PVT file photo Assemblyman Ed Goedhart, here photographed in February, says Nye County is ahead of the curve in creating its own county water district, to prevent a water grab by the Southern Nevada Water Authority as in Snake Valley near Ely. Advertisement

The state legislature passed a budget 19 percent higher than that of the previous biennium in the session that just concluded, enough to meet the needs to the state, Assemblyman Ed Goedhart, R-Amargosa Valley, told attendees at a recent Pahrump Valley Chamber of Commerce monthly luncheon at Terrible's Lakeside Casino.

"That's a healthy chunk of extra money out there," Goedhart said, a freshman legislator and member of an anti-tax coalition. "Even though we didn't pass any new taxes there was a significant portion of money to distribute for the different needs."

The booming state economy brought in the additional revenue in spite of a new 3 percent cap on residential property tax increases and 8 percent on commercial businesses, Goedhart said.

The state legislature established a pilot program on empowerment schools and expanded the definition of at-risk schools offering all-day kindergarten, yet Goedhart said some people say that's not enough.

"We have to live within our means. We didn't feel with a 19 percent higher budget that we had to go back to people and say we need yet more money," Goedhart said.

Specific legislation he heralded included Senate Bill 222, establishing the Nye County Water District.

"Unless you form a district and you have some authority and decide to take powers in being a guardian of that asset you're basically tempting fate for the wicked witch of the south, Pat Mulroy, to come here and lay her hands on it," Goedhart said. He referred to the director of the Southern Nevada Water Authority.

"I think Nye County is ahead of the curve. We're ahead of where eastern Nevada was when the Southern Nevada Water Authority came calling," he said.

Goedhart said with the establishment of a pipeline to Las Vegas from eastern Nevada, White Pine County is also suffering "a huge dent in their property taxes because Clark County has bought up so many properties and ranches."

The Nye County half-cent sales tax bill had nine lives, the way Goedhart explained it, before it passed as an amendment to Assembly Bill 461. But Goedhart indicated Nye County commissioners may not be in a hurry to pass it.

"When the Nye County commissioners decided that it was necessary to raise the sales tax, it was enabling legislation giving them the authority to go ahead and raise that tax. So it's ultimately going to come down to your commissioners as they go through the budget process and see the needs out there."

Goedhart's Assembly Bill 425, requiring the highest officials of departments to approve protests of water rights didn't go anywhere after it was shelved by an assembly chairman. But Goedhart said there was a suggestion to introduce the bill next session in 2009 on the Senate side. He compared it to protecting property rights, like legislation that passed in the past session mandating better compensation over eminent domain.

Assembly Bill 447, which would have established a bi-state planning commission involving Nye and Clark counties on the Nevada side, Inyo and San Bernardino counties on the California side, died as there was a concern over the details, he said.

"They wanted to have something that would be effective but would not be another TRPA, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency," Goedhart said. The TRPA has been criticized recently for overreaching restrictions that may have contributed to the South Lake Tahoe fire.

A bill requiring purchasers of pseudo-ephedrine, an ingredient in methamphetamine, to buy that drug at the pharmacy, will help curb meth abuse, Goedhart said. He said the state doesn't have the ability to lock up drug users and throw away the key, noting 70 percent of the prison population abused drugs.

"We realize that prevention and treatment are more cost effective than just long, long-term incarceration."

Lobbyist Bob Swadell presented a good case for a Great Basin Community College campus, Goedhart said, predicting local boosters are close to accomplishing their goal.

Goedhart said the Nye County School District has the ability to buy the existing Great Basin College building in front of Pahrump Valley High School, erected in 2001. There's also money that can be raised locally to leverage against state funds for a college campus, he said.

Goedhart also praised the new life being breathed into the fairgrounds project.

"We all know people base their decisions not only on cost of living but amenities offered. So if we can go ahead and get the Pahrump fairgrounds moving forward, we can go ahead and get that community college moving forward, maybe expand some recreational opportunities on the west side of the Spring Mountains, those are things that will improve our quality of life. That will encourage businesses and individuals to come and make Pahrump their home," he said.

In closing, Goedhart, applauding the local business leaders as "the backbone of American society," urged local groups like the chamber to help prospective businesses move through the permitting process in coming to Pahrump.