We would prefer the federal courts stay out of Nevada's affairs. On the other hand, we would have preferred the Nevada Supreme Court had upheld the state constitution.
Clearly, the state budget and tax plan are not a matter of federal concern. What put it into the arena for federal judges even to consider is the action of the state Supreme Court in dismissing a constitutional requirement for a two-thirds majority of both Assembly and Senate for any tax increases.
There were so many other ways for the state court to go -- the simplest and most straightforward being to set a deadline for the Legislature to act, as Gov. Kenny Guinn had asked. The time to throw out the process had not yet arrived.
Still, as much as we disliked the Nevada Supreme Court's ruling, the bigger issue is this: How much authority over the state constitution do we want to surrender to the federal courts?
Our answer: None.
Although the budget and a voter-approved constitutional limit on higher taxes must rank among the most significant of issues for this or any other state, they do not reach a threshhold requiring federal intervention. Nevada, home of the Sagebrush Rebellion and the Shovel Brigade and Yucca Mountain, stands tall to assert its rights as a state under the U.S. Constitution.
The Nevada Supreme Court is correct in its assertion that interpretation of the state constitution is among its fundamental duties. That the court made a bad ruling, well ... these things happen.
Are there remedies? Yes.
Most basic in any jurisdiction is to ask the court to reconsider. The decision is not likely to change, but the justices may want time to reflect on the precedent they have set.
There's going to be a battle over taxes and budgets again in two years, we're willing to bet, and another one two years after that. Elucidation would be helpful.
The next remedy, already suggested by Jim Gibbons and Ron Knecht, among others, is public initiatives aimed at budget limits, clarification of the legislative process, clarification of the constitutional priorities and so on.
The ultimate remedy is to vote Supreme Court justices out of office. It's drastic, as would be any single-issue campaign. But the decision on the state's constitution is one that will sway voters.
It is not, however, one that should cause Nevada to abdicate its responsibilities for self-rule to the federal court system.
