MINUTES OF THE
SENATE Committee on Government Affairs
Seventy-second Session
May 14, 2003
The Senate Committee on Government Affairs was called to order by Chairman Ann O'Connell, at 2:41 p.m., on Wednesday, May 14, 2003, in Room 2149 of the Legislative Building, Carson City, Nevada. The meeting was videoconferenced to the Grant Sawyer State Office Building, Room 4412, 555 East Washington Avenue, Las Vegas, Nevada. Exhibit A is the Agenda. Exhibit B is the Attendance Roster. All exhibits are available and on file at the Research Library of the Legislative Counsel Bureau.
COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT:
Senator Ann O'Connell, Chairman
Senator Sandra J. Tiffany, Vice Chairman
Senator William J. Raggio
Senator Warren B. Hardy II
Senator Dina Titus
Senator Terry Care
COMMITTEE MEMBERS ABSENT:
Senator Randolph J. Townsend (Excused)
GUEST LEGISLATORS PRESENT:
Assemblyman Joseph (Joe) Hardy, Assembly District No. 20
Assemblyman David F. Brown, Assembly District No. 22
Assemblywoman Christina R. Giunchigliani, Assembly District No. 9
STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT:
Michael Stewart, Committee Policy Analyst
Scott Wasserman, Committee Counsel
Olivia Lodato, Committee Secretary
OTHERS PRESENT:
Steve G. Holloway, Lobbyist, Associated General Contractors
James Bell, Lobbyist, City of North Las Vegas
Santana Garcia, Lobbyist, Las Vegas Valley Water District, and Southern Nevada Water Authority
Andrew A. List, Lobbyist, Nevada Association of Counties
Dean Heller, Secretary of State
Lori T. Ashton, Lobbyist, Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters
Dan Musgrove, Lobbyist, Clark County
Chairman O’Connell opened the work session with Assembly Bill (A.B.) 393.
ASSEMBLY BILL 393 (1stReprint): Revises provisions relating to public works projects. (BDR 28-996)
Michael Stewart, Committee Policy Analyst, stated the bill prohibited a public body from withholding payment from a contractor in excess of the retainage except when the contractor had agreed to pay liquidated damages in the event the contractor breached the contract. The bill also had to do with unbalanced bids. Mr. Stewart said several amendments had been offered. He said the first proposed amendment was from the Southern Nevada Water Authority and another was from the Associated General Contractors (AGC), Nevada Chapter (Exhibit C, pages 52-55. Original is on file in the Research Library).
Steve G. Holloway, Lobbyist, Associated General Contractors, said his Las Vegas chapter was the original sponsor of the bill. The bill was initially intended to limit withholdings to retainage, liquidated damages, and other statutory holdings. The second part of the bill was to reduce the retainage for a “good contractor,” but allow the public works agencies to increase retainage if a contractor was not performing satisfactorily. Mr. Holloway said a compromise with the AGC-North had been reached in regard to the language concerning unbalanced bids. He said the one remaining issue in the bill was whether the language concerning unbalanced bids would be retained in the bill. He said his organization would like to see the bill go forward as written.
James Bell, Lobbyist, City of North Las Vegas, said public agencies and the water authority met to address A.B. 393 and discuss contractor issues and reducing the amount of money being withheld from the contracts. He said it was necessary to have proper protections in place, including adequate retainage for large-scale projects. Mr. Bell said the bill as amended and passed through the Assembly was what he would like to see go forward in the Senate. He said A.B. 425, if passed, provided a method to deal with improper protests, and would solve any issue in regard to the unbalanced bid situation. He said if the unbalanced bid provision were removed from A.B. 393, the bill should not be supported.
ASSEMBLY BILL 425: Revises provisions regarding public works. (BDR 28‑405)
Santana Garcia, Lobbyist, Las Vegas Valley Water District, and Southern Nevada Water Authority, stated his organization also supported A.B. 393 with the addition of the Southern Nevada Water Authority amendment. He added his group opposed the second amendment offered by the northern AGC.
Senator Care asked about earlier testimony language referring to the “unbalanced bid,” or a violation, that might have a sanction of 3 years. He said it had been suggested 3 years was an extreme penalty as opposed to a 1-year sanction. Mr. Bell responded 3 years was too long.
Mr. Garcia emphasized the 3-years language was compromise language while the organizations worked with the Las Vegas AGC and other local government agencies. He said there had been no lengthy discussion of the number of years for sanctions.
Mr. Holloway said it was often difficult when looking at a bid document to determine whether the bid was unbalanced. He said the only way to determine a bid was unbalanced was later, upon examination of the schedule of values submitted by the contractor. He said the agencies wanted to be able to eliminate contractors who had submitted unbalanced bids in the past, and had not been eliminated because the awards had already been granted. He stated the agencies had originally asked for a 5-year sanction, but compromised on 3 years. He said the Las Vegas AGC thought the bill was extremely important and the only issue outstanding was the unbalanced bid language.
Senator Hardy said his concern was eventually it would get to the point where no contractor would want to bid on public works jobs. He said some of the best contractors he knew refused to bid on public works jobs at this time. He said retainage was also important for the protection of the agencies. Senator Hardy said the unbalanced bid language might cause significant legal problems. He said he could not think of a logical reason why a contractor who had lost a bid would have anything to lose by going to court to claim the bid was unbalanced. Senator Hardy said there was enough language currently in the law to allow an agency to reject an unbalanced bid as unresponsive.
Mr. Holloway said his group had no problems with the Southern Nevada Water Authority’s amendment or the northern Nevada AGC amendment.
SENATOR HARDY MOVED TO AMEND WITH THE AMENDMENTS PROPOSED BY THE SOUTHERN NEVADA WATER AUTHORITY AND THE ASSOCIATED GENERAL CONTRACTORS-NORTH AND DO PASS A.B. 393.
SENATOR TIFFANY SECONDED THE MOTION.
THE MOTION CARRIED. (SENATOR CARE VOTED NO. SENATORS TOWNSEND AND TITUS WERE ABSENT FOR THE VOTE.)
*****
Chairman O’Connell opened the work session on A.B. 23.
ASSEMBLY BILL 23 (1st Reprint): Increases compensation of district attorneys and sheriffs. (BDR 20-163)
Mr. Stewart said A.B. 23 was the Assembly version of S.B. 53, concerning compensation for district attorneys and sheriffs. Mr. Stewart said S.B. 53 had been amended and approved by the Senate Government Affairs Committee on March 5, 2003 (Exhibit C, page 1).
SENATE BILL 53: Increases compensation of elected county officers. (BDR 20‑21)
Senator Hardy asked for confirmation that A.B. 23 was drafted to apply only to district attorneys and sheriffs, and the only conceptual amendment would be to make it mirror the Senate bill. Chairman O’Connell said the amendment was in regard to a technical question. She said, as she understood the amendment, it had to do with different classification levels of various counties.
Andrew A. List, Lobbyist, Nevada Association of Counties, said the technical amendment dealt with the classification system for the counties. He said Humboldt County was moved up from a class 3 to a class 4 county and salaries for district attorneys and sheriffs had been adjusted for that particular classification under A.B. 23.
Mr. Stewart said S.B. 53 came out of the Senate Committee on Government Affairs as it was now presented in A.B. 23. He said it was amended on the floor to include other elected officials.
Chairman O’Connell said the bill now only addressed the sheriffs and district attorneys. Senator Hardy said he believed it was a bad time to be granting raises, but he understood the raises had been discussed and budgeted for by the counties.
SENATOR HARDY MOVED TO DO PASS A.B. 23.
SENATOR CARE SECONDED THE MOTION.
Senator Raggio said his position had not changed from the earlier Senate bill, and he believed all of the county officials deserved a raise. He said county officials had not had a raise since 1995. He said he would have moved to amend it to include all the county officials because he believed when A.B. 23 moved forward, the enhanced Senate bill would not receive consideration in the Assembly. He said it did not make sense to take two elected positions in the county and raise their salaries and not raise all the elected officials’ salaries.
Senator Hardy said he supported the amendment on the other bill. He said if the local governments requested the raise, the request should be honored. Senator Raggio commented he would vote for the bill, but reserved the right to amend the bill on the floor of the Senate to be compatible with the earlier Senate bill.
Senator Care said his amendment would have included everybody but the county commissioners. He said his sympathies would include raises for those not included in this bill.
THE MOTION FAILED. (SENATORS O’CONNELL AND TIFFANY VOTED NO. SENATORS TOWNSEND AND TITUS WERE ABSENT FOR THE VOTE.)
*****
Chairman O’Connell said she would bring the bill back on Friday when the other members of the committee would be present.
Chairman O’Connell opened the hearing on A.B. 65.
ASSEMBLY BILL 65 (1st Reprint): Authorizes collective bargaining for certain state employees. (BDR 23-659)
Mr. Stewart stated there was an extensive summary of the bill in the work session document, Exhibit C, page 2. He said the State of Nevada Employees Association was offering a comprehensive amendment on pages 3 through 5, Exhibit C.
Chairman O’Connell said she had a problem with the size of the amendment at such a late date. She said she did not believe there was enough time to study the document in the 2 days remaining before action on the bill had to be taken.
SENATOR TIFFANY MOVED TO INDEFINITELY POSTPONE A.B. 65.
SENATOR HARDY SECONDED THE MOTION.
Senator Care asked if 48 hours would make a difference in the sentiment of some of the members of the committee. He said he looked at the summation of the amendment, section 3.7, which changed the definition of collective bargaining to discussions of workplace relations, codifying mutual obligations to meet at reasonable times, and discussing in good faith the working conditions of employees, excluding salary or wage rates or other forms of direct monetary compensation, sick and annual leave accrual rates, and designated holidays. He stated the definition appeared to be a positive situation for all sides and saw no reason to indefinitely postpone the bill.
Senator Titus said all of the previously asked questions about saving money, and the impact of collective bargaining had been answered in the amendment. She agreed with Senator Care the bill should have moved forward.
THE MOTION CARRIED. (SENATORS CARE AND TITUS VOTED NO. SENATOR TOWNSEND WAS ABSENT FOR THE VOTE.)
*****
Chairman O’Connell reopened the hearing on A.B. 23.
SENATOR HARDY MOVED TO DO PASS A.B. 23.
SENATOR CARE SECONDED THE MOTION.
Senator Titus said she would vote for the bill, however she said she was tired of voting on the same bill multiple times.
THE MOTION CARRIED. (SENATORS O’CONNELL AND TIFFANY VOTED NO. SENATOR TOWNSEND WAS ABSENT FOR THE VOTE.)
*****
Chairman O’Connell opened the work session on A.B. 136.
ASSEMBLY BILL 136 (1stReprint): Authorizes creation of general improvement district for establishment of area or zone for preservation of one or more species or subspecies of wildlife threatened with extinction. (BDR 25‑398)
Mr. Stewart recapped the bill for the committee. He said the Board of Commissioners of Lincoln County had requested the bill. He also mentioned there were no amendments to the bill (Exhibit C, page 6).
SENATOR TIFFANY MOVED TO DO PASS A.B. 136.
SENATOR HARDY SECONDED THE MOTION.
THE MOTION CARRIED. (SENATOR TITUS VOTED NO. SENATOR TOWNSEND WAS ABSENT FOR THE VOTE. )
*****
Chairman O’Connell asked Secretary of State Dean Heller if he would like to present A.B. 529.
ASSEMBLY BILL 529 (1st Reprint): Makes various changes concerning reporting of campaign contributions and expenditures. (BDR 24-558)
Dean Heller, Secretary of State, said there was an amendment to the bill. He said for the record he was opposed to the current form of this piece of legislation (Exhibit C, pages 80-85).
Senator Raggio requested the bill be moved to the Friday, May 16, hearing. He said the committee needed more time to study the bill.
Chairman O’Connell opened the work session on A.B. 174.
ASSEMBLY BILL 174 (1stReprint): Creates Regional Business Development Advisory Council for Clark County. (BDR S-1004)
Mr. Stewart said the bill had one proposed amendment to delete the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) from section 5, page 4, line 11, subparagraph (v). The Nevada Department of Transportation does not want to be included in the membership of the Regional Development Advisory Council for Clark County. He said the amendment was proposed by NDOT (Exhibit C, page 8).
Chairman O’Connell said there had been no testifiers in favor of A.B. 174 when it was heard earlier. She said NDOT had testified against the bill and asked to be removed from the bill. Chairman O’Connell said she wondered if the Regional Development Advisory Council could do, or not do, anything that the minority commission could handle.
Senator Hardy said he served on the Business Development Activity Committee in Clark County which did an excellent job of looking at all issues related to small business. He said he did not believe it was necessary to be more specific with regard to disadvantaged people.
SENATOR HARDY MOVED TO INDEFINITELY POSTPONE A.B. 174.
SENATOR TIFFANY SECONDED THE MOTION.
THE MOTION CARRIED. (SENATOR TITUS VOTED NO. SENATOR
TOWNSEND WAS ABSENT FOR THE VOTE.)
*****
Chairman O’Connell opened the work session on A.B. 401.
ASSEMBLY BILL 401 (1st Reprint): Allows public body or Department of Transportation to authorize private entity to develop, construct, improve, maintain or operate transportation facility. (BDR 28-798)
Assemblyman Joseph (Joe) Hardy, Assembly District No. 20, introduced an amendment to A.B. 401, in the work session document, Exhibit C, pages 56‑64. He said the committee had received a conceptual amendment which clarified a design-build project of a transportation facility could not be a toll road or a toll bridge; and anything such as a toll facility would require legislative approval. Assemblyman Hardy said another conceptual amendment was proposed to make sure the local government or entity involved with the transportation facility retained or maintained ownership of the facility and would preclude the private sector from owning the facility.
Chairman O’Connell asked the committee to notice the conflict between A.B. 401 and A.B. 425. She said the conflict existed between section 9.5 of A.B. 401 and section 37 of A.B. 425.
Scott Wasserman, Committee Counsel, said the conflict was one of three potentially substantive conflicts he had identified for the committee of all the bills regarding public works provisions enacted. He said A.B. 425 deleted subsection 7 of Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS) 338.1727. He said subsection 7 said any provision of a contract that was in violation of paragraph (c) of subsection 6 was declared to be contrary to public policy of the State and was void. He said that subsection prohibited certain terms in a contract. The proponent of the bill stated if it were already prohibited by statute, it could not be given an effect over a statute prohibiting it. Mr. Wasserman said subsection 7 was deleted to avoid the problem. He said A.B. 401 had a technical amendment in section 7, but by amending subsection 7 and changing an internal reference, if both bills had passed, legal counsel would not know whether the intent of the Legislature was to delete the subsection or if it was to be kept as it had been amended. Mr. Wasserman said to resolve the conflict the committee could amend A.B. 401 to include the repeal of subsection 7, or it could choose not to repeal subsection 7 when it heard A.B. 425.
Chairman O’Connell asked if Assemblyman Hardy had any concerns about the technical amendment. He responded he did not have any concerns.
Senator Care asked Assemblyman Hardy if the bill were not amended in section 4, subsection 2 paragraph (d), page 2, line 19, would the text appear to be discussing condemnation of property. He said Assemblyman Hardy’s proposed amendment stated the local entity retained ownership of the transportation facility. Senator Care asked what the sequence of events would be in regard to the condemnation process if a private developer identified a project and the property needed for the project, but a public entity would be the final owner.
Assemblyman Hardy responded to Senator Care’s question by saying section 4 dealt with the unsolicited proposal and all the qualifications that would have to be addressed in such a proposal. He said condemnation had to be addressed, but would not be acted upon until the entity acted and accepted responsibility for the condemnation. Assemblyman Hardy said section 4 of the bill addressed the likelihood of something happening, and not the reality of it happening until the entity actually accepted the proposal. Senator Care asked if anything in the bill changed the laws and procedures under which entities currently have to use condemnation or eminent domain. Assemblyman Hardy said there were no changes in the current laws.
SENATOR HARDY MOVED TO AMEND WITH THE TECHNICAL AMENDMENT AND ASSEMBLYMAN HARDY’S AMENDMENT AND DO PASS A.B. 401.
SENATOR TIFFANY SECONDED THE MOTION.
THE MOTION CARRIED. (SENATOR TOWNSEND WAS ABSENT FOR THE VOTE.)
*****
Chairman O’Connell opened the work session on A.B. 295.
ASSEMBLY BILL 295 (1st Reprint): Revises provisions governing criteria for determining qualification of bidders on public works of local governments. (BDR 28-747)
Mr. Stewart said A.B. 295 dealt with 13 different criteria and several amendments (Exhibit C, pages 42-46). The Regional Transportation Commission of Washoe County proposed the first amendment, which stated a bidder could be deemed qualified if he or she was already deemed qualified by NDOT. The carpenters’ union in southern Nevada had proposed three additional amendments.
SENATOR HARDY MOVED TO AMEND WITH AMENDMENT ONE ONLY AND DO PASS A.B. 295.
SENATOR TIFFANY SECONDED THE MOTION.
Chairman O’Connell asked Senator Hardy if the motion contained the conflict amendment. He replied the conflict was in A.B. 425.
Senator Care asked Senator Hardy what his reservations were concerning the carpenters’ amendments. Senator Hardy said prequalifying subcontractors was an area where there was a potential for lawsuits. He said the choice of good subcontractors should remain with the general contractor. He said there had not been a compelling reason given for the prequalification of subcontractors.
THE MOTION CARRIED. (SENATORS CARE AND TITUS VOTED NO. SENATOR TOWNSEND WAS ABSENT FOR THE VOTE.)
*****
Chairman O’Connell opened the work session on A.B. 425.
ASSEMBLY BILL 425 (1st Reprint): Revises provisions regarding public works. (BDR 28-405)
Mr. Stewart stated Assemblyman Parks introduced A.B. 425. Mr. Stewart said the bill had substantive conflicts that needed to be addressed (Exhibit C, pages 65-71).
Chairman O’Connell asked Mr. Wasserman for suggestions to resolve the conflicts and enable the committee to pass A.B. 425. Mr. Wasserman stated section 15 needed to be amended to delete the addition of subparagraph 5 to paragraph (b) of subsection 3, and substitute the list of 13 criteria contained in A.B. 295. He said the conflict with A.B. 401 had been resolved with the amendment in it to delete subsection 7. Mr. Wasserman said the conflict with S.B. 491 was in section 17. He said the committee needed to make a decision as to the number of days in which a hearing must be held. He said in A.B. 425 the number was 30 days, and in S.B. 491 the number was 45 days. He said the proponents of A.B. 425 had testified they preferred the longer number of days. Mr. Wasserman suggested changing the number of days to 45 in section 17.
SENATE BILL 491: Makes various changes regarding bidding on contracts for public works of this state. (BDR 28-287)
SENATOR HARDY MOVED TO AMEND AND DO PASS A.B. 425.
SENATOR TIFFANY SECONDED THE MOTION.
THE MOTION CARRIED. (SENATOR TOWNSEND WAS ABSENT FOR THE VOTE.)
*****
Chairman O’Connell opened the work session on A.B. 432.
ASSEMBLY BILL 432 (1st Reprint): Revises provisions concerning certain penalties against and withholdings of money from contractors and subcontractors on public works. (BDR 28-932)
Assemblyman David F. Brown, Assembly District No. 22, stated the amendment proposed for A.B. 432 had been abandoned (Exhibit C, pages 72-74). He said the various parties had agreed to the elements of the amendment the committee received.
SENATOR TIFFANY MOVED TO AMEND AND DO PASS A.B. 432.
SENATOR HARDY SECONDED THE MOTION.
Senator Care asked Assemblyman Brown about an Assembly bill that contained language expanding the definition of constructional fraud. Senator Care said the bill had to do with inaccurate or incorrect submission of payroll records. He said the Senate had added the words “willfully” or “knowingly” submitting fraudulent records.
Lori T. Ashton, Lobbyist, Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters, stated A.B. 190 dealt with the contractor board and the penalties to which the board could subject a contractor who knowingly falsified information on a certified payroll. She said A.B. 432 dealt with the penalties the labor commissioner could impose on a contractor who failed to file certified payrolls, or limited the penalty to a subcontractor who had submitted certified payrolls and the general contractor failed to submit the payrolls.
ASSEMBLY BILL 190: Makes various changes related to contractors. BDR (54‑406)
THE MOTION CARRIED. (SENATORS TOWNSEND AND RAGGIO WERE ABSENT FOR THE VOTE.)
*****
Chairman O’Connell opened the work session discussion on A.B. 388.
ASSEMBLY BILL 388 (1st Reprint): Authorizes creation of health and welfare benefit trust for employees of local government employers. (BDR 23-762)
Chairman O’Connell stated the bill would give an opportunity to have a larger pool of participants in order to be able to receive better bids (Exhibit C, pages 50-51).
SENATOR TIFFANY MOVED TO DO PASS A.B. 388.
SENATOR CARE SECONDED THE MOTION.
THE MOTION CARRIED. (SENATOR TOWNSEND WAS ABSENT FOR THE VOTE.)
*****
Chairman O’Connell opened the work session discussion on A.B. 236.
ASSEMBLY BILL 236: Directs Office for Consumer Health Assistance to assist consumers in gaining information regarding certain prescription drug programs. (BDR 18-203)
Chairman O’Connell stated there had been no opposition to A.B. 236 (Exhibit C, page 15).
SENATOR CARE MOVED TO DO PASS A.B. 236.
SENATOR TIFFANY SECONDED THE MOTION.
THE MOTION CARRIED. (SENATOR TOWNSEND WAS ABSENT FOR THE VOTE.)
*****
Chairman O’Connell opened the work session discussion on A.B. 225.
ASSEMBLY BILL 225 (1st Reprint): Provides that Public Employees’ Deferred Compensation Program approved by Committee to administer the Program may consist of any plan to reduce taxable income. (BDR 23-505)
Mr. Stewart said the bill provided for any plan for State employees to reduce taxable income. An amendment had been proposed to allow for the implementation of the program for part-time or seasonal employees. It had been determined the amendment could be accomplished administratively without the amendment (Exhibit C, pages 10-14).
SENATOR TIFFANY MOVED TO AMEND AND DO PASS A.B. 225.
SENATOR HARDY SECONDED THE MOTION.
THE MOTION CARRIED. (SENATOR TOWNSEND WAS ABSENT FOR THE VOTE.)
*****
Chairman O’Connell opened the work session discussion on A.B. 293.
ASSEMBLY BILL 293 (2nd Reprint): Revises provisions relating to ballot questions and appointment of committees to prepare arguments advocating and opposing certain ballot questions. (BDR 24-312)
Chairman O’Connell said A.B. 293 dealt with the arguments for and against ballot questions. Mr. Stewart said the bill expanded current programs in law regarding arguments for and against ballot questions and applied the law to State questions also. He said several amendments had been proposed (Exhibit C, pages 18-41). One amendment would add the provision to the questions submitted by the metropolitan police committees on fiscal affairs and required those committees to prepare arguments for and against ballot questions. Assemblyman Lynn Hettrick proposed an amendment adding provisions requiring the Secretary of State, a county clerk, or a city clerk to provide, by rule or regulation, arguments for and against ballots including fiscal, environmental, public health and safety, and welfare impacts of the question. Assemblyman Hettrick’s amendment also lowered population thresholds for counties and cities in which the provisions would apply. Mr. Stewart said the population changes were consistent with S.B. 449. Mr. Stewart said Assemblyman Harry Mortenson’s amendment was the metropolitan police committee amendment.
SENATE BILL 449: Makes various changes to provisions governing advisory questions appearing on ballot. (BDR 24-250)
SENATOR HARDY MOVED TO AMEND AND DO PASS A.B. 293.
SENATOR TIFFANY SECONDED THE MOTION.
Senator Titus asked how A.B. 293 fit in with the bill Carole Vilardo proposed that had to do with advisory questions. She asked if A.B. 293 only involved government questions put on the ballot and not advisory questions. Chairman O’Connell replied A.B. 293 only involved government questions.
THE MOTION CARRIED. (SENATOR TOWNSEND WAS ABSENT FOR THE VOTE.)
*****
Chairman O’Connell opened the work session discussion on A.B. 459.
ASSEMBLY BILL 459: Authorizes county recorder to deny recordation of certain documents. (BDR 20-283)
Mr. Stewart said A.B. 459 had one amendment that dealt with a conflict in section 4, subsection 5, page 4, lines 24 through 39, which was in conflict with NRS 239.330 (Exhibit C, pages 76-77). He said the conflict provided for a category C felony for knowingly procuring or offering a forged instrument to be recorded in a public office. The amendment resolved the conflict by indicating unless a greater penalty was provided by NRS 239.330, a violation of subsection 5, section 4, was a misdemeanor.
SENATOR TIFFANY MOVED TO AMEND AND DO PASS A.B. 459.
SENATOR CARE SECONDED THE MOTION.
THE MOTION CARRIED. (SENATOR TOWNSEND WAS ABSENT FOR THE VOTE.)
*****
Chairman O’Connell opened the work session discussion on A.B. 499.
ASSEMBLY BILL 499 (1st Reprint): Authorizes governing body of local government to create maintenance districts to pay cost of maintaining and improving local improvement projects and other undertakings. (BDR 21-274)
Chairman O’Connell stated A.B. 499 was a bill from Clark County (Exhibit C, page 78). The operation and maintenance of any type of hotel-built bridge or structure spanning a road would be the hotel’s responsibility. The maintenance of these structures was currently the county’s responsibility. The bill would turn that maintenance over to the hotels.
Dan Musgrove, Lobbyist, Clark County, said the bill would allow Clark County to build the maintenance costs for the bridges into the current assessment district. The hotels had voluntarily entered into an agreement to add the maintenance costs. Mr. Musgrove said the county could go back to the existing pedestrian bridges built on The Strip and have the hotels assume the maintenance costs in the assessment district that currently exists.
SENATOR TITUS MOVED TO DO PASS A.B. 499.
SENATOR CARE SECONDED THE MOTION.
THE MOTION FAILED. (SENATORS O’CONNELL, TIFFANY, HARDY, AND RAGGIO VOTED NO. SENATOR TOWNSEND WAS ABSENT FOR THE VOTE.)
*****
Chairman O’Connell opened the work session discussion on A.B. 196.
ASSEMBLY BILL 196 (1st Reprint): Authorizes certain local governments in larger counties to require dedication of certain land or impose tax on nonresidential construction projects for regional parks. (BDR 22-653)
Mr. Stewart said testimony was received both in opposition to and support of the bill. He said there were no amendments submitted (Exhibit C, page 9).
Chairman O’Connell said the bill allowed the county or city to impose a tax for the parks. She said the bill had been presented at the last session also.
SENATOR TIFFANY MOVED TO INDEFINITELY POSTPONE A.B. 196.
SENATOR HARDY SECONDED THE MOTION.
Senator Titus asked why commercial properties should not help fund regional parks. She said residential contractors had to pay to help fund parks.
Senator Tiffany said there had been a large commercial developer who testified against the bill because the developer already paid so many taxes.
THE MOTION CARRIED. (SENATORS TITUS AND CARE VOTED NO.)
*****
Chairman O’Connell opened the work session discussion on A.B. 356.
ASSEMBLY BILL 356 (2nd Reprint): Revises various provisions relating to determination of livable wages and establishment of certain benefits for certain employees in private employment. (BDR 18-682)
Assemblywoman Christina R. Giunchigliani, Assembly District No. 9, proposed an amendment to A.B. 356 (Exhibit C, pages 47-49). She said all the language from sections 7 and 8 would be deleted. The suggested amendment would replace those sections and look at incentives. She said part of the amendment also struck the current language of the 150 percent multiplier because it had become restrictive to businesses. She said it had also been suggested the 1.5 multiplier be removed from the bill, as it might be perceived as a penalty. She said Senator Townsend had been working on numbers for the bill. She said the Assembly did not want to deal with penalties.
Chairman O’Connell asked if the bill could be postponed until Friday afternoon when Senator Townsend would be available. Assemblywoman Giunchigliani agreed as she said Senator Townsend was very interested in the bill.
Chairman O’Connell opened the discussion on A.B. 84.
ASSEMBLY BILL 84 (1st Reprint): Revises provisions concerning certain town advisory boards. (BDR 21-119)
Chairman O’Connell said the amendment on A.B. 84 involving rotating chairmanships had caused problems in the Assembly, and they would not agree to the amendment. She said the county had asked the committee if it would change its position in order to avoid a conference committee.
Assemblywoman Giunchigliani said she agreed to the final amendment to change the terms to 2-year terms. She said the Assembly would not support the bill without the rotating chairmanships in the amendment. She said if that portion were reinstated in the amendment, the county and the Assembly would agree to the amendments.
SENATOR TIFFANY MOVED TO RECONSIDER THE AMENDMENT TO A.B. 84.
SENATOR HARDY SECONDED THE MOTION.
THE MOTION CARRIED. (SENATOR TOWNSEND WAS ABSENT FOR THE VOTE.)
*****
Assemblywoman Giunchigliani said an amendment would be required to change the 4-year term to a 2-year term.
Mr. Musgrove said Clark County would prefer an unstaggered 2-year term and keep the rotating chairmanship language intact.
SENATOR HARDY MOVED TO ACCEPT THE AMENDED LANGUAGE IN A.B. 84.
SENATOR TIFFANY SECONDED THE MOTION.
THE MOTION CARRIED. (SENATOR TOWNSEND WAS ABSENT FOR THE VOTE.)
*****
Chairman O’Connell adjourned the work session at 4:05 p.m.
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:
Olivia Lodato,
Committee Secretary
APPROVED BY:
Senator Ann O'Connell, Chairman
DATE: