Transparency Review (11/28-12/2)

• NPRI's Center for Justice and Constitutional Litigation filed its first case on Wednesday charging that state Senator Mo Denis, the Public Utilties Commission (PUC) and the Nevada Legislature are violating the state's separation-of-powers clause. The lawsuit was filed in Carson City's first district court and charges that Denis' dual-employment in the legislature and the PUC, which operates under the executive branch, violates Article 3 of the Nevada Constitution, which prohibits individuals from holding positions in both branches of government.


• North Las Vegas Councilman Wade Wagner's one-vote victory in June was upheld by district court Judge Susan Scann. Scann ruled that former Councilman Richard Cherchio, Wagner's opponent, couldn't prove any illegal votes were cast and said Cherchio's attorneys didn't present any "clear and convincing evidence."


• Josh M. Reid, son of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, was unanimously selected as the next Henderson city attorney. Henderson's four-member City Council cited Reid's private sector experience and wanting to "bring in someone from outside of the city attorney’s office" as reasons for their selection, but several meeting attendees claim Reid was only selected because his father lobbied aggressively for his selection. Henderson Mayor Andy Hafen dismissed the lobbying criticism by saying: "Every candidate had someone lobby on their behalf."


• Ely Mayor pro tem Shane Bybee abstained from voting on waiving water and sewer connection fees for an expansion of the local La Quinta Inn because his family owns a competing Ramada Inn down the road from La Quinta. Bybee set himself apart from the many lawmakers in state history who didn't abstain from voting despite a clear conflict-of-interest.

Heller cosponsors anti-insider trading bill

Nevada Senator Dean Heller (R.) joined five of his colleagues in cosponsoring a bill that would ban members of Congress from making stock trades based on non-public information.

The bill, S.1871, was introduced just before the Thanksgiving recess and is meant as a companion bill to H.R. 1148, also known as the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act, which was originally introduced by Rep. Tim Walz (D., MN) in March, but has since gained over 100 cosponsors from both parties, including Nevada's Joe Heck (R.).

Scrutiny over congressional trading has picked up since a "60 Minutes" story aired earlier in the month revealing lawmakers from both parties, including former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D., CA) and current Speaker John Boehner (R., OH), have profited from stock decisions based on information they learned dealing with legislation that wasn't available to the public.

Walz's bill hasn't been considered by the House, but since the "60 Minutes" report, Walz urged Congress to consider the bill, claiming no action on the bill would "only promote the ongoing distrust of Congress."

Judge "wishes" reporter wouldn't cover story

Yesterday, Las Vegas Sun columnist Jon Ralston wrote how Eighth District Court Judge Allan Earl quashed a subpoena against Ralston's "Face to Face" producer, Dana Gentry, but added a caveat/hope that Gentry not cover the story:

It is my gentle wish that this case be tried in front of a jury and decided and not tried in television programs. Now, you may do what you wish, but that is my wish. We’re going to have to pick a jury out of this community that knows absolutely nothing about this case and to sit for days and days and days and ferret out all the testimony and give each party the benefit of the doubt until they have decided which way to rule. That is more important to me than anything, even your career.

According to Ralston, Earl added more, stating:

You can go out today and report this any way you want; that’s your right under the Constitution, and it’s your right in your profession. But the less you are involved in this, the better it is for this decision.

The subpoena was filed by lawyers representing Jeff Guinn, son of the late governor Kenny Guinn, in a case where Guinn is being sued by financial investors and Guinn is attempting to prove Gentry was "plied with favors" for reporting on the situation.

Ralston calls Earl's words "an unconscionable judicial overreach," and this could be another instance of Nevada judges blurring their ethical lines.

Transparency Review (11/14-11/18)

• The Washington Post followed up on a "60 Minutes" special about insider trading among members of Congress. Both "60 Minutes" and the Post reported how lawmakers from both parties, from House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D, CA) to House Financial Services Ranking Member Spencer Bachus (R, AL) used their knowledge of pending legislation to make lucrative stock market deals. Post columnist Marc A. Thiessen notes how private sector Wall Street traders would face SEC inquiries and possibly federal crimes for insider trading, but members of Congress make these types of trades "on a regular basis."


• Reno Gazette-Journal political reporter Ray Hager writes that former Assembly Speaker Joe Dini (D, Yerington) is frustrated that the special masters cut Lyon County into two congressional districts. The northern part of the county will be part of CD-2, currently represented by Mark Amodei (R), and the southern part will be in the new CD-4, which stretches across six rural counties and into North Las Vegas. Both State Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford (D) and state senator Barbara Cegavske (R) have announced their candidacies for CD-4.


• Washington Post "Federal Eye" columnist Ed O'Keefe notes the irony of the Government Accountability and Transparency Board holding closed-door meetings. The meetings are closed to the press but minutes are posted on the White House website. O'Keefe stated that closed-door meetings are common in all presidential administrations, but the Obama Administration opened itself to criticism when the president declared his administration would be "the most open and transparent government in modern history."


• TransparentNevada recently added Board of Education contracts for the month of October. Continue checking http://transparentnevada.com/ and following us on Twitter @TransparentNV for the latest updates.

Conklin, lobbyists enjoy CSG-sponsored Brazil trip

Assembly Majority Leader Marcus Conklin, D., Las Vegas, and several Nevada lobbyists recently returned from an eight-day trip to Brazil as part of a Council of State Governments delegation, once again raising questions about non-session lobbyist expenditures.

Conklin told the Las Vegas Sun that he spent his trip "learning about the burgeoning tourism opportunities for Nevada in Brazil, how the country conducts elections, its financial markets and how it approaches everything from energy to economic development." Conklin was joined on the trip by two Barrick Gold lobbyists as well as former Assembly Speaker-turned-lobbyist Richard Perkins.

The CSG, Conklin and Perkins all denied the trip was for lobbying purposes, with Perkins telling the Sun: "Trust me, I’m not going to fly 22 hours to Brazil to go lobby Marcus."

The Sun story comes on the heels on a Las Vegas Review-Journal story about non-disclosed lobbyist spending on lawmakers. Shelia Leslie, D., Reno, who introduced legislation requiring out-of-session reporting, told the Sun that trips such as the CSG one should be disclosed "no matter what country it's in or when it happens."

Lobbyists continue their unreported wining and dining of state lawmakers

Ed Vogel wrote an interesting story in the Las Vegas Review-Journal today on how lobbyists are able to keep their expenditures on state legislators secret. A transparency bill in the last session would have changed that, but it didn't make it out of the Assembly.

As Vogel reports, the state senate unanimously passed a bill requiring lobbyists to report year-round expenditures on legislators, but the bill never reached a vote in the Assembly Legislative Operations and Elections Committee.

Since the bill didn't pass, the state's current lobbyist law, which requires lobbyists to report expenditures only during the legislative session, remains in effect. Lobbyists are allowed to "hunt" lawmakers through the 2012 general elections and Feb. 4, 2013, the start of the next session.

State Senator Shelia Leslie, D., Reno, who introduced the bill, didn't specify if any bills passed due to lobbyists buying lawmakers expensive dinners, and instead, she told the RJ she didn't want to impugn anyone's integrity.

Leslie said she plans on introducing her bill again in 2013, but it may face similar difficulties, because too many legislators from both parties enjoy lobbyists picking up the tab in the dark between sessions. Said Leslie, "Until there is more of a public uproar, this bill is not going to pass."

Transparency Review (11/7-11/11)

• Clark County School District's vendor contracts are now searchable on TransparentNevada's database. Over $2.4 billion-worth of payable warrants from January 2009 through May 2011 are available, and TransparentNevada will continue adding more warrants on a periodic basis.
• Boulder City Mayor Roger Tobler and City Manager Vicki Mayes are accused of state ethics violations by former-councilwoman Linda Stickland. According to Strickland's filing with the Nevada Ethics Commission, Tobler complained to Mayes about slow business at his True Value Hardware store, and Mayes instructed city workers to split their purchases between his store and Ace Shopper Stopper, the only two hardware stores in the city. Tobler acknowledged he failed to disclose his store received taxpayer benefits and he voted for monthly vouchers for his store, but he rejected the idea that his store is prohibited from doing business with the city.
• In a Nov. 10 editorial, the Las Vegas Review-Journal criticized Republican lawmakers for letting the redistricting process go to court and the party's overall lack of organization as reasons the new maps aren't favorable to Republicans.
• The Las Vegas Sun reports how former Assemblyman Wendell Williams has failed to make his $100-a-month payments to the secretary of state's office since August 2009, as required in his 2003 settlement for failing to file campaign expense reports. NPRI's Steven Miller discussed Williams's case in his "Lawmakers vs. the law" commentary series.

County commissioner suggests "no paid lobbying" proposal

Clark County Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani wrote a proposal that would ban county commissioners from working as consultants, lobbyists or representatives for any business that deals with governmental bodies in Nevada.

According to the Las Vegas Sun, Giunchigliani's proposal is in response to Commissioner Tom Collins' job as a consultant with Veolia Transportation Services, a bus service competing for a bid from the Regional Transportation Authority.

Giunchigliani denied her proposal was in direct response to Collins' work, instead saying the commission has been focused on "ethical matters."

County commissioners earn $74,000 a year but are allowed to hold other jobs to supplement their income. Giunchigliani's proposal will be officially introduced next week and could see a possible vote at the December 6 Commission meeting.

Supreme Court rejects SOS emergency redistricting request

The Nevada Supreme Court rejected a request by Secretary of State Ross Miller to consider issues that weren't addressed by First District Court Judge James Todd Russell in last month's redistricting hearing.

According to the Nevada News Bureau, Miller claimed Russell failed to address the "propriety of considering the concept of 'representational fairness'" before accepting the special masters' final maps.

Representational fairness, argued Miller, would've considered the number of "safe seats" for each political party, something Republican attorney Mark Hutchinson argued was a "valid concept" to consider and was indeed considered by the special masters.

In addition to rejecting Miller's request, the Supreme Court also vacated a November 14 oral hearing on other redistricting-related issues, which would've included Miller's argument.

Miller did not challenge the Court's rejection and instead praised both courts for expediting their respective hearings and completing the redistricting process in time for the 2012 elections.

Transparency Review (10/31-11/4)

• NPRI released a new study titled "Reforming Nevada's Public Employees Pension Plan." Written by Andrew Biggs of the American Enterprise Institute, the study reveals how PERS's unfunded liabilities are $41 billion, and annual contributions need to rise from $1.6 billion to $5.8 billion to fully fund the plan.
• Former congresswoman Dina Titus officially announced her candidacy for the new 1st Congressional District. She will face a primary against state Sen. Ruben Kihuen, who is also running in the 1st district.
• Cash-strapped North Las Vegas continues to foot the legal bill for several lawsuits stemming from their June elections. There are three lawsuits involving Councilman Wade Wagner's one-vote victory in the general election and an ethics complaint filed against Mayor Shari Buck.
• Keep checking TransparentNevada and following us on Twitter @TransparentNV for the latest transparency updates.

Politico: House panel votes to subpoena W.H. Solyndra documents

The House Energy and Commerce's Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee voted to subpoena internal White House documents related to Solyndra, the bankrupt, California-based solar company.

According to Politico, House Democrats and President Obama's lawyers tried preventing the subpoena, but Republicans pushed on, claiming their requests for Solyndra materials have been denied since Obama's first year in office.

The subpoena requests a variety of information, from messages with past Obama Administration members Rahm Emanuel and Larry Summers to the President's Blackberry messages.

So far, the subcommittee has received over 80,000 Solyndra-related documents from the Department of Energy. Politico didn't state when the White House will deliver their documents to the subcommittee.