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April 29, 2005
Senate fails to control growth in government
By ELIZABETH WHITE SJR5, sponsored by Sen. Bob Beers, R-Las Vegas, would have limited budget growth to a combination of inflation and population increases. It was modeled after Colorado's Taxpayer Bill of Rights, or TABOR. Beers said the measure would have controlled government that irresponsibly handles taxpayers' money - but opponents said it would have dramatically cut services whose need outpaces population increases. Beers expected the defeat in the Senate Finance Committee. Only Sen. Barbara Cegavske, R-Las Vegas, joined him in voting for the measure, which also would have returned budget surpluses to taxpayers unless they voted to let the government spend the funds in specific areas. "My sense is the people would like to have more control over how we spend surplus tax revenue," Beers said after the meeting. "The Legislature would like to have more control over how we spend surplus tax revenue. Therein lies the conflict." Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, who chairs Finance, said the measure sounds good to taxpayers in theory, but doesn't work. "Yeah, it's popular. It sounds good until they (residents) come in here and want services," Raggio said, adding, "I think artificial caps can be too strident, too restrictive." Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, also voted against SJR5. She has said the bill proposes a one-size-fits-all formula that doesn't address the problem of government waste. "It just caps growth, but you've still got waste," she said. Raggio said the controversial TABOR measure has been in effect in Colorado since the early 1990s but hasn't worked. Colorado voters will decide this fall whether to suspend the growth-in-government provisions for five years so the state can catch up on spending for vital services. "That sends a strong message that it isn't working," Raggio said, adding that if they want to, Nevada residents can remove officials from office with their vote if they think leaders aren't doing a good job. Beers said he'd consider an initiative petition, which could put the measure on the ballot as early as 2006. He thinks the voters will respond more favorably to the idea than lawmakers did. Assemblywoman Sharron Angle, R-Reno, has a similar TABOR measure that she decided not to introduce this session because she "didn't want to risk (lawmakers) tinkering with it." "I don't think the Legislature is the way to go with these things," she said. "Why not go directly to a vote of the people with the language that you want?" Angle will start circulating an initiative petition this fall. Beers said it would make sense for he and Angle to work together on the proposal. |
