Veto pen comes out

Taking out the veto pen for the first time this legislative session, Gov. Jim Gibbons has rejected four bills passed by the Legislature. They are:

• AB 122: Expands the Office of Consumer Health Assistance
• AB 257: Prohibits taking more than 10 free publications
• AB 480: Increases water fees collected by the State Engineer
• SB 201: Allows the Washoe County Commission to increase fuel taxes

The veto on the last bill, which came from a successful Washoe ballot initiative, had been anticipated and could serve as a test case for lawmakers’ ability to override a gubernatorial veto on a tax increase.

Gibbons had said he could allow tax increases if they were voter-approved, but he did not believe the voters in this case clearly approved a tax increase because of vague ballot language.

In vetoing AB 122, Gibbons noted that he had proposed eliminating the office in question in his own budget and did not consider it essential spending. If he plans to veto all spending he didn’t propose as well as any tax hikes, the Legislature could have a lot more work on its hands than it had foreseen.

The last time the Legislature overrode a gubernatorial veto was in 1989.