Senate panel reverses itself, shelves election law changes

A Nevada Senate panel on Monday reversed its decision to eliminate some of the state Ethics Commission's broad policing powers during elections.

The Government Affairs Committee rescinded its passage of AB127 and then shelved the legislation that strips away Nevada law permitting people to complain that others have made malicious or false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 member Randolph Townsend moved to reverse last week's 4-3 vote and then moved to kill the bill. He was backed by another Reno Republican, Sen. Bill Raggio.

Raggio argues that the Ethics Commission's existing authority is needed to remedy unfair campaign attacks on candidates.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada 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 decried Monday's committee vote, arguing the commission had become a modern-day "truth squad" and its decisions had been politicized and too arbitrary.

"This is a particularly disturbing example of politics trumping the public interest and the Bill of Rights," Peck said. "The speech police provisions are obviously unconstitutional, and a majority of the committee understood that when they voted the first time."