Justices to consider tax cap plan appeal

CARSON CITY -- The Nevada Supreme Court has agreed to consider a case filed by property tax cap proponent Sharron Angle challenging the constitutionality of a deadline set by the Legislature for signature gatherers.

The case was filed May 28 and the Supreme Court has asked Secretary of State Ross Miller to respond. The court has set an expedited schedule to consider the issue.

Angle said her lawsuit will show that the 2007 Legislature moved back the deadline to a date earlier than the state constitution allows. The deadline was set 12 days earlier than allowed, she said.

Angle's petition has run into serious problems because signatures were not accepted in Clark County by a May 20 deadline when they came in after 5 p.m. The petitions had other problems as well and were not accepted, making the likelihood of the measure getting to the ballot slim unless the court intervenes.

Angle said she wants the Supreme Court to give her more time to collect signatures for her California-style Proposition 13 property tax cap.

The state constitution allows signature gatherers to work until 90 days before the general election, which is Nov. 4 this year. Angle said the constitution allows the Legislature to move the deadline by as much as 65 days if necessary for the purpose of having enough time to verify signatures.

But the Legislature last year, even after being told the new deadline was unconstitutional, moved it back 77 days, Angle said. Angle said the unconstitutional deadline is just one more roadblock put in place in violation of peoples' First Amendment rights.

Angle's proposed constitutional amendment would limit property tax increases to 2 percent per year, rather than the current cap of 3 percent for homeowners passed by the Legislature in 2005, until a property is sold.