Appeals court refuses to block legislature

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has refused to block the Legislature from acting on a tax bill by a simple majority vote.

But the court did agree to an "expedited" briefing schedule to settle the legal fight as soon as possible.

Assembly Minority Leader Lynn Hettrick, R-Gardnerville, said the Republican lawmakers and businessmen seeking to block the tax plan are considering going to the U.S. Supreme Court challenging the Nevada Supreme Court ruling that the constitutional two-thirds majority required to pass any tax increase must "give way" to the competing constitutional requirement the Legislature fund public education.

The briefing schedule may be expedited by the court's standards, but not by the needs of Nevada. The opening brief wouldn't be due until Aug. 29 and the answering brief until Sept. 29 -- long after the state's schools must have money to open fall classes.

The GOP tax hardliners went to the appeals court after a panel of all seven Nevada federal district judges unanimously threw out their complaint challenging the Legislature's right to use the simple majority to raise taxes.

They said in that decision they can't grant the relief sought by the group without reversing the Nevada Supreme Court decision -- and that they don't have the jurisdiction to interfere with a state supreme court's interpretation of its own constitution.

They made it clear during the hearing that only the U.S. Supreme Court can do that and advised the group's lawyer John Eastman to take the issue there.