Although taxes got the lion’s share of attention in the run-up to the 2015 Legislature, the subject has almost disappeared through week three of the session.
For now.
Instead, the focus has been on a collection of issues that could have much more far reaching impacts on the state.
That collection of issues includes reforms to collective bargaining, prevailing wage law, the Public Employees Retirement System, construction defects and tort reform.
Bills have already been introduced on most of those issues and — wasting no time despite the protests of Democrats — two major measures have already been voted on.
AB125, the reform designed to sharply reduce the number of construction defects lawsuits and the damages ordered — particularly attorneys fees — received final legislative approval in the Senate Friday and was headed for Gov. Brian Sandoval’s desk.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Greg Brower, R-Reno, objected to Democrats’ claims the GOP is “ramming and jamming” these bills through with no opportunity for debate or opposition testimony.
He said Construction Defects had a two hour-plus hearing before both Assembly and Senate members with everyone there invited to testify.
He said opponents sent just one trial lawyer to carry the load.
“The guy they (the trial lawyers) sent to testify said his firm made over $700 million,” said Assembly Judiciary Chairman Ira Hansen, R-Sparks. “He’s not the champion of the poor homeowner.”
Hansen conceded construction defects was his big issue since, as a plumbing contractor, he has had to deal with the existing law.
In addition, SB119, which exempts K-12 school and major university construction from prevailing wage standards, was passed by the Senate and was awaiting action in the Assembly.
Republican leaders are pushing not only these but numerous other bills forward for early decisions, in good part to try to get them out of the building and on to Sandoval’s desk before the end of session. As the end of session approaches, the fear is they could become “hostages” by groups of members seeking to push other agendas. That would include not only Democrats seeking to block some of these measures but Republicans seeking to push a much more conservative agenda.
There’s concern in the GOP that could result in enough obstruction to prevent the long-awaited GOP agenda from passing — especially when the subject of tax increases needed to fund Sandoval’s budget does come up.
And all in leadership say taxes will be a big issue down the road since Sandoval’s budget will be balanced on a total of $1.1 billion in General Fund extensions, diversions and new taxes and $1.8 billion when extended K-12 taxes are added in.
The list of priorities for early consideration includes tort reform. There are already at least six bills introduced dealing with that broad issue, a subject closely allied to construction defects, and leadership says more are on the way.
SB134 by Senate Majority Leader Michael Roberson, R-Las Vegas, was heard in Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday. He described it as an attempt to prevent existing bond requirements from effectively preventing business from appealing huge jury awards.
The plan would limit bonding to $50 million for large corporations instead of requiring they post bond for an entire judgment — an increasing number of which are for more than $1 billion.
For small businesses, the bond would be capped at $1 million.
Two other bills, AB185 and SB161, are designed to protect retailers from liability for defective products they had nothing to do with making. Right now, statute permits going after a retailer even if all that businessman did was buy the product and sell it without having any responsibility for the defect. Customers still would be able to go after the manufacturer.
SB160, which is set for hearing in Judiciary Monday, provides a property owner with considerable immunity for damages, injury or death suffered by someone trespassing on his property. The poster child is the burglar who gets injured and sues the property owner. The increased immunity would apply to adults but not to cases involving children who the law would still assume are less responsible if, say, one of them sneaks into a backyard and drowns in a swimming pool.
SB129 limits liability for non-profits in cases where horse activities such as a rodeo result in injury or death. The immunity would apply in certain cases to sponsors, equine professionals and veterinarians among others. It had a hearing last week.
AB175 makes adult taxicab passengers potentially responsible for their own actions if they refuse to wear a seat belt and there’s an accident.
And several lawmakers say that’s far from the end of tort reform Republicans plan this session.
Brower said most of these issues are nothing new, there have been bills for several sessions dealing with torts and other such issues Democratic majorities have consistently refused to even hear in committee. He said issues such as construction defects “haven’t been examined in decades,” and need reform.
Sen. James Settelmeyer, R-Gardnerville, made a similar comment: “These are all subjects that have been thoroughly vetted.”
He said, however, he will gladly hear any proposed amendment “that’s not trying to kill the bill.”
There are several bills that would reform the Public Employees Retirement System including Randy Kirner’s AB3. That measure would add three non-state employees who are insurance or financial experts to the board to provide some outside input and expertise into its decisions.
There’s also AB105 by Republican Treasurer Dan Schwartz who argues he should be a PERS board member but that’s not expected to get much consideration by committee members.
One measure expected to draw significant controversy is SB169 which would require voters to present photographic ID in order to register and cast a ballot in any Nevada election. It provides those without acceptable ID could get one from DMV for free. But to do so, the bill pretty much says they’d have to present the ID they don’t otherwise have to DMV officials.
Several Republicans who didn’t want to be identified said that legislation probably won’t go anywhere this year.
Brower said there;s also some talk about redrawing Nevada’s legislative districts.
“The idea that we can’t do it because it’s not a census year is just not legally sound,” he said. “But it’s not a priority for us.”
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