Volume 1, Number 2 November 13, 2003 home top story other news opinion reading room archive links contact

Some Citizen Legislators Called on the Carpet

Hatch Act Puts the Squeeze on Many; Petition Drive to Squeeze More

by Johnny Gunn

Some of Nevada’s lawmakers have been double dipping in the tax filled public trough and are being reprimanded severely for it. Two Clark County assembly members have been summarily fired from their Clark County positions while others are finding themselves in precarious positions regarding their employment. During the 2003 legislative session 16 legislators also held jobs in local governments, in school districts, in the university system, or the state court system, and on top of their legislative (tax derived) salary and perks, many also drew most of their government (that is tax-derived) pay.

There are currently two efforts underway to change the system. Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, a democrat from Las Vegas, has requested that a bill be drawn up for the 2005 session to stop these double payments. Titus’s bill goes one step further, seeking to block those in the private sector from serving in the legislature while holding paid positions as members of boards of directors of certain industries such as banks.

There is also a group attempting to circulate a petition calling for an outright ban for those on public payrolls from seeking election to the legislature or other lawmaking bodies. The legality of the petition is under review at this writing.

Sen. Titus holds full-time employment at UNLV, but during the legislative sessions she takes an unpaid leave of absence from her job. The difference between her position and the policies of those coming under severe criticism is, many seem to assume they can use sick leave or paid vacation time to serve in Carson City, thus drawing two paychecks. One such person is Henderson deputy police chief Richard Perkins. Perkins, a democrat and assembly speaker, used vacation days and says he logged as many as 19 hours a week as deputy chief besides.

By law, this made him a full-time employee of the City of Henderson and in his time serving in Carson City he was drawing full pay from the police department and was eligible for perks such as medical insurance.

The Fire Makers: Wendell Williams and Others

Assemblyman Wendell Williams of Las Vegas also works in the Neighborhood Service Division of city government, and right now he, along with his immediate supervisor, Director Sharon Segerblom, are being disciplined for failing to adhere to city policy. One or both may be fired. Williams is charged with falsifying his time records; Segerblom is charged with aiding and abetting that procedure. The city manager, Doug Selby has been quoted as saying that Williams was overpaid by as much as $6,700 during the legislative session and the two special sessions that followed. Williams is also charged with using his city cell phone for personal or legislative purposes to the tune of several hundred dollars.

All the trouble isn’t focused only on southern Nevada lawmakers. In the north, Assemblyman Bernie Anderson has a full time position with the Washoe County School District and Assemblywoman Sheila Leslie holds down a position with the state court system. Both took unpaid leaves of absence during the regular session, but Leslie did receive full pay during the two special sessions. Assemblyman Ron Knecht, R-Carson City, teaches at Western Nevada Community College, and he received his regular pay during the session and the special session, while Assemblyman Jason Geddes who took an unpaid leave of absence did have his group insurance payments made by the university system.

Knecht is also a member of the Public Utilities Commission, and as such, is forbidden to receive two state payroll checks. During the special session, Knecht went back to work at the PUC, but when informed of the state law, returned his PUC paycheck.

There will be many law suits develop over some of these questionable practices, and at least two members of the assembly have already been fired from their public positions. Members Kathy McClain, D-Las Vegas, and Kelvin Atkinson, D-North Las Vegas were fired for violating Clark County policy, collecting their salary while being paid for their legislative duties in Carson City. Williams job is in jeopardy while Assemblyman Morse Arberry, D-North Las Vegas has also been challenged for double dipping, collecting his legislative salary and billing local government for their pay. Both Arberry and Williams were reportedly paid their entire city of Las Vegas salaries while drawing legislative pay in the capital. Williams has also been charged with filing false time sheets, and lying about them to the city manager.

Is There a Law?

This can be answered simply: Yes and no. There is a federal law called the Hatch Act which regulates the activities of state and local government employees who serve or wish to serve in law making capacities. The Hatch Act is far more stringent as far as federal employees are concerned. This is how the law is defined for employees of local and state governments:

The Hatch Act applies to executive branch state and local employees who are principally employed in connection with programs financed in whole or in part by loans or grants made by the United States or a federal agency.

Employees who work for educational or research institutions or agencies which are supported in whole or in part by a state or political subdivision of the state are not covered by the provisions of the Hatch Act.

Private nonprofit organizations such as Headstart, Community Service Block Grant agencies and such are covered by the Hatch Act.

A covered employee can still run for public office, but only if it’s a nonpartisan election, can campaign for candidates in partisan or non partisan elections, and can contribute money to political organizations.

However, covered state and local employees may not be candidates for public office in a partisan election, nor use official authority to influence or interfere with such an election or nomination. Complaints regarding possible violation of the Hatch Act may be filed with the Office of Special Counsel, Hatch Act Unit, 1730 M Street, N.W., Suite 201, Washington, DC 20036-4505.

Complaints may also be made by way of e-mail: hatch act@osc.gov.

What About Citizen Lawmakers?

The Nevada Legislature meets each two years and the pay is not such that a reasonable person could expect to live on just legislative pay. The state has always prided itself on having non professional lawmakers in Carson City, that most hold down full time jobs outside the legislature. It isn’t the fact that someone working for a government entity is also a member of the state’s lawmaking body that irritates Sen. Titus, rather it’s the underhanded way some members of the legislature have managed to double dip into the tax funds. Titus said she assumed government employees had been doing as she has done during her senate tenure, that is, take unpaid leave to serve. She has been quoted as saying it bothers her, and that all lawmakers are now looked on as possible double dippers.

Regarding Deputy Police Chief and Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins, the City of Henderson, NV is paying his legal bills. Perkins has been charged with violating sections of the Hatch Act in papers filed by the Office of Special Counsel. The September finding that Perkins is in violation of the Act is being appealed by the city, and the appeal is being funded by the city. The Henderson Police Department is partially funded by federal grants totaling about $2.5 million.

The Initiative Petition

A Las Vegas group calling itself the Republican Liberty Caucus, has begun circulating a petition that would ban government workers from serving in the legislature, while on the other hand, the head of the northern Nevada Democrats are saying the entire affair is politically motivated. There is no question that the legislators who are being singled out for double dipping are mostly democrats, but republicans are saying double dipping is wrong in the first place, regardless of one’s political philosophy.

In the north, several members of the assembly work for government entities, but only one, Sheila Leslie is coming under fire. During the regular session, Leslie took unpaid leave from her job with the court system, but during the two special sessions, she accepted her regular pay. She says she doesn’t feel she has done anything wrong.

Those circulating the anti government worker petition say government workers who also serve in the legislature have inappropriate control over the very system that employs them, that is, some control over tax spending. Nine lawmakers, they point out, work for the university system in the Silver State, and the system budget was increased by 24% this past session.

Lawmakers themselves point out that should a conflict of interest arise, abstaining from voting is the proper thing to do. The only other answer, some say, is to have a professional legislature, and that has never been something voters in Nevada have supported.

In 1971, then Attorney General Robert List issued an opinion saying that government employees can serve in the legislature. The opinion didn’t give rules governing how the legislator should handle the situation of two paychecks coming from the same tax coffer, and some question whether List could possibly have thought that some 30 years down the line virtually every major committee in the legislative body would be held by a public employee.

Current Secretary of State Dean Heller is asking for an updated opinion from Attorney General Brian Sandoval on whether government employees can serve in the legislature, or maybe, how they should handle the pay questions. The group attempting to circulate a petition against government employees serving says the pay question is secondary to the amount of power the public employees now hold in the legislature.

Another question that’s being asked deals with that separation of powers. Is the separation violated when a member of the legislative branch also serves in the executive branch? A real estate salesman/legislator can opt to not participate in discussion or voting of real estate issues, but can a PUC member/legislator seriously not have an influence over public utility measures in the legislature, or a university professor not have influence of public education money, or a court official not have influence over court matters before the public body?

Those are the questions now before the Attorney General, and being asked in the public petition being circulated.