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Poor little SB 41, the bill in the Nevada Legislature to eliminate collective bargaining for local public employees now seems to have been written by a ghost. SB 41 is the product of the aforementioned Bill Draft Request 23-412, from the office of then Governor Jim Gibbons, requested on September 1, 2010. NSEF has some excellent questions, including the following observations:
“The pre-filed BDR should have been something he knew about. His staff should have discussed with him and if they did not then there are deep problems there.
But then, if he knew about the bill, he was obviously holding things “close to the vest” and shows is lying about his intentions regarding ending collective bargaining rights.
He may have known about the bill but was expecting something different from someone outside of his office. But then, the Governor can propose legislation and does not have to reply on someone else except for political cover.
Though the bill was submitted by Gibbons last year, it was not withdrawn and therefore has Sandoval’s approval.”
The answer may lie in the provisions of NRS218D.585 wherein we read that “ Introduction and referral of prefiled measures upon convening of session. Upon the convening of the next succeeding regular session of the Legislature, all prefiled bills and joint resolutions must be introduced and referred to a standing committee in the order in which they are numbered. (Added to NRS by 1973, 1125; A 1995, 1737)—(Substituted in revision for NRS 218.279)
If Governor Sandoval was stuck with this cuckoo’s egg left over from the Gibbons Administration, then why not let members of the media know he was thus entrapped with it, and make it abundantly clear to them that not only was he “watching the progress of such bills,” but that he had directed staff to tell committee chairpersons to file SB 41 in the depths of the committee filing cabinets?
>Thanks for keeping at this.I'd rather be attacked and bullied now, than be caught flat-footed later on down the road. Hopefully this discussion today has spooked Sandoval.
>Agree. Flat feet are generally preferable to being caught off guard. The Governor is trapped with this Gibbons "cuckoo's egg" in his basket. And, I don't think the bill has any chance of getting out of the Senate Committee to which it's been assigned. However, we're still left with that "I'm watching the progress" comment which leaves me with the uneasy feeling that these kinds of bills are still on the wish lists of Republican governors in general. Even if our own has determined that this bill would be politically dead on arrival given the context of the current legislature. And, you're correct, bullying isn't the best way to suggest corrections and amendments.