2009 Legislature wrapping up

CARSON CITY " Tired Nevada lawmakers met all weekend, overriding many vetoes by Gov. Jim Gibbons, making last-minute deals and passing remaining bills as they drew closer to Monday, the final day of the 120-day-long 2009 session.

The completed override votes included one enacting SB283, providing various legal rights for domestic partners, and another enacting AB562, the $6.8 billion appropriations act which funds state government operations for the next two fiscal years.

By late Sunday the lawmakers' completed override total climbed to 22. That put Gibbons in the history books as the most-overridden Nevada governor in a single legislative session.

The completed override total will rise before Monday's adjournment. The Republican governor also has the record for vetoes in one session, 41, which broke the old mark of 33 set by Gov. H.G. Blasdel shortly after Nevada became a state in 1864. Blasdel also had held the record for overrides, with 10.

The dealmaking on Sunday included an Assembly decision to allow a partial rollback of a voter-approved ban on smoking in public places. Gambling and tourism industry lobbyists sought the change, after losing an effort to soften additional elements of the ban approved in 2006.

Also Sunday, the Senate signed off on a bill changing rules for qualifying questions for the ballot " despite arguments by a lawmaker who said the plan was vaguely worded and could interfere with Nevadans' constitutional rights.

Besides the finalized overrides, the Assembly started the override process for 11 other measures on Sunday. The measures included AB410, an industrial insurance measure that got a bare 28-14, or two-thirds, majority vote. All 14 Assembly Republicans opposed the override.

The governor's veto of AB22, which spells out the way in which civil and criminal penalties can be imposed for deceptive trade practices, was rejected on a unanimous Assembly vote. So was his veto of AB493, a plan to track investments by the state Public Employees' Retirement System into Iran's oil-energy industry.

The Assembly voted 31-11 to reject the governor's veto of AB135, which requires the state treasurer to review and the state Finance Board to approve certain state financial; and 34-8 to override his veto of AB446, requiring state agencies to establish "benchmarks" to measure their success and efficiency over time, and publish their results on a Web site.

The Assembly also gave final legislative approval to an override of Gibbons veto of an off-road vehicle registration plan. SB394 requires that all-terrain vehicles, snowmobiles, dune buggies and all-terrain motorcycles be registered at an annual cost of $20 to $30. A title fee would run about $28.

Also rejected by the Senate was Gibbons' veto of AB463, aimed at blocking unwarranted use of high-priced consultants by state agencies; and his rejection of AB121, calling for hospital staffing plans to ensure adequate nurse-to-patient ratios and safety of patients.

Also Sunday, the Assembly voted 35-7 to approve SB412, which changes the salary structure in the state Agency for Nuclear Projects which is fighting federal plans for a radioactive waste dump at Yucca Mountain, so that staffers' pay would be set by lawmakers.

Also, the Senate accepted a conference report on AB60, which requires state or local health authorities to determine whether a building previously used to manufacture methamphetamine is safe for habitation.

The Assembly also gave final approval to AB521, which expands health care coverage for full-time, salaried firefighters exposed to carcinogens on the job; and voted to remove from SB263 an Assembly amendment to require Reno city council members to be elected from within their wards rather than at large.