Plan approved to make regent appointed position

A proposed constitutional amendment that would convert the Board of Regents from an elected to an appointed body will get a vote on the Senate floor.

SJR4 was approved by lawmakers in the 2007 Legislature. But in order to change the Nevada Constitution, it must win approval from two consecutive sessions, then go to a vote of the people.

Sponsor Sen. Bill Raggio, R-Reno, was unable to get four of seven votes to recommend "do pass" for the proposal. But when he asked the Legislative Operations and Elections Committee to send the bill to the floor with no recommendation, the committee agreed.

"Nevada is the only state in the nation where voters elect the regents, the governing body of the higher education system," he said, adding that legislatures select regents in two states.

"Other than that, they are appointed and are required to have certain credentials and qualifications," he said.

Whether they personally support it or not, Raggio urged fellow senators to send the bill out and "let the voters have the opportunity to decide if they still want to have elected regents."

His next challenge will get getting 12 votes to support the plan on the Senate floor.