Tax cap supporters lose Supreme Court request

CARSON CITY -- A request to the Nevada Supreme Court to reconsider an earlier decision that kept a proposal to cap property taxes off the November ballot has been rejected.

The decision by the high court against reconsidering its previous ruling ensures that the measure will not appear on the ballot. Early voting is already under way.

Secretary of State Ross Miller told the court that it would be impossible to include the measure in the Nov. 4 general election at this late date.

Proponents, including former state lawmaker Sharron Angle, of the tax cap, which emulates California's Proposition 13, wanted the court to reconsider its September decision on their request for an emergency stay.

They brought up a recent ruling by a federal judge that invalidated a requirement that signatures had to be collected in all 17 counties.

Angle's attorney said the federal ruling might help the measure qualify for the ballot if other issues concerning affidavits turned in by the petition circulators were decided in their favor by the Nevada court.

The tax cap supporters argued they "substantially complied" with the rules concerning the affidavits, but the Supreme Court disagreed.

Although it rejected the request for reconsideration, the court will allow an appeal of a District Court decision kicking it off the ballot to proceed.

Angle's proposed constitutional amendment would limit property tax increases to 2 percent per year for all property.

The Legislature enacted its own caps in 2005, limiting increases on owner-occupied homes to 3 percent and other property to 8 percent.