear. I pray in the Name of Jesus.

Amen.

    Pledge of allegiance to the Flag.

    Senator Raggio moved that further reading of the Journal be dispensed with, and the President and Secretary be authorized to make the necessary corrections and additions.

    Motion carried.

REPORTS OF COMMITTEES

Madam President:

    Your Committee on Government Affairs, to which was referred Senate Bill No. 301, has had the same under consideration, and begs leave to report the same back with the recommendation: Amend, and do pass as amended.

    Also, your Committee on Government Affairs, to which was referred Senate Bill No. 91, has had the same under consideration, and begs leave to report the same back with the recommendation: Amend, and re-refer to the Committee on Finance.

    Also, your Committee on Government Affairs, to which were referred Senate Bills Nos. 183, 371; Senate Joint Resolution No. 7, has had the same under consideration, and begs leave to report the same back with the recommendation: Do pass.

Ann O’Connell, Chairman

Madam President:

    Your Committee on Human Resources and Facilities, to which were referred Senate Bills Nos. 9, 21, 22, 89, 126; Assembly Bill No. 2, has had the same under consideration, and begs leave to report the same back with the recommendation: Amend, and do pass as amended.

Raymond D. Rawson, Chairman

Madam President:

    Your Committee on Judiciary, to which were referred Senate Bills Nos. 121, 322, 347, 360, 361, has had the same under consideration, and begs leave to report the same back with the recommendation: Amend, and do pass as amended.

    Also, your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred Senate Bill No. 321, has had the same under consideration, and begs leave to report the same back with the recommendation: Amend, and re-refer to the Committee on Finance.

Mark A. James, Chairman

Madam President:

    Your Committee on Transportation, to which was referred Senate Bill No. 65, has had the same under consideration, and begs leave to report the same back with the recommendation: Amend, and do pass as amended.

William R. O’Donnell, Chairman

MESSAGES FROM THE ASSEMBLY

Assembly Chamber, Carson City, March 24, 1999

To the Honorable the Senate:

    I have the honor to inform your honorable body that the Assembly on this day adopted Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 25.

    Also, I have the honor to inform your honorable body that the Assembly on this day passed Assembly Bill No. 11.

    Also, I have the honor to inform your honorable body that the Assembly on this day passed, as amended, Assembly Bill No. 144.

    Also, I have the honor to inform your honorable body that the Assembly on this day concurred in the Senate Amendment No. 104 to Assembly Bill No. 22; Senate Amendment No. 105 to Assembly Bill No. 24; Senate Amendment No. 124 to Assembly Bill No. 79.

    Also, I have the honor to inform your honorable body that the Assembly on this day respectfully refused to concur in the Senate Amendment No. 80 to Assembly Bill No. 55.

    Also, I have the honor to inform your honorable body that the Assembly amended, and on this day passed, as amended, Senate Bill No. 255, Amendment No. 220, and respectfully requests your honorable body to concur in said amendment.

                                                                                 Susan Furlong Reil

                                                                        Assistant Chief Clerk of the Assembly

Assembly Chamber, Carson City, March 25, 1999

To the Honorable the Senate:

    I have the honor to inform your honorable body that the Assembly on this day passed Assembly Bills Nos. 175, 234.

                                                                                 Susan Furlong Reil

                                                                        Assistant Chief Clerk of the Assembly

MOTIONS, RESOLUTIONS AND NOTICES

    By 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:

    Senate Resolution No. 4—Inducting Wilson McGowan into the Senate Hall of Fame.

    WHEREAS, The Senate of the Legislature of the State of Nevada has established a Senate Hall of Fame whose members are selected by leadership from former state Senators who have served with distinction with exemplary contributions to the State of Nevada; and

    WHEREAS, Senator Wilson McGowan proudly represented Pershing County in the Nevada Senate for six regular sessions and four special sessions from 1957 through 1966 serving as Chairman of the Senate Standing Committees on Interstate Cooperation, Agriculture and Irrigation, and Finance; and

    WHEREAS, Senator McGowan sponsored important legislation that addressed various agricultural issues, appropriated money for the construction of public hospitals and for underground water studies, and he was instrumental in acquiring the Marlette Lake water system for the State of Nevada; now, therefore, be it

    RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, That Senator Wilson McGowan, a native Nevadan who served this state honorably, is hereby inducted into the Senate Hall of Fame of the Legislature of the State of Nevada.

    Senator Raggio moved the adoption of the resolution.

    Remarks by Senators Raggio, Jacobsen and former Senator Wilson McGowan.

    Senator Raggio requested that the following remarks be entered in the Journal.

    Senator Raggio:

    Thank you, Madam President. First of all, this is one of the significant days in the procedures of the Senate during this session. As the Senators are aware, this is one of the more pleasant occasions when we are able to meet and recognize those who have preceded us in this body and have contributed through exemplary service to the people of this state. The Senate Hall of Fame has become one of the most prestigious recognitions that the Legislature can afford. It is certainly the highest recognition that the Senate can confer. The Hall of Fame was created in 1989 for the purpose of recognizing those who were former members of the Senate and who made significant contributions to the state, not only as members of the Senate, but also as exemplary members of their community and the state. The first recipient of this recognition was given to former Senator James Gibson who certainly exemplified these high standards. He was inducted into the Senate Hall of Fame in 1989. Each session thereafter, we have selected former members of the Senate. We do this through research and recommendation from the State Archives and our own research division. Before we begin our proceedings, I would like to recognize Bob Erickson, Director of the Research Division, and Guy Rocha of the State Archives. These gentlemen perform considerable research, and I appreciate the efforts of their staff in coming up with the nominations. Leadership then has the obligation to accept their nominations and to act upon them. We will have four inductees during this session of the Legislature, two of which will be recognized today; former Senators Wilson McGowan and  Thomas “Spike” Wilson. We try to recognize two from the modern era which runs from 1960 until the present time, generally one from the intermediate era and the older nominees go back to the origin of statehood in 1864. I want to say to my friend Wilson McGowan that he is part of the modern era.

    Senate Resolution No. 4 inducts Wilson McGowan into the Senate Hall of Fame. He is certainly an ideal choice, and it is appropriate that we recognize him today. He is a native Nevadan having been born in Yerington in Lyon County on July 26, 1908. He was a Republican member of the Senate and served for six regular sessions and four special sessions during the period from 1957 until 1966. I am very privileged today to be able to move for adoption of this resolution. I had the pleasure of serving at the same time as former Senator McGowan as did Senators Jacobsen and Neal. He was a delight and a wonderful individual to have the privilege of serving with in this body. He was a mentor and certainly a role model for all the new and returning members of the Legislature. You could not get mad at Wilson even though he would often disagree with you. He was a member of what was called “the gas house gang” who served on the Senate Finance Committee. Today, this committee is sometimes known as a push over. In those days, the committee had Mahlon Brown, Floyd Lamb, Jim Gibson, Wilson McGowan, Cliff Young and Keith Ashworth as members. It was tough to get them to loosen up the purse strings. They were certainly very dedicated legislators, and Wilson McGowan was in that mold.

    As a member of the Senate, he served as the chairman of a number of important standing committees including Finance one session. There was a committee called interstate cooperation and also agriculture and irrigation. If I am correct, I believe that he is the first member inducted into the Senate Hall of Fame who represented Pershing County. It is a pleasure for us today to acknowledge the contribution from that sector of the state. During his term he sponsored a number of important bills. In 1959, he sponsored legislation addressing various ranching and agricultural issues. He introduced legislation to appropriate additional funds for the construction of public hospitals. Many of these would not be here today had it not been for the likes of Senator McGowan. He was very active in water studies, weather modification and the seed clouding program which is now done through the Desert Research Institute. This program was established largely as a result of his efforts. He was responsible for establishing a fund for prison honor camps in 1963. Today, those are important adjuncts to our entire correctional system as well as areas of the state where they engage in public works and maintenance programs.

    After Mr. McGowan’s legislative career ended in 1966, he served the State of Nevada honorably, with integrity, as the State Controller from 1967 to 1983. Most of us, in this body, came in contact with him during those years. In that position, he was the longest serving individual to hold that office. He was elected to the office for four terms and could have been re-elected had he wanted to be. He is a great Nevadan who has made a significant contribution to both the executive and legislative branches. It is indeed an honor to recognize him for this very deserved honor as a member of the Senate Hall of Fame.

    Senator Jacobsen:

    Thank you, Madam President. I would be remiss if I did not say something about Wilson McGowan. I made the comment, in committee a few weeks ago, that to train a young one you tied them to an old one. I made reference to sheep at that time, but I am not going to do that in this case. When I first came to the Legislature, I realized that all you had to do was to look around and see who the powers that be were. Will was one of those. Due to his conservative nature, I tied myself to him. He has been one of my mentors over the years and one of those people I really loved and appreciated. One of the things that is nice about getting old is that you begin to appreciate those fine people who came before you and led the way. Wilson was one you could always count on.

    I noted, in the resolution, that Marlette Lake was listed. I would like to take a moment to comment on that because Marlette Lake has become my favorite project. I remember when Will wanted to sell it to private enterprise, but I said, “No, I am not going to buy that.” We finally ended up with state ownership of the area. Today, there is a state fishery at Marlette Lake. This is nice since I work there taking eggs every year. Along comes an old cutthroat trout which is about 24 inches long. As you take the sperm, he kind of smiles. Then along comes a female from which you take a couple of thousand eggs. She tries to wiggle around and give you a kiss, and I think of Wilson McGowan. You never realize what an asset that is. I say that in a family style because once you know Wilson, you know the whole family. Many of his family are seated here today.

    I want to tell you another story concerning Wilson McGowan which shows how friendly he is. One time, he invited former Senator Fred Settlemeyer, another of my mentors, and myself to go chukar hunting with him. We went to Lovelock where we stayed at the Two Stiffs. We went hunting the following morning. There were the three of us in the car as we went down the road in a mountainous area. Will said he thought we should put shells in our guns since there would be some chukar sitting in the road around the next turn. Of course, lo and behold, while we were fumbling for the shells, there were the chukar sitting in the road. He said he told us so, but we weren’t ready. When we stopped, he positioned us in a place, and I was curious as to where he was going. Of course, he was smart and went back to where he saw the chukar sitting in the road. About noon time, Fred and I decided to go back and see how Will was doing. We had a few birds ourselves. We asked Will if he had any birds. He said he didn’t know as he hadn’t left the rock we left him on, but said to look around. Let me say, that all of a sudden we had over our limit. Will shot the majority of them, but he parceled them out to Fred and I. The most beautiful part of the trip was when we went to his ranch, picked them and cleaned them, and went home two proud people. We never admitted to anyone at home that Will had shot nine-tenths of the birds. What a joy that was.

    Over the years, I have enjoyed his friendship. Being able to serve in the Nevada Legislature with Wilson McGowan has been one of the highlights of my life. I will always be grateful for his friendship and all the things that went along with it.

Senator Raggio:

    Thank you, Madam President. In the Senate we have a rule whereby we waive the rule that states that you cannot speak on the floor unless you are a sitting member of the Senate. We do allow the recipients of the Senate Hall of Fame honor to speak to the body. First of all, we want to assure them that, because of this honor, they are always invited to sit on the floor of the Senate at any time they choose. I would therefore ask that we allow former Senator Wilson McGowan to address the members of the Senate.

    Former Senator McGowan:

    Thank you, Madam President and Senator Raggio. To sit here and listen about a fellow by the name of Wilson McGowan means to me that his friends thought he accomplished more than I thought he did. Anyway, it is certainly a great feeling, a great joy, a great honor for me to be here and to receive this honor. As I was sitting here listening to Senator Raggio, I got to thinking about some of my days spent in the Senate. When I talk about my days in the Senate, I am talking about a Senate comprised of 17 members. At that time, there was one Senator elected from each county. As I look across at Senator Neal, from Clark County, I have to think of Mahlon Brown who for many years was the only state representative from Clark County. He was able to pass legislation, to be heard throughout this state, because of his ability to handle legislation with his Republican members who controlled the Senate at that time. It is hard to find men such as some of the Democrats who were friends of mine in that Senate. Some of them weren’t, but most of them were.

    I would like to refer to a little thing that Jake said about getting sperm from the trout at Marlette Lake. You know Jake, I always wondered what those old females that floated up and down that lake were saying.

    Bill, as I told one of the Senators a few minutes ago, to have the privilege of speaking from the floor as a non-voting member of this Senate, is certainly a privilege. I am not sure that we ever allowed it during the time I served here. There was a time when we allowed some people to speak, but they had to speak from the Lieutenant Governor’s podium. They did not speak from the floor. You can see what an honor it is for me to be able to speak from the floor today.

    Bill, I thank you. I thank all of the Senators, and I appreciate very much this honor that you have extended to me.

   

    Resolution adopted.

    Senator Raggio moved that the Senate recess subject to the call of the Chair.

    Motion carried.

    Senate in recess at 11:02 a.m.

SENATE IN SESSION

    At 11:09 a.m.

    President Hunt presiding.

    Quorum present.

    By 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:

    Senate Resolution No. 5—Inducting Thomas R. C. “Spike” Wilson II into the Senate Hall of Fame.

    WHEREAS, The Senate of the Legislature of the State of Nevada has established a Senate Hall of Fame whose members are selected by leadership from former state Senators who have served with distinction with exemplary contributions to the State of Nevada; and

    WHEREAS, As a representative of Washoe County, Senator Thomas R. C. “Spike” Wilson II was a highly respected member of the Senate for 16 years serving in leadership for 10 years, with 8 years as Assistant Majority Floor Leader and 2 years as President Pro Tempore; and

    WHEREAS, In 1979, Senator Wilson initiated a major revision of the Tahoe Regional Planning Compact and led the negotiations with key legislators from California, resulting in passage of the Compact by the Nevada Legislature and ratification by the Congress of the United States; now, therefore, be it

    RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, That Thomas R. C. “Spike” Wilson II, a man admired by persons throughout the State of Nevada for his honesty, integrity and service to this state, is hereby inducted into the Senate Hall of Fame of the Legislature of the State of Nevada.

    Senator Titus moved the adoption of the resolution.

    Remarks by Senators Titus, Raggio, Jacobsen, O’Connell, Neal, Townsend and former Senator Thomas R. C. “Spike” Wilson II.

    Senator Titus requested that the following remarks be entered in the Journal.

    Senator Titus:

    Thank you, Madam President. I am delighted to speak on behalf of Senate Resolution No. 5 today and to have former Senator Spike Wilson seated at my desk. Not only is Spike Wilson a very nice guy, with a very strange signature, but he is one of the most outstanding alumni of this body. In fact, I can think of no one who better deserves this honor than Spike Wilson. As you heard, from the resolution, and as you can read in the program, Spike Wilson served for 16 years in the Senate as a Democrat from Washoe County. He was known for his eloquence on this floor, and with all due respect to the current chairman, he is still being talked about as the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee. Everyone says, “remember those days when Spike Wilson chaired the Judiciary Committee.”

    During his tenure, he had a number of outstanding accomplishments here in the Senate. He was a pioneer in the efforts to reform campaign finance law and also in revising the state’s racketeering law. Of special interest to me was his work in renegotiating the Tahoe Compact and introducing legislation to require master planning and protection of  public lands in Nevada.

    Since leaving the Senate, he has not disappeared from the scene. He is one of the most respected attorneys in this state. He has also given back to the community in his continued public service as a member of the Ethics Commission. In fact, he is known as having revised Nevada’s Ethics Statutes. He is certainly one of the most respected members of the Democratic Party, but he is admired, respected and just plain liked by members of all parties throughout this entire state.

    I would urge you to adopt Senate Resolution No. 5 and give him the recognition that he deserves.

    Senator Raggio:

    Thank you, Madam President. In the tradition of the Senate, obviously we want to support the resolution on both sides of the aisle. I am also delighted, on behalf of the Republican membership of the Senate, to recognize Spike Wilson. I might indicate that Spike Wilson is not only a person whom I had the privilege of serving with in this body, as did Senator Neal, Senator Jacobsen, Senator Townsend and Senator Shaffer, but Spike is from a more current era than Wilson McGowan was. I think it is a nice tie-in that Wilson is in both of these names. I think it signifies the spirit of the Senate, in those days, because we had very little partisanship and very little sectional issues. As our distinguished Minority Leader said, the Senator we now honor, was an eminently fair and highly respected member of this body. In the years that he served as Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, the Legislature dealt with many complex issues. This was during the period when Nevada grew from a small population into the era today in which we are one of the fastest growing states in the nation.

    Spike was always someone you listened to when he rose to speak. Whether you agreed with him on the issue or not, due to his eloquence, you knew that he was speaking on something important. I say “eloquence” because he always spoke a little above what we could understand and, because of that, very little of what he said got passed.  We always thought that he was saying something important even though we did not always understand what he was saying.

    Seriously, he was in the forefront of efforts, in this Legislature, to reform ethics. As Senator Titus previously indicated, he went on to really establish a very effective Ethics Commission in the State of Nevada. He served as chairman of the commission. During his term, many opinions were rendered which serve as a meaningful precedence today.

    In addition to his duties in the Senate, he has been recognized as a political leader in this state and certainly as a community leader. He is highly respected, not only as a member of the Bar, but also as a leading citizen of this state.

    We are very honored today to have him receive this recognition, and I am very honored to have him as a friend.

    Senator Jacobsen:

    Thank you, Madam President. I certainly rise in support of this resolution. I have always called Spike “Governor” since I felt he was governor material. Even as a good Republican, I would have voted for him, and I still would.

    I could tell you a story or two, but I am going to refrain from that. I will mellow this down. I want the present Chairman of the Judiciary Committee to listen to what I am about to say. In his day, there was no better committee to be on because, the first thing when you sat down, there showed up a cup of coffee. Not being a coffee drinker, I drank it anyway. That always amazed me, but I think what  amazed me most was that I never saw anyone who could drink more coffee than could Spike. Often it was late in the afternoon after it had been sitting there all day. It reminded me of the Navy where, once you drank the coffee, you could walk on water. It took a lot of fortitude to drink that coffee. He was certainly one of my favorites in the body at that time. He was certainly one of the most eloquent speakers in this body. In those days, when I first came to the Senate, most of the members were attorneys. So, a little farm boy like me didn’t have a chance to say anything. I have always admired Spike and his whole family. In regard to his father, there was never a better historian than Tom Wilson. I spent a week on a bus touring Nevada with him and what a joy that was. Spike has certainly held up that heritage. I want to commend him for serving on the Ethics Commission which is no easy job.

    “Spike, it is nice to have you in the Senate Hall of Fame.”

    Senator O’Connell:

    Thank you, Madam President. I would like to publicly thank former Senator Wilson because, when I first came to this body, he was one of the major players whom I looked up to and that I always listened to. I told him one day on the elevator that I loved to listen to what he was saying, and I really appreciated it, but I didn’t have a clue as to what it was about.

    He has remained in my life from the standpoint of the Ethics Commission. On several occasions throughout the years of his retirement from the Legislature, he has made himself available to give me good counsel on the ethics bill. The ethics bill we are going to hear in committee is no exception. Spike volunteered his time to come down and go over the bill with me. I consider him a very good friend even though we do not know each other that well. I admire and respect him and do not want to let this occasion pass without publicly telling him so.

    Senator Neal:

    Thank you, Madam President. I cannot let this moment go by without having a few words to say about my good friend Spike Wilson. In checking the record, you know that when I came here in 1973, Spike was here. We developed a friendship. There were some things that really drew me close to Spike during the time that we were negotiating the power regional compact. At that time, I was serving as Chairman of the Natural Resources Committee. When the team was selected to negotiate the compact, I was left out. Spike made his views known about this and somehow I was then included to participate with that group.

    As the years went by, sitting here and watching Spike debate issues as did Carl Dodge whom I thought was another of the premiere legislators, I learned a lot from those gentlemen from how they handled themselves on the floor, addressed issues and talked about issues and not personalities. I certainly appreciated the time that I served with Spike and I learned a great deal from him. Maybe some of the Senators here now may think that I should not have learned so much from him. I’m glad that he is being inducted into the Senate Hall of Fame and that it is not being done posthumously.

    Senator Townsend:

    Thank you, Madam President. All of us have wonderful stories, not only amusing and entertaining, but positive and constructive ones about former Senator Wilson. I would like to share mine. The first time I ever appeared in this building was as an unpaid lobbyist regarding utility issues. I appeared in front of the committee chaired by former Senator Wilson. I will tell you that, as someone who knew very little about this process at the time, who had long hair, a beard and probably dressed somewhat like I do today, he showed me a great deal of respect, not only personally, but for the issue that was in front of him. I watched him manage a very difficult committee on issues, and I learned a great deal from that first experience. He showed me the kind of patience that you should show someone who appears here the first time.  I think about that on a regular basis.

    My wife was nice enough to pull up from the archives a newspaper headline from 1982 when I won election for the first time. In the subheading, it said Spike Wilson re-elected. I have that mounted in the hallway to the bedroom in my home. It is at eye level. Every day when I leave my house, the term “Spike Wilson re-elected” is in my vision. When I do so, I try to come here and be half as good a chairman as he was when he served in this body. I will always appreciate it.

    Former Senator Wilson:

    Thank you, Madam President. It has been a while since I’ve done this, and I promise you I will make it brief. Bill, you brought back memories in talking about my Senate floor remarks. Oftentimes when I was speaking to you on issues, I did wonder whether you understood what I was saying.

    I’ve been sitting here drinking water. You know, lawyers and Senators are much like plants. They lose body water. It is called the process of evapotranspiration. Plants take it out of the soil, but when we open our mouths, it is really the same process. I must confess to you, when we walked in here this morning and the pamphlets were passed out, and the same picture is on the easel, my various children looked at me and back at the picture, and they all had some comment to make. None of them are terribly understated in the way they express themselves. I do want to confess, for the record, that any resemblance between that picture and me today is purely a matter of coincidence. At that time, there was hair and it was dark. It is a very flattering picture, and I thank you for it. I also thank you for inviting me here today. It has been great fun to be back. It is the best of both worlds. I can stand and make a speech that Bill Raggio will shake his head at and tell me that he doesn’t understand; I don’t have to do any work, and I don’t have to vote. That truly is the best of both worlds.

    To many of you who I served with, it was great fun. It was perhaps in a more innocent time. There were 21 of us here at that time and in Wilson’s time only 17. There is a difference, but not a material one. This is a terribly small Senate. The beauty of it is that I don’t recall, in those more innocent days, where we ever had a party caucus on a vote. I don’t think we ever did, not because we decided not to do it, but because it was never necessary. No one ever viewed their colleagues with a party label and nobody debated from a partisan prospective. It was difficult enough just to get the work done and to make good policy decisions. I enjoyed that immensely because the discussion, dialogue and debate, the consideration and the worry really had to do with what was good public policy and what was not.

    It is a pleasure, with my family, to join you here today. This is probably the briefest speech I have ever given, Bill. I thank you for the honor and the recognition. It is touching. I don’t know if it is warranted, but I am flattered and complimented. I appreciate your having me here very much.

    Resolution adopted.

    Senator Raggio moved that the Senate recess subject to the call of the Chair.

    Motion carried.

    Senate in recess at 11:31 a.m.

SENATE IN SESSION

    At 11:42 a.m.

    President Hunt presiding.

    Quorum present.

MESSAGES FROM THE ASSEMBLY

Assembly Chamber, Carson City, March 26, 1999

To the Honorable the Senate:

    I have the honor to inform your honorable body that the Assembly on this day adopted Assembly Concurrent Resolutions Nos. 21, 40.

                                                                                 Susan Furlong Reil

                                                                        Assistant Chief Clerk of the Assembly

MOTIONS, RESOLUTIONS AND NOTICES

    Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 40.

    WHEREAS, The members of the Nevada Legislature and the Legislative Counsel Bureau were deeply saddened with the untimely passing of Linda B. Alden on October 10, 1998; and

    WHEREAS, Linda was born in Sheridan, Wyoming, on January 1, 1945, to Mark and Hariett McManus; and

    WHEREAS, After graduation from Sheridan High School in 1963, Linda attended the University of Wyoming in Laramie, Wyoming; and

    WHEREAS, In 1964, Linda returned to Sheridan and began working for the County Assessor’s Office which was the beginning of her career in public service; and

    WHEREAS, Many persons in this legislative body first met Linda during the 1983 legislative session when she was hired by the Assembly as Secretary to Speaker John Vergiels; and

    WHEREAS, During that session, Linda impressed everyone with her professional demeanor and outstanding work ethic and was offered and accepted the position as Administrative Assistant to Chief Clerk Mouryne Landing and Secretary of the Senate Janice Thomas; and

    WHEREAS, Linda continued to work for the Nevada Legislature and the Legislative Counsel Bureau in various capacities including Minute Clerk and Journal Clerk for the Senate Front Desk, and Receptionist and Lobbyist Registration Clerk for the Legislative Counsel Bureau; and

    WHEREAS, Because of her excellent organizational skills, Linda was recruited to assist in the coordination of the annual meeting of the National Conference of State Legislatures that was hosted by Nevada in Reno in 1988; and

    WHEREAS, Linda later moved to Denver, Colorado, where she worked for the National Conference of State Legislatures for the record-breaking period of 1 week, when she was reunited with her high school sweetheart and moved from Denver to join him in Wyoming, thus leading to a cherished moment in Linda’s life, her marriage to Bruce Alden on December 12, 1990; and

    WHEREAS, After their marriage, Linda and Bruce lived together in Wyoming for a short while before returning to Carson City in December 1992, when Linda became the Assembly Journal Clerk, a position she held during the 1993 and 1995 legislative sessions; and

    WHEREAS, During the interim between the 1993 and 1995 session, Linda was hired as an Administrative Assistant for the late Jerry Kenney, Chief of the Legislative Police; and

    WHEREAS, On September 8, 1995, Linda’s professional dream became a reality when she was appointed to be the Chief Clerk of the Assembly upon the retirement of former Chief Clerk, Mouryne Landing; and

    WHEREAS, In November 1995, Linda was initially diagnosed with ovarian cancer; and

    WHEREAS, Many of her friends shared in the grief Linda experienced upon learning that her son, Richie Ruff, had been killed on May 27, 1996, by a drunk driver; and

    WHEREAS, During the 1997 legislative session, Linda focused all of her energy on the demands of her new position and continued to keep the members of the Assembly on track as she successfully filled the shoes of her role model and dear friend, Mouryne; and

    WHEREAS, Linda treasured the friendship she shared with Joe and Mouryne Dini, whose caring support was invaluable in helping Linda to attain her professional goals and, more importantly, to face the personal challenges in her life; and

    WHEREAS, Of the many ways that Linda exhibited her natural wit and true spirit, the finest example, not evident to the general public, was that she often wore Mickey Mouse slippers while conducting business in the Assembly Chambers; and

    WHEREAS, With all of this said and done, the quintessential memory that will be forever etched in the annals of legislative history is that in the Assembly Chambers, on the occasion of Speaker Dini’s 68th birthday in 1997, Linda B. Alden successfully transformed her front desk staff and the Sergeant at Arms’ staff into Macarena dancers, led by none other than, the former Chief Clerk, Mouryne Landing Dini; and

    WHEREAS, On October 10, 1998, Linda lost her courageous battle with this deadly disease after years of fighting and, with her passing, Nevada lost a friend whose bright smile and warm personality will forever be missed by the members of this Legislature; and

    WHEREAS, Linda is survived by her husband Bruce Alden, mother Hariett McManus of Sheridan, Wyoming, sister Norma Dean of Lakewood, Colorado, brother Jim McManus of Worland, Wyoming, daughter Nicki Aaker of Dayton, Nevada, sons Marc Alden of Casper, Wyoming, and Scott Alden of Billings, Montana, and six grandchildren; now, therefore, be it

    RESOLVED BY THE ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, THE SENATE CONCURRING, That the members of the 70th legislative session offer their sincere condolences and heartfelt sympathy to the family and many friends of Linda B. Alden, a gracious, spirited, fun-loving lady who lived her life with dignity and courage; and be it further

    RESOLVED, That it is with the utmost respect that this legislative body offers its condolences and appreciation to Bruce Alden for his devotion and the encouragement that he graciously offered to Linda throughout her battle; and be it further

    RESOLVED, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly prepare and transmit a copy of this resolution to Linda’s beloved husband Bruce Alden and to her mother Hariett McManus.

    Senator Amodei moved the adoption of the resolution.

    Remarks by Senators Amodei and Jacobsen.

    Senator Amodei requested that the following remarks be entered in the Journal.

    Senator Amodei:

    Thank you, Madam President. I think this job has fallen to me because I am the member of this house that served in the house at the south end of this building while Linda Alden was the Chief Clerk.

    I know it has been trying to you folks at times to try to adapt to a freshman in this well-seasoned and kind of serious, I am trying not to use the word old, body. Imagine what it would have been like if you had gotten me like Linda Alden did two years ago as a true freshman. She had her hands full. It was a large freshman class. I remember the first time I went up, having spent some time on active duty in the Army, quickly realizing that the person who sits at the center regardless of what house it is down there is someone who you want to be your friend. I go up to introduce my first piece of legislation and asked Mrs. Alden “Could I please introduce this?” And she responds to me “No, thank you.” I looked at her, and she said that she had seen the bill draft and did not need to see the bill; it’s junk and we are not introducing it. Upon hearing that news, I started hiking back up to my seat in the last row which was quite a long hike over there and got about halfway back before she finally breaks a smile and calls me back and tells me that it will be fine and that I can introduce it although she did not think I had any votes for it but will introduce it for me.

     It was that sort of way that our relatively short relationship started off. Linda Alden had some big shoes to fill coming after Mouryne Dini. She was Cinderella. They fit like a glove, if you will. It was a pleasure to serve over there. The front desk ran with all those folks like a clock. The voting system, electronically, was a little bit better, but I think we are getting better over here now. So, we won’t say anything about that.

    I have got to tell you; I had been a member of the Legislature for about six weeks last session, and I was trying to stay out of trouble and stay out of the Speaker’s woodshed as opposed to the Majority Leader’s woodshed. As indicated in the resolution, as I was sitting there one day, I heard ethnic music and see Joe Dini doing the “Macarena” in front of the chamber. Anybody who can pull that off is quite an act. Linda Alden had Joe Dini doing the “Macarena” in full view of the press and with film running, the whole nine yards. How he ever survived that in the last election, I’ll never know. But that was Linda Alden’s touch. Never a frown on her face no matter what was going on, good, bad or indifferent. She was always upbeat and that was in her personal life too with the disease that she was fighting.

    My last real bright memory of Linda was the last day of last session. I don’t know what you folks were doing down here which I guess was part of the problem with why we were still down there, but anyhow, midnight had come and under the rules, which is something I am not too familiar with, we had to have somebody say a prayer and the local clergy were too smart to hang around for when we were going to do whatever. Linda came to me and said, “Would you say the prayer when we come back into session at 12:01 a.m. or whenever it was?” This was quite intimidating to me. I thought lightning might strike the building and there would be no survivors from the conflagration or anything like that. I sat down in the ten minutes that I had to do a prayer. The punch line was, and I know prayers aren’t supposed to have punch lines, pastor, Lord, please, please take away their ink cartridges and their blue paper at the other end of the building so that we can go home. This referred to Senate amendments on bills that were coming down. The Chief Clerk turns around, with that smile that I know you have all seen before, with both thumbs up, greets me as I come off the podium with a “high five” and ten short hours later we were all done and everybody was on their way home.

    A class act, a quality lady, I encourage your support. Linda, I enjoyed it. I know you are in a better place, and I know that when we all get up there too, it will be fun to talk again and have some fun. Thank you.

    Senator Jacobsen:

    Madam President, I certainly want everyone to endorse this resolution. Linda was special to me. I guess it started, as it does many times from the time that she started work here. Senator Townsend and I chaired the National Conference of State Legislators annual conference in Reno in 1988. Linda was one of those workhorses along with all of our other staff people and without our staff, we would have never pulled it off. Let me indicate to you that was, I think, still the best convention that NCSL ever had. Of course, the one in Las Vegas was excellent.

    I guess the thing that amazed me with Linda was her courage. I never walked into this building that she wasn’t right there to say hello. We talked about the burden that she was carrying and she shared that. It makes it somewhat difficult sometime to help shore people up. Her son was in the Navy, and I tried to relate a few stories that would cheer her up. I think I accomplished that task. I just was amazed at the way she took her burden and how she carried it. She never made it obvious and never wanted anybody to feel sorry for her. She was always there when you needed her, and she was not only courageous but honest and very sincere. She was a very special person, and it was a privilege for me to know her.

    Resolution adopted.

    Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 21.

    WHEREAS, When an emergency occurs, conventional systems of communications are often inoperative during the first few days after the emergency occurs; and

    WHEREAS, Before the conventional systems of communications can be restored, amateur radio operators are on the scene to provide communications and assistance; and

    WHEREAS, In Nevada, these operators are members of the State of Nevada Amateur Radio Emergency Service or the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service, and their service is completely voluntary; and

    WHEREAS, This year, the last week of June will be devoted toward final preparations for “Field Day,” an operation designed to simulate an emergency situation and coordinate the efforts of amateur radio operators; and

    WHEREAS, “Field Day” will be held the last weekend of June in a remote location where power is supplied by either generators or batteries; now, therefore, be it

    RESOLVED BY THE ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, THE SENATE CONCURRING, That the members of the Legislature of the State of Nevada do hereby declare the last week of June to be Nevada Amateur Radio Week in honor of the many volunteers who generously donate their time and equipment to provide invaluable assistance during an emergency situation; and be it further

    RESOLVED, That the Nevada Legislature commends and congratulates the members of the State of Nevada Amateur Radio Emergency Service and the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service for their participation in “Field Day” and for their many hours of dedicated service to all Nevadans throughout the year.

    Senator Porter moved the adoption of the resolution.

    Remarks by Senators Porter and Rawson.

    Senator Porter requested that the following remarks be entered in the Journal.

    Senator Porter:

    Madam President, “Ham Radio” is one of a few hobbies that requires a government license. It is a hobby that demands hours of preparation and testing for that dreaded emergency or natural disaster.

    Ham Radio operators can spend thousands of dollars on equipment. Ham Radio operators installed a video camera on Mount Potosi with a 22-mile radius of the surrounding area. Most communication repeaters and 15 satellites are paid for by local operators.

    An on-line website with maps that track ham radio vehicles using Global Positioning System was created by ham operators.

    From a public service aspect, if communications go down, with the use of emergency generators, ham operators can still communicate during an electrical outage.

    Ham Radio operators are called upon to provide communications during disasters such as earthquakes, floods or even heavy rain where flooding is a possibility. They are also utilized by law enforcement to provide a backup communications network for Metro.

    Senator Rawson:

    Thank you, Madam President, I just wanted to add some support to this resolution. Two sessions ago, I got busy on the Morse Code and then passed my license (KB7ORC) and joined the Mari and Nari networks. At 8:30 a.m. Saturday mornings listen to these guys as we check our radios. It is an issue that most people don’t know about. They go to some significant expense to buy their own radios and maintain them. They are there when an emergency happens. It is very important to us, I think as a society.

    Resolution adopted.

    By Senators Washington, Amodei, Care, Carlton, Coffin, Jacobsen, James, Mathews, McGinness, Neal, O’Connell, O’Donnell, Porter, Raggio, Rawson, Rhoads, Schneider, Shaffer, Titus, Townsend, Wiener; Assemblymen Dini, Anderson, Angle, Arberry, Bache, Beers, Berman, Brower, Buckley, Carpenter, Cegavske, Chowning, Claborn, Collins, de Braga, Evans, Freeman, Gibbons, Giunchigliani, Goldwater, Gustavson, Hettrick, Humke, Koivisto, Lee, Leslie, Manendo, Marvel, McClain, Mortenson, Neighbors, Nolan, Ohrenschall, Parks, Parnell, Perkins, Price, Segerblom, Thomas, Tiffany, Von Tobel and Williams:

    Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 26—Commending Carol Martini for her years of public service to the Nevada Legislature and the State of Nevada.

    WHEREAS, Carol Marie Avansino was raised in Sparks, Nevada, where she graduated from Sparks High School in 1966 and later attended the University of Nevada, Reno, for 2 years; and

    WHEREAS, Carol Avansino married Samuel Martini on May 18, 1968, and from this marriage came two sons, John and Joseph, of whom they are so very proud; and

    WHEREAS, Members of this Legislature first met Carol Martini when she began working for the Nevada Legislature in 1985 as the personal secretary to Assemblyman Danny Thompson; and

    WHEREAS, Carol’s innate ability to assist constituents and to negotiate the legislative landscape was quickly apparent; and

    WHEREAS, When the 1987 session of the Nevada Legislature convened, Carol was once again serving as the personal secretary to Assemblyman Danny Thompson and cheerfully creating order out of the seeming chaos of a busy chairman’s office; and

    WHEREAS, In 1989, Carol was quickly recruited to serve as the personal secretary to Assembly Speaker Pro Tempore Myrna Williams when it became evident that Assemblyman Thompson would not be returning; and

    WHEREAS, Carol worked for the Welfare Division until the 68th and 69th sessions of the Nevada Legislature when newly elected Senator Maurice Washington successfully convinced her to join his legislative team and teach him the complicated legislative process; and

    WHEREAS, In addition to her love of the legislative process, Carol Martini’s willingness to help others is a personal trade-mark as evidenced by her 18 years of active membership in the First Baptist Church of Carson City, her service on the advisory board of the Crisis Pregnancy Center and her work for Friends In Service Helping, FISH; and

    WHEREAS, Throughout Carol Martini’s service with the Nevada Legislature, Carol has always demonstrated a tremendous work ethic, a dedicated and professional attitude, a smile for everyone she meets, a concern for the residents of Nevada, and a cheerful and warm personality; now, therefore, be it

    RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, THE ASSEMBLY CONCURRING, That the members of the 70th session of the Nevada Legislature do hereby recognize Carol Martini for her wonderful friendship and commend her for her many years of public service to the Nevada Legislature and the State of Nevada; and be it further

    RESOLVED, That the Secretary of the Senate prepare and transmit a copy of this resolution to Carol Martini.

    Senator Washington moved the adoption of the resolution.

    Remarks by Senator Washington.

    Senator Washington requested that his remarks be entered in the Journal.

    Thank you, Madam President. It is with great privilege and great pride that I get to stand here this morning and do this resolution on behalf of Carol Martini along with former Assemblyman Danny Thompson.

    Life brings about some battles that we all have to face. In those battles, it defines our character and refines it. Carol Martini’s character is defined in this battle and the struggle that she is going through right now. That character is an undeniable, everlasting strong faith and her courage to endure the hardship and the pain, her compassion and willingness to share her life and her friendship with others and her willingness to serve in this body and in this legislative process. I have heard this statement said over and over again, “Give me my flowers while I am alive so that I may smell them.” A lot of times, we give people rewards, and they accumulate appreciation, and they receive a lot of things in their life. But it is often stated that the one thing that is most important is the relationships that we develop. Those relationships give us an everlasting reflection of the person and the character and the individual that we had an opportunity to be with. Carol Martini loved this place. She loved the atmosphere. She loved the pace. She loved the process. She loved the challenge. She loved being engaged in the issues and the debates. With that love, she developed a relationship with me and Mr. Thompson and a number of you here in this legislative body and the secretaries and the staff. She was always willing to share a smile and give a kind word and to share of her abilities and her strengths.

    This morning Carol was supposed to be here with us. She called early this morning and said that things have kind of turned for the worse. She cried and pleaded with me to share these few words with you. I would like to share this message that she gave to me this morning.

    She said, “Tell the legislative body and my friends that I really love this place, and I had a wonderful time, and this resolution meant a lot to me. I wish that I could have been here to share it with you. Tell them that I will always cherish the relationships that I have developed with you and from them. Tell them that I really love all of you and that I am going to miss them. You have all been an important part of my life, and because of that importance, I will always remember all of you. I asked that you pray for me and remember me and don’t cry for me because I am going to a better place. I am looking forward to the opportunity.”

    Carol just wanted me to tell you all this morning that she appreciates everything that you have done for her, and she really does love all of you and will miss you.

    Resolution adopted.

    Senator Washington moved that all rules be suspended and that Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 26 be immediately transmitted to the Assembly.

    Motion carried unanimously.

INTRODUCTION, FIRST READING AND REFERENCE

    Assembly Bill No. 11.

    Senator Rawson moved that the bill be referred to the Committee on Government Affairs.

    Motion carried.

    Assembly Bill No. 144.

    Senator Rawson moved that the bill be referred to the Committee on Human Resources and Facilities.

    Motion carried.

    Assembly Bill No. 175.

    Senator Rawson moved that the bill be referred to the Committee on Finance.

    Motion carried.

    Assembly Bill No. 234.

    Senator Rawson moved that the bill be referred to the Committee on Finance.

    Motion carried.

SECOND READING AND AMENDMENT

    Senate Bill No. 10.

    Bill read second time.

    The following amendment was proposed by the Committee on Human Resources and Facilities:

    Amendment No. 166.

    Amend sec. 15, page 5, line 8, by deleting “three” and inserting “four”.

    Amend sec. 15, page 5, line 15, by deleting “once” and inserting “twice”.

    Senator Rawson moved the adoption of the amendment.

    Remarks by Senator Rawson.

    Amendment adopted.

    Bill ordered reprinted, engrossed and to third reading.

    Senate Bill No. 35.

    Bill read second time.

    The following amendment was proposed by the Committee on Transportation:

    Amendment No. 62.

    Amend sec. 4, page 1, by deleting lines 10 through 12 and inserting: “of this act to a person with a permanent disability; and”.

    Amend sec. 5, page 2, by deleting sec. 5 and inserting:

    “Sec. 5.  (Deleted by amendment.)”.

    Amend sec. 6, page 2, line 4, by deleting “walk;” and inserting: “walk, as defined in NRS 482.3835;”.

    Amend sec. 7, page 2, by deleting lines 7 through 14 and inserting:

    “Sec. 7.  1.  A person with a permanent disability may apply to the department for an expedited service permit. The application must:

    (a) Be submitted on a form approved by the department; and

    (b) Include a statement from a licensed physician certifying that the applicant is a person with a permanent disability.”.

    Amend sec. 7, page 2, by deleting lines 22 through 30 and inserting:

    “(c) Include any other information the department may require; and

    (d) Be the same size as a driver’s license issued by the department pursuant to the provisions of chapter 483 of NRS.

    3.  A permit is valid for the period for which a physician has certified that the person to whom the permit is issued has a disability which limits or impairs the ability to walk.”.

    Amend sec. 8, page 2, line 42, by deleting “a” and inserting: “an expedited service”.

    Amend sec. 9, page 3, line 10, by deleting “a” and inserting: “an expedited service”.

    Amend sec. 9, page 3, line 11, after “use” by inserting “such”.

    Amend sec. 12, page 4, line 8, by deleting “services” and inserting “service”.

    Senator O’Donnell moved the adoption of the amendment.

    Remarks by Senator O’Donnell.

    Amendment adopted.

    Bill ordered reprinted, engrossed and to third reading.

    Senate Bill No. 53.

    Bill read second time.

    The following amendment was proposed by the Committee on Commerce and Labor:

    Amendment No. 108.

    Amend the bill as a whole by deleting section 1 and adding a new section designated section 1, following the enacting clause, to read as follows:

    “Section 1.  NRS 616B.018 is hereby amended to read as follows:

    616B.018 1.  The administrator shall establish a method of indexing claims for compensation that will make information concerning the claimants of an insurer available to other insurers and the fraud control unit for industrial insurance established pursuant to NRS 228.420.

    2.  Every insurer shall provide the following information [as] if required by the administrator for establishing and maintaining the index of claims[.

    3.] :

    (a) The first name, last name, middle initial, if any, date of birth and social security number of the injured employee;

    (b) The name and tax identification number of the employer of the injured employee;

    (c) If the employer of the injured employee is a member of an association of self-insured public or private employers, the name and tax identification number of that association;

    (d) The name and tax identification number of the insurer, unless the employer of the injured employee is self-insured and this requirement would duplicate the information required pursuant to paragraph (b);

    (e) The date upon which the employer’s policy of industrial insurance that covers the claim became effective and the date upon which it will expire or must be renewed;

    (f) The number assigned to the claim by the insurer;

    (g) The date of the injury or of the sustaining of the occupational disease;

    (h) The part of the body that was injured or the occupational disease that was sustained by the injured employee;

    (i) The percentage of disability as determined by the rating physician or chiropractor;

    (j) Which part of the body was permanently impaired, if any;

    (k) What type of accident or occupational disease that is the subject of the claim;

    (l) The date, if any, that the claim was closed; and

    (m) If the claim has been closed, whether the closure was:

        (1) Automatic pursuant to the provisions of subsection 2 of NRS 616C.235; or

        (2) Pursuant to the provisions of subsection 1 of NRS 616C.235,

and what type of compensation was provided for the claim.

    3.  The administrator shall require information provided pursuant to subsection 2 to be submitted:

    (a) In a format that is consistent with nationally recognized standards for the reporting of data regarding industrial insurance; and

    (b) Electronically or in another medium approved by the administrator.

    4.  The administrator shall ensure that the requirement for an insurer to provide information pursuant to subsection 2 is administered in a fair and equal manner so that an insurer is not required to provide more or a different type of information than another insurer similarly situated.

    5.  The provisions of this section do not prevent the administrator from:

    (a) Conducting audits pursuant to the provisions of NRS 616B.003 and collecting information from such audits;

    (b) Receiving and collecting information from the reports that insurers must submit to the administrator pursuant to the provisions of NRS 616B.009;

    (c) Investigating alleged violations of the provisions of chapters 616A to 617, inclusive, of NRS; or

    (d) Enforcing the provisions of chapters 616A to 617, inclusive, of NRS.

    6.  If an employee files a claim with an insurer, the insurer is entitled to receive from the administrator a list of the prior claims of the employee. If the insurer desires to inspect the files related to the prior claims, he must obtain the written consent of the employee.

    [4.] 7. Any information obtained from the index of claims [must] may be admitted into evidence in any hearing before an appeals officer, a hearing officer or the administrator.

    [5.] 8. The division may assess and collect a reasonable fee for its services provided pursuant to this section. The fee must be payable monthly or at such other intervals as determined by the administrator.

    [6.] 9. If the administrator determines that an insurer has intentionally failed to provide the information required by [this section,] subsection 2, the administrator shall impose an administrative fine of $1,000 for [each] the initial violation, [or] and a fine of [$10,000] $2,000 for a second or subsequent violation.

    10.  As used in this section, “tax identification number” means the number assigned by the Internal Revenue Service of the United States Department of the Treasury for identification.”.

    Senator O’Connell moved the adoption of the amendment.

    Remarks by Senator O’Connell.

    Amendment adopted.

    Bill ordered reprinted, engrossed and to third reading.

    Senate Bill No. 59.

    Bill read second time.

    The following amendment was proposed by the Committee on Human Resources and Facilities:

    Amendment No. 28.

    Amend section 1, pages 1 and 2, by deleting lines 7 through 16 on page 1 and lines 1 through 29 on page 2 and inserting:

    “(a) [One who teaches in a secondary school.

    (b) One who teaches in a middle school or junior high school.

    (c) One who teaches in an elementary school.

    (d) One who teaches special education.

    3.  The remaining members of the commission must include:

    (a)] Three teachers;

    (b) Onecounselor or [psychologist employed by a school district.

    (b) Two administrators of schools, at least one of whom must be a principal of a school.] administrator; and

    (c) The dean of the College of Education at one of the universities in the University and Community College System of Nevada, or a representative of one of the Colleges of Education nominated by such a dean for appointment by the governor.

    [(d) One member who is a representative of the general public.

    4.  The appointments of a counselor, the administrators and three of the four teachers must be made from a list of names of at least three persons for each position that is submitted to the governor:

    (a) For the counselor and teachers, by an employee organization representing the majority of counselors and the majority of teachers in the State of Nevada who teach in the educational level from which the appointment is being made; or

    (b) For administrators, by an organization of administrators for schools in which the majority of administrators of schools in this state have membership.

    5.] 3.  The majority leader of the senate and the speaker of the assembly shall each appoint two members to the commission as follows:

    (a) One teacher; and

    (b) One parent or legal guardian who is not employed by other otherwise affiliated with the public school system or one representative of a private business or industry who is not employed by or otherwise affiliated with the public school system.

    4.  One member of the commission appointed by the governor who is a teacher, administrator[, counselor or psychologist] or counselor must be employed by a private school licensed pursuant to chapter 394 of NRS.”.

    Amend sec. 3, pages 2 and 3, by deleting lines 38 through 43 on page 2 and lines 1 through 9 on page 3 and inserting:

    “Sec. 3.  1.  For the five terms of office of the commission on professional standards in education that expire on or before June 30, 1999:

    (a) The governor shall, on or before July 1, 1999, appoint three members to the commission in accordance with the amendatory provisions of section 1 of this act.

    (b) The majority leader of the senate and the speaker of the assembly shall, on or before July 1, 1999, each appoint one member to the commission in accordance with the amendatory provisions of section 1 of this act.

    2.  For the two terms of office of the commission on professional standards in education that expire on June 30, 2000, the majority leader of the senate and the speaker of the assembly shall, on or before July 1, 2000, each appoint one member to the commission in accordance with the amendatory provisions of section 1 of this act.

    3.  For the two terms of office of the commission on professional standards in education that expire on June 30, 2001, the governor shall, on or before July 1, 2001, appoint two members to the commission in accordance with the amendatory provisions of section 1 of this act.”.

    Senator Rawson moved the adoption of the amendment.

    Remarks by Senators Rawson and Coffin.

    Amendment adopted.

    Bill ordered reprinted, engrossed and to third reading.

    Senate Bill No. 95.

    Bill read second time.

    The following amendment was proposed by the Committee on Commerce and Labor:

    Amendment No. 134.

    Amend section 1, page 1, line 5, by deleting: “or permanent total disability” and inserting: “, permanent total disability, permanent partial disability or rehabilitation maintenance benefits”.

    Amend section 1, pages 1 and 2, by deleting lines 9 through 11 on page 1 and lines 1 through 21 on page 2 and inserting:

    “By endorsing this check for temporary total disability, temporary partial disability, permanent total disability, permanent partial disability or rehabilitation maintenance benefits, I certify under penalty of imposition of a fine or imprisonment, or both, that I am entitled to the benefits for workers’ compensation represented by this check, that the circumstances which entitled me to benefits for workers’ compensation have not changed since my claim was accepted or since I received the last payment and that no false statements or representations have been made to obtain these benefits.”.

    Amend section 1, page 2, line 23, by deleting “3.” and inserting “2.”.

    Amend section 1, page 2, line 25, by deleting “or 2 ”.

    Amend the bill as a whole by renumbering sections 3 through 7 as sections 4 through 8 and adding a new section designated sec. 3, following sec. 2, to read as follows:

    “Sec. 3.  NRS 616C.230 is hereby amended to read as follows:

    616C.230 1.  Compensation is not payable pursuant to the provisions of chapters 616A to 616D, inclusive, of NRS for an injury:

    (a) Caused by the employee’s willful intention to injure himself.

    (b) Caused by the employee’s willful intention to injure another.

    (c) Proximately caused by the employee’s intoxication. If the employee was intoxicated at the time of his injury, intoxication must be presumed to be a proximate cause unless rebutted by evidence to the contrary.

    (d) Proximately caused by the employee’s use of a controlled substance. If the employee had any amount of a controlled substance in his system at the time of his injury for which the employee did not have a current and lawful prescription issued in his name, the controlled substance must be presumed to be a proximate cause unless rebutted by evidence to the contrary.

    2.  For the purposes of paragraphs (c) and (d) of subsection 1:

    (a) The affidavit or declaration of an expert or other person described in NRS 50.315 is admissible to prove the existence of any alcohol or the existence, quantity or identity of a controlled substance in an employee’s system. If the affidavit or declaration is to be so used, it must be submitted in the manner prescribed in NRS 616C.355.

    (b) When an examination requested or ordered includes testing for the use of alcohol or a controlled substance[:

        (1) If] , the laboratory that conducts the testing [is located in a county whose population is 100,000 or more and the testing is of urine, the laboratory] must be [certified for forensic testing of urine for drugs by the College of American Pathologists or a successor organization or by the federal Department of Health and Human Services; and

        (2) Any such testing of breath for alcohol must be performed pursuant to the regulations of the federal Department of Transportation.] licensed pursuant to the provisions of chapter 652 of NRS.

    3.  No compensation is payable for the death, disability or treatment of an employee if his death is caused by, or insofar as his disability is aggravated, caused or continued by, an unreasonable refusal or neglect to submit to or to follow any competent and reasonable surgical treatment or medical aid.

    4.  If any employee persists in an unsanitary or injurious practice that imperils or retards his recovery, or refuses to submit to such medical or surgical treatment as is necessary to promote his recovery, his compensation may be reduced or suspended.

    5.  An injured employee’s compensation, other than accident benefits, must be suspended if:

    (a) A physician or chiropractor determines that the employee is unable to undergo treatment, testing or examination for the industrial injury solely because of a condition or injury that did not arise out of and in the course of his employment; and

    (b) It is within the ability of the employee to correct the nonindustrial condition or injury.

The compensation must be suspended until the injured employee is able to resume treatment, testing or examination for the industrial injury. The insurer may elect to pay for the treatment of the nonindustrial condition or injury.”.

    Amend sec. 8, page 8, by deleting line 27 and inserting:

    “Sec. 9.  1.  This section and sections 1 and 2 and 4 to 8, inclusive, of this act become effective on July 1, 1999.

    2.  Section 3 of this act becomes effective at 12:01 a.m. on July 1, 1999.”.

    Amend the title of the bill, fifth line, after “involved;” by inserting: “requiring that a test of an injured employee for the presence of alcohol or a controlled substance be performed by a laboratory that is licensed by the health division of the department of human resources;”.

    Senator O’Connell moved the adoption of the amendment.

    Remarks by Senator O’Connell.

    Amendment adopted.

    Bill ordered reprinted, engrossed and to third reading.

    Senate Bill No. 154.

    Bill read second time.

    The following amendment was proposed by the Committee on Transportation:

    Amendment No. 114.

    Amend the bill as a whole by deleting sections 1 and 2 and adding a new section designated section 1, following the enacting clause, to read as follows:

    “Section 1. NRS 484.474 is hereby amended to read as follows:

    484.474 1.  Except as otherwise provided in subsection 5, any person who is transporting a child who is under 5 years of age [and]or who weighs less than 40 pounds in a motor vehicle operated in this state which is equipped to carry passengers shall secure him in a device for restraining a child which has been approved by the United States Department of Transportation.

    2.  A person who violates the provisions of subsection 1 shall be punished by a fine of not less than $35 nor more than $100 unless, within 14 days after the issuance of the citation for such a violation, the person presents to the court specified in the citation proof of his purchase of such a restraining device. Upon presentation of such proof, the court shall void the citation.

    3.  For the purposes of NRS 483.473, a violation of this section is not a moving traffic violation.

    4.  A violation of this section may not be considered:

    (a) Negligence or causationin any civil action; or

    (b) Negligence or reckless driving for the purposes of NRS 484.377.

    5.  This section does not apply:

    (a) To a person who is transporting a child in a means of public transportation, including a taxi, school bus or emergency vehicle.

    (b) When a physician determines that the use of such a restraining device for the particular child would be impractical or dangerous because of such factors as the child’s weight, physical unfitness or medical condition. In this case, the person transporting the child shall carry in the vehicle the signed statement of the physician to that effect.”.

    Amend the title of the bill to read as follows:

    “AN ACT relating to motor vehicles; expanding the circumstances under which a child who is being transported in a motor vehicle must be secured by a device for restraining a child; providing that the failure to so secure a child may not be considered causation in a civil action; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.”.

    Senator O’Donnell moved the adoption of the amendment.

    Remarks by Senators O’Donnell and Neal.

    Amendment adopted.

    Bill ordered reprinted, engrossed and to third reading.

    Senate Bill No. 168.

    Bill read second time.

    The following amendment was proposed by the Committee on Transportation:

    Amendment No. 113.

    Amend the bill as a whole by deleting sections 1 through 15 and inserting a new section designated section 1, following the enacting clause, to read as follows:

    “Section 1.  Chapter 408 of NRS is hereby amended by adding thereto a new section to read as follows:

    1.  Any contract made or awarded by the department for the construction, improvement, maintenance or repair of a highway or an appurtenance to that highway may include a provision for the payment of an additional amount of money to the person with whom the contract is made or to whom it is awarded if he satisfactorily completes the construction, improvement, maintenance or repair of the highway or appurtenance before the date for completion of that construction, improvement, maintenance or repair set forth in the contract.

    2.  The amount of money to be paid pursuant to a provision included in a contract specified in subsection 1 and the date before which the work must be completed must be determined by the department.”.

    Amend the title of the bill by deleting the first through fifth lines and inserting:

    “AN ACT relating to highways; clarifying the authority of the department of transportation to include in a contract made or awarded for the construction, improvement, maintenance or repair of a highway or appurtenance to a highway a provision for the payment of an additional amount of”.

    Amend the summary of the bill to read as follows:

    “SUMMARY—Clarifies authority of department of transportation to pay incentive for early completion of construction, improvement, maintenance or repair of highway or appurtenance to highway. (BDR 35-1241)”.

    Senator O’Donnell moved the adoption of the amendment.

    Remarks by Senators O’Donnell, Neal, O’Connell, Porter and Titus.

    Senator Titus moved that Senate Bill No. 168 be taken from the Second Reading File and placed on the Secretary’s desk.

    Remarks by Senator Titus.

    Motion carried.

    Senate Bill No. 209.

    Bill read second time.

    The following amendment was proposed by the Committee on Transportation:

    Amendment No. 144.

    Amend the bill as a whole by renumbering sections 1 through 7 as sections 2 through 8 and adding a new section designated section 1, following the enacting clause, to read as follows:

    “Section 1.  Chapter 482 of NRS is hereby amended by adding thereto a new section to read as follows:

    1.  The department shall collect a fee for each temporary placard issued by the department to a seller or long-term lessor pursuant to NRS 482.423 to 482.4245, inclusive. The fee may not exceed the cost to the department of producing the temporary placard.

    2.  The fees collected pursuant to subsection 1 must be deposited with the state treasurer for credit to the motor vehicle fund and allocated to the registration division of the department to pay for the cost of producing the temporary placards.”.

    Amend section 1, page 2, line 12, by deleting “execution” and inserting “expiration”.

    Amend sec. 2, page 3, line 12, by deleting “execution” and inserting “expiration”.

    Amend sec. 3, page 4, line 23, by deleting “execution” and inserting “expiration”.

    Amend sec. 4, page 5, line 24, by deleting “execution” and inserting “expiration”.

    Amend sec. 6, page 6, line 18, by deleting “July” and inserting “October”.

    Amend sec. 6, page 6, line 19, by deleting “July” and inserting “October”.

    Amend the title of the bill, third line, by deleting “execution” and inserting “expiration”.

    Amend the summary of the bill, first line, after “plate” by inserting “to”.

    Senator O’Donnell moved the adoption of the amendment.

    Remarks by Senator O’Donnell.

    Amendment adopted.

    Bill ordered reprinted, engrossed and to third reading.

    Senate Bill No. 235.

    Bill read second time.

    The following amendment was proposed by the Committee on Transportation:

    Amendment No. 112.

    Amend sec. 2, page 2, line 25, after “not” by inserting “enter,”.

    Amend sec. 2, page 2, line 34, by deleting “3.  The” and inserting:

    “3.  Except as otherwise provided in subsection 2, the driver of a motor vehicle shall not enter or proceed through an intersection while driving within a pathway or lane provided for bicycles.

    4. The”.

    Amend sec. 2, page 2, line 39, by deleting “4.” and inserting “[4.] 5.”.

    Amend sec. 3, page 3, by deleting lines 6 through 9 and inserting: “right turn [shall] must be made [as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the highway.

    2.  Where both] from the right turn lane if the highway has a right turn lane as set forth in subsection 4 of NRS 484.305, or must be made from the extreme right lane.

    2.  Both intersecting highways are two-directional [, the]”.

    Amend the title of the bill, fourth line, after “turn;” by inserting: “clarifying the prohibition against entering or proceeding through an intersection while driving within a pathway or lane provided for bicycles;”.

    Senator O’Donnell moved the adoption of the amendment.

    Remarks by Senators O’Donnell, Coffin and Neal.

    Amendment adopted.

    Bill ordered reprinted, engrossed and to third reading.

    Senate Bill No. 277.

    Bill read second time.

    The following amendment was proposed by the Committee on Finance:

    Amendment No. 218.

    Amend section 1, page 1, line 1, by deleting “There” and inserting “1.  There”.

    Amend section 1, page 1, between lines 5 and 6, by inserting:

    “2.  Any remaining balance of the supplemental appropriation made by subsection 1 must not be committed for expenditure after June 30, 1999, and reverts to the state general fund as soon as all payments of money committed have been made.”.

    Amend the bill as a whole by deleting sections 2 and 3 and adding new sections designated sections 2 through 5, following section 1, to read as follows:

    “Sec. 2.  1.  There is hereby appropriated from the state general fund to the Department of Museums, Library and Arts the sum of $10,000 to offset the unanticipated shortfall in the revenue from admissions at the Nevada Museum and Historical Society in Las Vegas. This appropriation is supplemental to that made by section 18 of chapter 244, Statutes of Nevada 1997, at page 856.

    2.  Any remaining balance of the supplemental appropriation made by subsection 1 must not be committed for expenditure after June 30, 1999, and reverts to the state general fund as soon as all payments of money committed have been made.

    Sec. 3.  1.  There is hereby appropriated from the state general fund to the Department of Museums, Library and Arts the sum of $8,769 to offset the unanticipated shortfall in the revenue from admissions at the Nevada State Railroad Museum in Carson City and for additional utility expenses at that museum. This appropriation is supplemental to that made by section 18 of chapter 244, Statutes of Nevada 1997, at page 856.

    2.  Any remaining balance of the supplemental appropriation made by subsection 1 must not be committed for expenditure after June 30, 1999, and reverts to the state general fund as soon as all payments of money committed have been made.

    Sec. 4.  1.  There is hereby appropriated from the state general fund to the Department of Museums, Library and Arts the sum of $15,145 for additional utility expenses at the Nevada State Museum in Carson City. This appropriation is supplemental to that made by section 18 of chapter 244, Statutes of Nevada 1997, at page 856.

    2.  Any remaining balance of the supplemental appropriation made by subsection 1 must not be committed for expenditure after June 30, 1999, and reverts to the state general fund as soon as all payments of money committed have been made.

    Sec. 5.  This act becomes effective upon passage and approval.”.

    Amend the title of the bill to read as follows:

    “AN ACT making supplemental appropriations to the Department of Museums, Library and Arts for the administration of the Department, to offset unanticipated shortfalls in the revenue from admissions at certain museums and for additional utility expenses; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.”.

    Amend the summary of the bill by deleting the first and second lines and inserting:

    “SUMMARY—Makes supplemental appropriations to Department of Museums, Library and Arts for administration of Department, to offset unanticipated shortfalls in revenue from admissions at certain museums and for additional utility expenses.”.

    Senator Raggio moved the adoption of the amendment.

    Remarks by Senator Raggio.

    Amendment adopted.

    Bill ordered reprinted, engrossed and to third reading.

    Senate Bill No. 332.

    Bill read second time and ordered to third reading.

    Senate Bill No. 339.

    Bill read second time and ordered to third reading.

    Senate Bill No. 398.

    Bill read second time and ordered to third reading.

    Senate Bill No. 460.

    Bill read second time and ordered to third reading.

    Senate Bill No. 461.

    Bill read second time and ordered to third reading.

    Senate Bill No. 462.

    Bill read second time and ordered to third reading.

    Senate Bill No. 483.

    Bill read second time and ordered to third reading.

    Assembly Bill No. 174.

    Bill read second time and ordered to third reading.

GENERAL FILE AND THIRD READING

    Senate Bill No. 190.

    Bill read third time.

    Roll call on Senate Bill No. 190:

    Yeas—19.

    Nays—None.

    Excused—Schneider, Townsend—2.

    Senate Bill No. 190 having received a constitutional majority, Madam President declared it passed, as amended.

    Bill ordered transmitted to the Assembly.

    Senate Bill No. 315.

    Bill read third time.

    Remarks by Senators Porter, James, Coffin, Care and Neal.

    Conflict of interest declared by Senator Porter.

    Senator James requested that the following remarks be entered in the Journal.

    Senator James:

    Thank you, Madam President. Senate Bill No. 315 requires an arbitrator in non-binding arbitration cases to make written findings regarding his determination of which party prevails in the case. The findings must include the amount awarded to the prevailing party. If one of the parties to the arbitration requests a trial de novo before a jury, Senate Bill No. 315 requires that the arbitrator’s written findings be admitted at trial for the consideration of the jury. No other evidence concerning the arbitration, including any testimony or deposition of the arbitrator, may be admitted at trial.

    Finally, the bill sets forth the jury instructions that the court must give concerning the use of the arbitrator’s findings during the jury’s deliberations.

    Senator Coffin:

    Thank you, Madam President. Just a question posed by a notice to me from the AAA Insurance Company which insures my automobile. So, I have to be mindful of anything they send. They oppose this, and their objection was that certain findings in arbitration, such as who the arbitrator finds in favor of and the amount of the arbitration award would be presented into evidence at trial because of this bill. The AAA goes on to say that this information is irrelevant to the facts of the case and should not be made an exception and required to be admitted into trial evidence. Furthermore, they say, Senate Bill No. 315 jeopardizes our trial by jury system in that it prejudices the jury on several of the most important reasons that these cases are before the people to decide fault and the value of a case. Since I do not serve on the committee that heard this bill, I would appreciate it if the chairman could reassure me and the others who received this notice about the issues raised by that.

    Senator James:

    Thank you, Madam President. I thank the Senator from Las Vegas for the question. Let me address those issues. The Judiciary Committee did hear some opposition to this bill, but it does not affect trial by jury. There is precedent to this already that in medical malpractice cases you are required to go before a screening panel. The findings of the screening panel are then submitted to the court and go to the jury if the case proceeds to court and goes to a jury trial. We are already doing this in Nevada Statutes. The reason we adopted a mandatory non-binding arbitration law was to encourage parties to have their claims heard informally, understand the value of their cases and then abide by the arbitrator’s award. We, as a legislature, did not wish to make that binding arbitration because that would have denied people the right to go before a jury. With this bill, we are not denying your right to go before a jury. We’re merely stating that, if you have this non-binding arbitration process, in order to make it a meaningful process you have to have the outcome of that process carry some weight and have some import. If it can be submitted to a jury, then it does carry some weight and has some import. Like any other evidence that is submitted to a jury, whether it be the evidence of an expert witness who testifies at trial, or any other evidence that a jury considers, the jury is free to weigh that evidence as much as it wishes or to disregard it entirely. As included in the measure, the jury is instructed that it can weigh the evidence as much as it wishes or disregard it entirely. That would be the instruction given to the jury. The jury can consider this evidence heavily or lightly or it cannot consider it at all. You still have the right to go before a jury. You are not being denied your right of trial by jury, but you are infusing into the arbitration process a little bit more seriousness so that one party can’t go to an arbitration, sit back and fold its arms, listen to the other party present their case, see what they have to say, not participate meaningfully in discovery prior to the arbitration and then just automatically ask for a trial de novo, go to trial and expect that the preceding arbitration has had no more meaning than just a free discovery device. That is what the committee considered. The committee was very judicious in its approach. We did not come up with a bill as the one which lost last session which said that you cannot have a trial after an arbitration unless certain criteria are met. We are not saying that at all. All we are doing is adopting the same method and procedure that is followed with our medical malpractice statute already in place in Nevada and allowing the jury to consider this important finding of the arbitrator.

    Senator Care:

    Thank you, Madam President. As an attorney, I will just echo the remarks of the Chairman of Judiciary. The testimony was, I thought, fairly compelling that most insurance companies, when they lose an arbitration, abuse the process by seeking needlessly a trial de novo. I support Senate Bill No. 315.

    Senator Neal:

    Thank you, Madam President. The question I have may have already been asked. Would you clarify for me the public purpose of this measure?

    Senator James:

    Thank you, Madam President. That is a very good question because this bill was brought to us by several judges from the Eighth Judicial District Court. This is a bill which was supported by other interest groups as well, but the main proponents and requestors of this bill were members of that court. They were expressing frustration that the arbitration process was not meaningful and that they were having to hear, as full blown trials, a host of these cases that went through the arbitration process, and that there were a number of litigants that arbitrarily requested these trials de novo. They did not ask us to not allow trials de novo, or limit the requests, they just said to
allow this evidence to come into the consideration of the jury. There was not one or two, but three judges who testified personally before the committee in favor of this particular measure. Those were the only members of the bench, in the entire state, that testified.

    Senator Coffin:

    Thank you, Madam President.  I rise to ask one additional question. I do not know how many insurance companies were involved in this or how many trial lawyers or judges, but I was curious if anyone discussed the possibility if, by passage of this bill, we may find people avoiding arbitration if evidence appears to surface which may prejudice the case of the defendant. While the insurance company may be easily targeted, they are in fact defending your rights as their insured.  Is it possible that this would chill the purpose of arbitration?

    Senator James:

    Thank you, Madam President. Participation in non-binding arbitration is mandatory for a claim of under $40,000 as we have previously mandated. No—it is not going to chill it. In fact, it is going to give impetus to litigants on both sides to participate more meaningfully in the arbitration. The members of the committee unanimously felt that this would make the process meaningful. It would make both parties put their cards on the table and result in more settlements and final conclusions at the arbitration stage rather than, in Clark County, waiting for two more years to get the matter before a jury. Also, this is not a bill against insurance companies in any way. I am sorry that it has been characterized in that way by some people who apparently oppose the bill, because this applies to both sides in a case. If you are a plaintiff and you want a trial de novo because you lost or got less than you wanted at the arbitration stage, that will come before the jury. Although most of these were requested in auto accident type cases, and the majority were requested by insurance companies, there were a lot of them requested by the plaintiff. So, it is going to apply to both sides equally. This comes in, and the jury can consider it, and the attorneys can argue however they are permitted to argue. This bill does not intend the findings to be presented unfairly; it applies to both sides.

    Senator Care:

    Thank you, Madam President. Sometimes legal minds think alike. The Chairman of the committee said everything that I was going to say. Thank you.

    Roll call on Senate Bill No. 315:

    Yeas—18.

    Nays—None.

    Not Voting—Porter.

    Excused—Schneider, Townsend—2.

    Senate Bill No. 315 having received a constitutional majority, Madam President declared it passed, as amended.

    Bill ordered transmitted to the Assembly.

    Senate Bill No. 480.

    Bill read third time.

    Remarks by Senator James.

    Roll call on Senate Bill No. 480:

    Yeas—19.

    Nays—None.

    Excused—Schneider, Townsend—2.

    Senate Bill No. 480 having received a constitutional majority, Madam President declared it passed.

    Bill ordered transmitted to the Assembly.

    Senate Joint Resolution No. 12 of the 69th Session.

    Resolution read third time.

    Roll call on Senate Joint Resolution No. 12 of the 69th Session:

    Yeas—19.

    Nays—None.

    Excused—Schneider, Townsend—2.

    Senate Joint Resolution No. 12 of the 69th Session having received a constitutional majority, Madam President declared it passed.

    Resolution ordered transmitted to the Assembly.

    Assembly Bill No. 20.

    Bill read third time.

    Remarks by Senators Neal and James.

    Roll call on Assembly Bill No. 20:

    Yeas—15.

    Nays—Coffin, Neal, Raggio, Shaffer—4.

    Excused—Schneider, Townsend—2.

    Assembly Bill No. 20 having received a constitutional majority, Madam President declared it passed, as amended.

    Bill ordered transmitted to the Assembly.

    Assembly Bill No. 85.

    Bill read third time.

    Roll call on Assembly Bill No. 85:

    Yeas—19.

    Nays—None.

    Excused—Schneider, Townsend—2.

    Assembly Bill No. 85 having received a constitutional majority, Madam President declared it passed, as amended.

    Bill ordered transmitted to the Assembly.

    Assembly Bill No. 113.

    Bill read third time.

    Roll call on Assembly Bill No. 113:

    Yeas—18.

    Nays—None.

    Not Voting—Coffin.

    Excused—Schneider, Townsend—2.

    Assembly Bill No. 113 having received a constitutional majority, Madam President declared it passed.

    Bill ordered transmitted to the Assembly.

    Assembly Bill No. 127.

    Bill read third time.

    Remarks by Senators Care and Neal.

    Roll call on Assembly Bill No. 127:

    Yeas—19.

    Nays—None.

    Excused—Schneider, Townsend—2.

    Assembly Bill No. 127 having received a constitutional majority, Madam President declared it passed.

    Bill ordered transmitted to the Assembly.

    Assembly Bill No. 128.

    Bill read third time.

    Remarks by Senator Care.

    Roll call on Assembly Bill No. 128:

    Yeas—19.

    Nays—None.

    Excused—Schneider, Townsend—2.

    Assembly Bill No. 128 having received a constitutional majority, Madam President declared it passed.

    Bill ordered transmitted to the Assembly.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

Consideration of Assembly Amendments

    Senate Bill No. 255.

    The following Assembly amendment was read:

    Amend sec. 2, page 2, line 34, by deleting: “imposed pursuant to” and inserting “described in”.

    Amend the bill as a whole by renumbering sec. 4 as sec. 5 and adding a new section designated sec. 4, following sec. 3, to read as follows:

    “Sec. 4.  The amendatory provisions of sections 1 and 2 of this act are intended to clarify the original intent of the Legislature when it adopted, respectively, section 21 of chapter 506, Statutes of Nevada 1997, as added by section 1 of chapter 439, Statutes of Nevada 1997, at page 1553, and section 24 of chapter 506, Statutes of Nevada 1997, as amended by section 2 of chapter 439, Statutes of Nevada 1997, at page 1554.”.

    Amend the title of the bill, first line, by deleting “revising” and inserting “clarifying”.

    Senator Raggio moved that the Senate concur in the Assembly amendment to Senate Bill No. 255.

    Remarks by Senators Raggio and Neal.

    Motion carried.

    Bill ordered enrolled.

Signing of Bills and Resolutions

    There being no objections, the President and Secretary signed Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 24; Assembly Bills Nos. 22, 24, 79.

GUESTS EXTENDED PRIVILEGE OF SENATE FLOOR

    On request of Senator Amodei, the privilege of the floor of the Senate Chamber for this day was extended to Nathan Aaker, Josh Aaker, Matthew Aaker and Father Jeff Paul.

    On request of Senator Jacobsen, the privilege of the floor of the Senate Chamber for this day was extended to Kelly Garcia, Elmo Dericco, Barbara Jackson, Donald Jackson and Jeanne Douglas.

    On request of Senator James, the privilege of the floor of the Senate Chamber for this day was extended to John Hickman.

    On request of Senator Porter, the privilege of the floor of the Senate Chamber for this day was extended to Bill Starkey and Bruce Pfeiffer.

    On request of Senator Raggio, the privilege of the floor of the Senate Chamber for this day was extended to former Senator Wilson McGowan, Mae Morrison McGowan, Bruce Alden, Nicki Aaker, Kathy McClintock, Lenae Dericco, Mr. and Mrs. Tim Dericco, Wilson Dericco, Todd Dericco, Zachary Dericco, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Reynoso, Mr. and Mrs. John Torvik, Mr. and Mrs. Tom Torvik, Mrs. Michael Garcia, Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert Ayarbe, Mr. and Mrs. Dick King and Lynn Brooks.

    On request of Senator Rawson, the privilege of the floor of the Senate Chamber for this day was extended to Donna Dericco and Ken Rawson.

    On request of Senator Rhoads, the privilege of the floor of the Senate Chamber for this day was extended to David Nash, Brian Roa, Flint Wright, Chap Pratt, Ben McKnight, Ray Lynn Stoddard, Brian Long, John Paash, Jason Jimmerson. B.J. Fett, Cody Nash and Dennis Hellwinkle.

    On request of Senator Titus, the privilege of the floor of the Senate Chamber for this day was extended to former Senator Thomas R.C. “Spike” Wilson, Sandra Wilson, Janice Pine, Thomas Wilson III, Ina Marie Wilson, Ann Nelson, James Nelson, Jennifer Nelson, James Wilson, Liz Vlaming, Patrick Vlaming, Michael Vlaming, Paula Vlaming, Ryan Vlaming, Liam Vlaming, Craig Hartung, John D. Winters and Kay Winters.

    On request of Senator Townsend, the privilege of the floor of the Senate Chamber for this day was extended to Howard McGowan, Katherine Buchanan and Jim Torvik.

    On request of Senator Washington, the privilege of the floor of the Senate Chamber for this day was extended to former Assemblyman Danny Thompson.

    On request of President Hunt, the privilege of the floor of the Senate Chamber for this day was extended to David Phillips, Lela Gilbert and David Waddel.

REMARKS FROM THE FLOOR

    Senator Raggio:

    I do have some announcements that I think are of importance and value to the Senators so I would hope you would stay for just a moment.

    First of all, I am going to suggest as procedure to accommodate the desk as well as to make sure that every member of this Senate understands the procedure, since we do have new procedures this session. If you are going to propose an amendment, it should be delivered to the desk prior to the beginning of the session. Preferably, if you can, the day before. It should also be distributed to the members of the Senate prior to the start of the session. This will avoid many problems on bills. This was a procedure we had in the last session, and I suggest we again follow that procedure. If it is not practical for any reason and you want to bring an amendment on a bill, then address the bill and make a motion to place it on the Secretary’s desk, indicating that you want to have an amendment prepared and the return of the amendment. This is for the purpose of saving time. That is a request that I hope you will be able to follow.

    Madam President: I would like to inform the Senate of the following schedule. On each Senator’s desk is a calendar which will show the dates I am referring to:

1.    There will be no floor sessions on Monday, March 29, or Tuesday, March 30, to give the morning committees more time to complete their agendas;

2.    I anticipate that we will have an extended floor session on March 31. If we begin session at 11:00 a.m., we may not be finished until 1:00 p.m., so the afternoon committees should plan meeting times accordingly;

3.    There will be no floor sessions on Monday, April 5, or Friday, April 9, again for the purpose of giving the committees time to finish their agendas;

4.    I anticipate our first Saturday session will be Saturday, April 10, beginning at 9:00 a.m. As for the session schedules for the week of April 12 through the 19, I would expect we would have an 11:00 a.m. session and another session later in the day. We will know more at that time, and then we will coordinate our times with the Assembly so that we are in session at about the same times. I do not intend to schedule floor sessions on Saturday, April 17, or Sunday, April 18, unless it is absolutely necessary.

    Senator Raggio moved that the Senate in conformance with Section 15 of Article 4 of the Constitution of the State of Nevada consent to the adjournment Friday, March 26, 1999 of the Assembly until Wednesday, March 31, 1999 at 11:00 a.m., and that the Senate with the consent of the Assembly adjourn until Wednesday, March 31, 1999 at 11:00 a.m., and that it do so with all our prayers for Carol Martini.

    Motion carried.

    Senate adjourned at 1:37 p.m.

Approved:                                                                  Lorraine T. Hunt

                                                                                   President of the Senate

Attest:    Janice L. Thomas

                Secretary of the Senate