Nevada Senate panel votes on election law changes

A Nevada Senate panel voted narrowly Thursday to eliminate some of the state Ethics Commission's broad policing powers during elections.

The Government Affairs Committee voted 4-3 to approve AB127, which strips away Nevada law permitting people to complain that others have made malicious or false statements with the intent to impede an election campaign.

Panel members who opposed the bill included its chairwoman, Sen. Ann O'Connell, R-Las Vegas, and Reno Republicans Bill Raggio and Randolph Townsend.

Raggio tried to kill the bill, but couldn't get enough support for his motion.

Without the Ethics Commission's existing authority, which would be cut by AB127, "there is no practical remedy of any kind" for candidates unfairly attacked during campaigns, he argued.

The Nevada Civil Liberties Union has challenged the law in federal court, and the federal suit has been supported by the Nevada Press Association and several state Republican and Democratic lawmakers.

The ACLU's Gary Peck had said earlier that the commission had become a modern-day "truth squad" and its decisions had been politicized and too arbitrary.

Government Affairs also voted Thursday for a bill requiring Nevada candidates to swear they've never been convicted of a felony.

AB285, approved by Senate Government Affairs, was pushed by Assemblywoman Ellen Koivisto, D-Las Vegas, who said she experienced problems with opponents in two different election cycles.

In the 2002 general election, Koivisto faced Richard Gardner -- who managed to get his name onto Nevada's ballot even though he had four criminal convictions.

Felony convictions currently ban people from running for public office if their civil rights weren't restored.

In 1998, Republican Michael Plaisted ran against Koivisto although he didn't live in the district -- also a requirement to run for office.

Koivisto's bill requires people filing a declaration of candidacy for public office to swear that, if they were ever convicted of a felony, their civil rights had been restored.

If officials learn that the person who signed the pledge doesn't have the right to hold office, that can lead to a formal challenge to the person's candidacy.

AB285 also requires people filing for office to show proof of residency in the form of photo identification containing the person's address, or a current bill or paycheck.

Also approved were:

--AB344, by Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, allowing the governor to call for a special congressional election in the event of a major terrorist attack of other catastrophe that kills a quarter or more of the members of Congress.

--AB528, which prohibits political parties or key leaders from using voter registration lists for any non-election purpose or selling the list. The bill also limits state fines against candidates for unpaid positions or candidates who got no contributions and spent no money during a campaign.

--AB235, which provides a voters' "bill of rights." Among other things, the bill calls for a uniform, statewide system for counting and recounting votes.