Bill targets lawyer fees in construction defects cases

CARSON CITY — Senate Minority Leader Michael Roberson, R-Las Vegas, introduced a bill Monday designed to change the state construction defects law that currently allows lawyers to collect guaranteed legal fees, even if they lose.

Senate Bill 161 removes the clause that a claimant can recover “any reasonable attorney’s fees” and redefines construction defects to situations that present “an unreasonable risk of injury to a person or property.”

For at least a decade, Republicans have been trying unsuccessfully to change the law, passed in 1995, because the increase in lawsuits has increased prices of new homes, he said.

In 2009, the Senate passed a law similar to his bill by a 19-1 vote only to have it killed in the Assembly.

Roberson blamed the defeat of construction defects bills two years ago on the Democratic leaders of the Senate and Assembly but said he was more confident about passage of this bill.

He said the reasonable fee requirement has been an “irresistible enticement for unscrupulous lawyers.”

A University of Nevada, Las Vegas, study released last week found Nevada construction defect claims per new home are 38 times above the national average.

The bill was one of 43 introduced Monday in the Senate. Among the key measures were the following:

■ Senate Joint Resolution 8: This proposed constitutional amendment, by Sen. Tick Segerblom, D-Las Vegas, would allow the Legislature to meet outside of Carson City, increase legislative pay, now $8,777 per 120-day regular session, to “not less than $2,000 a month” and continue the $152 per day per diem allowance during sessions.

The change means the legislators, who now receive about $27,000 per two-year period, would get about $66,000.

It also calls for annual sessions of 90 days during odd-numbered years and 30 days in even-numbered years.

Segerblom said the higher pay is necessary because legislators work on behalf of their constituents throughout the year, not just during legislative sessions.

The resolution must be approved by the Legislature this year and again in 2015 before it goes to the voters in 2016. Historically, voters have rejected moves for annual sessions and to increase legislative pay. In 2006, 29.6 percent of voters supported a pay increase for legislators.

■ Senate Joint Resolution 7: The proposed constitutional amendment, by Sen. Scott Hammond, R-Las Vegas, stipulates the opportunity to hunt, fish or trap by “traditional methods” is a preserved right of Nevadans. It also states hunting is the preferred means of managing wildlife in Nevada. Hammond said that people are concerned about the future of hunting and that his resolution would ensure “families have the right to use the outdoors” as they do now.

■ Senate Bill 150: The bill, by Sen. Don Gustavson, R-Sparks, would repeal the law requiring motorcyclists and their passengers to wear helmets. Riders and passengers 21 and older would not have to wear helmets. Gustavson has tried unsuccessfully to pass a helmet repeal law since 1997. He typically loses because doctors testify the cost, often carried by state and local hospitals, of brain injuries suffered by riders can top $1 million.

■ Senate Bill 165: The proposal, by Sen. Aaron Ford, D-Las Vegas, would provide a 23 percent tax credit for motion picture and television companies that film in Nevada. A similar proposal was killed in 2011. Last week, Governor’s Office of Economic Development Director Steve Hill testified that tax credits for movies do not necessarily help, in part because almost every state offers them, and that leads to a bidding wars.

■ Senate Bill 137: This Gustavson bill would end the requirement for a permit to carry a concealed firearm. His bill has only three GOP co-sponsors, an indication it probably will not receive approval.

Contact reporter Ed Vogel at evogel@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3901.