Nye on Carson, May 22

Legislature approves federal land transfer resolution

A Senate resolution that asks Congress to convey more than 7 million acres of federal land to state control won final passage Monday in the Nevada Legislature.

Senate Joint Resolution 1, which passed the Senate on an 11-10 party-line vote in April, was approved on a 24-17 party-line vote in the Assembly as well with Republicans in support.

The measure has generated heated hearings this session, with public lands advocates in opposition and many rural residents and their representatives in favor.

The transfer of the public lands being proposed in the measure includes lands in the original railroad corridor across Northern Nevada, called checkerboard lands, and lands already identified for disposal by federal agencies, among other acreage that would total 7.3 million acres or about 10 percent of the public lands total in a first phase.

About 81 percent of Nevada is under the control of various federal agencies, with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management overseeing the largest share. In Nye County the number is around 90 percent.

Gov. Brian Sandoval, U.S. Sen. Dean Heller and other Nevada GOP political leaders favor the transfer.

SJR1 was requested by several Republican lawmakers as a followup to a 2014 study on the viability of the state taking over some of the millions of acres of land in Nevada that is now under federal control.

A study by the Nevada Land Management Task Force, established by the 2013 Legislature to study the issue, in 2014 issued a report arguing that the state would benefit from such a transfer. Assemblyman John Ellison, R-Elko, said the transfer would be a benefit to the state, particularly for economic development.

— Sean Whaley

Drone limits bill sent to governor’s desk

The Nevada Senate gave final legislative action Tuesday to a bill designed to set limits on drones and protect privacy rights.

Assemblyman Elliot Anderson, D-Las Vegas, sponsored Assembly Bill 239, called the Homeowner Privacy Protection Act. Anderson said he worked on the bill for more than a year to try to balance uses of the new technology with personal privacy.

He said the bill provides clarity for businesses and allows law enforcement to use the technology.

“It provides clear rules and regulations for civil use and allows Nevada to continue to invest in economic development related to UAVs,” Anderson said.

Under the legislation, unmanned aerial vehicles flying below 250 feet can be in trespass. The bill requires law enforcement to obtain a warrant before gathering evidence with a drone unless there is probable cause of a crime or in emergencies.

It also prohibits equipping drones with weapons and sets limits on how close they can fly to critical facilities and airports.

The bill won unanimous approval in both the Assembly and Senate and now goes to Gov. Brian Sandoval, who is expected to sign it.

“Nevada has crafted a well-balanced law, which can serve as a model for the entire country,” Anderson said Tuesday after the Senate gave its approval.

— Sandra Chereb

Lawmakers urge Congress to allow state to stay on daylight savings time

The Nevada Senate on Monday approved Assembly Joint Resolution 4 on a vote of 12-8, urging Congress to let Nevada set its clocks once and for all to daylight saving time and keep them there.

Assemblyman Chris Edwards, R-Las Vegas, said the permanent leap would bring an extra hour of light to winter evenings, while keeping the extra hour of daylight in summer that people enjoy.

If Congress gives its permission, then the Nevada Legislature in 2017 could complete the time change.

In earlier testimony before legislative committees, Edwards said changing clocks forward in the spring and back in the fall causes a number of problems, from disrupting sleep schedules to contributing to an increase in heart attacks for seniors and more auto accidents.

Moving Nevada permanently into daylight saving time would mean an hour’s time difference with California for several months in winter.

— Sandra Chereb

Lobbying bill passes state Senate

The Nevada Senate gave final legislative approval Wednesday to slow down the revolving door between politics and lobbying.

Assembly Bill 273 was approved 21-0 and now goes to Gov. Brian Sandoval, who is expected to sign it. The bill earlier won unanimous support in the Assembly.

The bill requires a lawmaker who leaves office to skip one legislative session before returning to the Legislature as a paid lobbyist.

There are exceptions for lawmakers who go to work for a business or local government and are required to lobby as part of their job duties. However, it would prevent former legislators from returning as a contract lobbyist representing multiple clients for compensation.

It does not take effect until Nov. 8, 2016, so it would not apply to current lawmakers serving in this session.

Assemblyman Pat Hickey, R-Reno, was the main sponsor of the bill. In committee testimony earlier this session, Hickey said no specific incident or scandal prompted the measure, rather it was just “the right thing to do.”

He said the revolving door where lawmakers return to lobby their former colleagues raises ethical questions and feeds public suspicion.

About 36 states have similar cooling off periods. Previous efforts to establish a cooling-off period all failed.

— Sandra Chereb

Lawmakers favor building new execution chamber

Members of the Legislature’s two money committees on Wednesday narrowly approved $858,000 to build a new execution chamber at Nevada’s maximum security prison at Ely as requested by the Department of Corrections.

The proposal failed Monday in a subcommittee review when a majority of the Assembly Ways and Means members were opposed.

But the full Senate Finance and Assembly Ways and Means committees voted to go forward with the project.

The Assembly vote was 8-7 in favor of funding the project. There was no comment before the vote.

The only real point of contention was the execution chamber, which was rejected by lawmakers in 2013.

The Ely State Prison execution chamber would replace the facility at the now closed Nevada State Prison in Carson City. The state’s death row population is housed at Ely.

Nevada uses lethal injection as the method of execution, which is an issue before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Corrections Department Director Greg Cox said at a recent hearing that no executions are pending for the approximately 80 men on death row, but that the status could change and would require the state to act within 60 and 90 days.

The existing execution chamber, a former gas chamber on the third floor of the closed state prison, could be used but would likely prompt litigation from death row opponents, he said.

The new execution chamber and related facilities would take up 1,900 square feet of the current administration wing at the Ely State Prison.

In the subcommittee meeting on Monday, Assemblyman Randy Kirner, R-Reno, said that with no executions pending, lawmakers should not fund the project this session.

But Senate Majority Leader Michael Roberson, R-Henderson, disagreed, saying the project is needed because the current chamber is not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The last execution by lethal injection, occurred at the Nevada State Prison on April 26, 2006, when Daryl Mack was put to death. Mack was executed for the rape and murder of a Reno woman, Betty Jane May, in 1988.

— Sean Whaley

Resolution for annual sessions for Legislature advances

A resolution that would ask voters in 2016 to amend the state constitution to allow annual sessions of the Legislature won a critical vote in a Senate committee Thursday.

Senate Joint Resolution 8, approved by lawmakers in the 2013 session, needs to pass the 2015 session as well before voters could weigh in on the issue.

The measure is sponsored by Sen. Tick Segerblom, D-Las Vegas, who has argued that Nevada is a big state with complex problems that no longer can afford a Legislature that meets only every other year.

The constitution now requires the Legislature to meet every other year for no more than 120 days.

The resolution proposes to change the state constitution to allow limited annual sessions of 90 legislative days in odd-numbered years and 30 legislative days in even-numbered years.

The measure would also have to win approval from the Assembly.

Ultimately voters would decide whether to make the change.

— Sean Whaley

Campus carry provision dies

The Assembly on Thursday killed an amendment to gun control legislation that would have allowed a “campus carry” provision.

The 24-18 vote effectively kills the proposal this session to allow firearms on college campuses in Nevada.

After a voice vote failed to show how many Assembly members favored the amendment, Assembly Speaker John Hambrick called for lawmakers to stand up and show if they supported it.

The proposal had been added to Senate Bill 175, which is still alive.

— Ben Botkin

Sandra Chereb, Sean Whaley and Ben Botkin cover Carson City for GateHouse Media, owner of the Pahrump Valley Times.