Legislator aims to cut mandates for schools

Mandates for Nevada schools to offer certain classes could be lifted and proposals to raise money for roads would be put on the ballot, according to new bill draft requests submitted for the 2011 Legislature.

The requests were among the new requests posted weekly on the Legislature's website.

Sen. Mike McGinness, R-Fallon, submitted a request for a bill that would "remove certain state mandates on schools."

McGinness said he primarily is interested in leaving individual districts, not the state, in charge of determining certain subject matter.

"There is everything from sex education to suicide prevention. Each school district can make the decision on if it is relevant to them or not," McGinness said.

"What is relevant in Clark or Washoe (counties) may not be in Lincoln or Esmeralda. Many times there aren't enough minutes in the school day to have all these mandates taught."

McGinness said he doesn't have any specific mandate removals in mind.

The items he referenced are on a list with several others in state statutes.

"There is a whole raft of them, but I haven't gone through and picked out each one," he said.

Another request from Assemblyman Kelvin Atkinson, D-Las Vegas, would form an advisory committee to come up with options for voters to decide how to raise more money to pay for road construction and maintenance, something Atkinson said is underfunded.

A similar bill was vetoed in the 2009 session, although it did pass both houses of the Legislature overwhelmingly.

In his veto letter, Gov. Jim Gibbons said such a committee would circumvent the legislative process by "allowing a small group of nonelected officials to make recommendations that have major implications on taxpayers, and to then present those recommendations to the voters."

Atkinson's old bill will come back to the Legislature.

But Atkinson said he made the bill draft request to make sure some sort of road measure is part of the 2011 legislative agenda.

There are three deadlines for legislators to submit requests: Sept. 1, Dec. 15 and another during the 2011 legislative session.

So far, 185 requests have been submitted, including one by Sen. Mike Schneider, D-Las Vegas, that would mandate that the amount of money expended per pupil meets or exceeds the national average.

Contact reporter Benjamin Spillman at bspillman@ reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3861.