Amodei seeks permanent legislative committee on Tahoe

The Senate will be asked to support creating a permanent statutory committee to oversee Tahoe Basin issues and the operations of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency.

SB216 was introduced Wednesday and referred to the Legislative Affairs and Operations Committee for study.

Sen. Mark Amodei, R-Carson City, said lawmakers have appointed an interim study committee on Lake Tahoe each session for several years now.

"This is designed to make it a statutory committee," he said. "And it folds in the missions of the Marlette Lake Committee."

But Amodei said the bill goes even farther. It would give the proposed committee jurisdiction over other "multi-jurisdictional and multi-state operations." That means the committee would have the power to oversee operations of the Colorado River Commission and the Tahoe agency.

"It has the potential to solifidy oversight functions in some very important natural resource areas," said Amodei, "which is very important at both ends of this state."

The proposed legislation stresses that it is of vital state interest that water resources from Tahoe to the Colorado River be managed properly and in the best interest of all citizens. Tahoe provides most of the water for municipal, industrial and agricultural uses in a wide swath of northwest Nevada and more than 85 percent of Southern Nevada's water supply comes from the Colorado.

The committee would be the Legislative Committee for the Review and Oversight of Interstate and Interregional Compacts and Entities.