Assembly rejects previously accepted "don't-call" list

Ten Assembly Republicans backed away Monday from their earlier support for a "don't-call" list aimed at stopping annoying telemarketing calls -- and as a result of their vote switches the proposal died.

In mid-March, the Assembly easily passed AB232. But the measure was amended in the Senate to conform with Sen. Randolph Townsend's, R-Reno, proposal to establish a "do-call" list. Conversely, when Townsend's "do-call" bill, SB255, came to the Assembly, it was turned into the "don't-call" bill Assembly members had favored earlier.

But when Townsend's revised SB255 came up for final Assembly action Monday, the "don't-call" plan narrowly lost. The vote was 27-15, with 15 of the Assembly's 19 Republicans opposing the bill. Ten of those Assembly members had cast "yes" votes in March.

To pass, the bill needed 28 votes or a two-thirds majority. That's a requirement for any measure that imposes fees or taxes, and SB255 has a fee that telemarketers would have to pay.

The Assembly's assistant minority leader, Josh Griffin, R-Henderson, said the Republicans' switch stemmed in part from concerns about limits on a company's ability to call established customers.

Griffin also said the vote wasn't part of any GOP caucus strategy to show the Assembly Republicans' ability to kill bills that need a two-thirds majority -- such as any of the numerous tax increase proposals now circulating in the Legislature.

"The majority of the caucus obviously felt the bad portions (of SB255) outweighed the good portions," Griffin said.

Assembly Majority Leader Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, said it looked like the Republicans wanted to "make a political statement" about their clout.

"What I cannot understand is why the Republican caucus chose to stand against a bill that means so much to so many Nevadans, particularly our senior citizens," Buckley said.

While the Senate bill is dead, the Assembly bill is still alive. That means there's still a chance that either a "don't-call" or a "do-call" plan could emerge from the 2003 Legislature. It will be up to a Senate-Assembly conference committee to work out a compromise.