Legislators were swamped Friday by testimony that anti-drug efforts by the Nevada Division of Investigations are vital and the division's budget shouldn't be slashed.
Gov. Kenny Guinn has proposed eliminating 39 positions in the division, including the division's 18-person narcotics task force that handles many undercover drug-bust assignments.
The Legislature's joint budget subcommittee on public safety heard from students, law enforcement officials and a state senator who defended the division.
Three nervous Carson Middle School students expressed concern that eliminating the task force could make drugs more prevalent in their school.
They said a school poll of 500 students 12 to 14 years old showed that three-quarters of them had been exposed to some type of drug activity, and asked legislators to help ensure a school free from drugs.
Sen. Bob Coffin, D-Las Vegas, told the students to talk to their parents about the governor's tax increases proposal. Coffin said failing to raise state revenues could mean the elimination of programs like the investigations division.
Guinn's office says the reduction in criminal investigation staffing is to stop duplicating services performed by Washoe and Clark Counties. But Sen. Mark Amodei, R-Carson City, said some of the cuts affect rural counties, and the task force serves the entire state.
Amodei, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, said his committee is deeply concerned about the impact the cuts could have on public safety in return for $1.6 million per year.
Scott Slobe, president of the Department of Public Safety Employees Association, said Narcotics Task Force members are specially trained to handle such things as dismantling large methamphetamine labs, which contain hazardous materials.
Counties without personnel trained to handle such jobs could find themselves in dire straits without the assistance of the task force, he added.
If the cuts are maintained, the Division of Investigations is "not going to be able to perform the duties that you've seen state-wide," Slobe said.
Amodei also said the funding issue is suspect, adding that since the state budget isn't shrinking, the $5.6 million budgeted for the program during the current fiscal year must be going somewhere else.
Also at issue, Amodei said, is leaving it up to rural counties, with as few as three sheriff's deputies in some areas, to investigate and track narcotics operations.
Having officers who can work beyond county lines is also important, Amodei said, because drug traffickers don't operate strictly within those lines.
