Rewarding workers who save state money just makes sense

One praiseworthy bill flew beneath the radar during the 2011 Legislature. It wasn't controversial. It didn't make lawmakers lash out in anger. Thus, it received scant attention.

Even better, it was an example of bipartisan cooperation, which was a rare bird in the 2011 Legislature.

Senate Bill 286 was based on a concept state Sen. Dean Rhoads, R-Tuscarora, had worked on for a handful of sessions without success. He wanted to better reward state employees who suggest ways to improve the operation of state government and save money.

Assemblywoman Debbie Smith, D-Sparks, wanted to introduce a similar bill.

Now, he is a conservative Republican rancher, term limited out after 28 years, who looks like the Marlboro man.

She's a moderate Democrat, a retiree who has received raves as a legislator ever since she was first elected in 2004.

Since Democrats controlled both the state Senate and the Assembly, Smith carried enough clout to kill his bill and ram her own through.

But she didn't.

"He's been working on this for a long time," Smith said. "Who am I to steal his thunder?"

Smith asked Rhoads if she could join in his bill and work with him to reward state workers' good ideas and save taxpayer dollars, obviously an admirable goal. Nobody knows better about government waste than the state employees inside the system.

Working with the Senate bill, the unlikely pair testified side by side and the bill passed both houses unanimously.

The bill says if a state employee comes up with an idea that saves the state money, they qualify for awards as high as $25,000, called the "Good Government, Great Employees" award. Half the savings goes back to the general fund, 40 percent is returned to the agency to use for one-time expenses, training or equipment upgrades, and 10 percent goes to the employee with the idea, or the group of employees who made the proposal.

The payout only comes when the savings is actually achieved, and the bonus is based on the two years following implementation of the idea.

Some savings don't count. If you're head of an agency and come up with a proposal to save money, well, that's part of your job.

Although a Program for Merit Awards already exists, that program had a $500 cap, piddling compared to the new $25,000 cap. The new bill allows an award to be split among employees, another plus.

In another odd pairing, the Nevada Taxpayers Association and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, both supported the bill.

"This is the truest example of legislators working together to come up with good legislation," said Carole Vilardo, president of the Nevada Taxpayers Association.

It's also an example of saving money and time by not introducing competing duplicate bills. That happens because ego-driven legislators want their name on a bill .

Did we really need five separate bills to ban drivers from texting and talking on cellphones, unless using a hands-free device? Particularly when the public and police clamored in favor of the idea because of legitimate safety concerns.

Smith had two other bills this session where the spirit of bipartisan cooperation prevailed. In one, her language creating a committee to study whether certain boards and commissions should be dissolved was folded into a GOP lawmaker's bill. In the second, Gov. Brian Sandoval gave up his bill on performance budgeting and used her bill instead. "You take everyone's good ideas, put all your efforts into one bill," she said. That's just her style.

If only more bills had been joint ventures between thoughtful lawmakers from opposite parties, think what might have been accomplished during a session of innumerable missed opportunities.

Jane Ann Morrison's column appears Monday, Thursday and Saturday. Email her at Jane@reviewjournal.com or call her at (702) 383-0275. She also blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/Morrison.