Teleconferences open doors to state’s legislative process

Edward L. Watson thinks it's the best thing since running water.

"You don't have to spend any money," he said. "The seats are comfortable. These are my tax dollars at work."

While it might not be quite as impressive as landing a man on the moon, video-teleconferencing technology has made it a lot easier for thousands of Southern Nevadans to participate in the democratic process in Nevada over the past 15 years or so without having to drive or fly hundreds of miles to Carson City.

This legislative season, hundreds of committee meetings will be teleconferenced to Las Vegas' Sawyer Building, allowing locals to avoid the hassle of having to travel to the capital to take part. Participants from either end of the state can see and hear one another via video cameras and microphones.

For many, getting to the capital city to testify would be a significant hardship.

That hardship is physical for Watson, a retired member of the Service Employees International Union. He spoke on March 27 in favor of Assembly Bill 357, a measure aimed at a recent move by the Wynn Las Vegas to split the tokens earned by its dealers with casino supervisors.

"I have asthma, and the doctor didn't want me to fly," he said. "He was concerned about my health."

For others, the hardship might be financial.

"You would have to spend a lot of time raising funds to get a bus to get people there (Carson City)," said Linda Lera-Randle El, director of the Straight from the Streets homeless outreach program.

Lera-Randle El joined about 60 homeless people and other advocates for the homeless recently at the Sawyer Building, 555 E. Washington Ave., to support Assembly Bill 126, a measure that would funnel $20 million over two years to local governments to help fight homelessness in Nevada.

"This way, we're able to communicate openly right here," Lera-Randle El said.

"You can see each other, interrupt each other, everything you can do in a conference room. It gives it a personal touch."

More than 1,600 people so far this legislative session have participated in teleconferences in Las Vegas. As of Friday morning, 287 committee meetings have been teleconferenced.

The number of meetings that are teleconferenced has increased each year since the 1993 legislative session, the first for which teleconferencing was used.

"The quality was not very good, and we only had one unit," said Lorne Malkiewich, administrator of the Legislative Counsel Bureau, recalling the early efforts.

"When someone would move, you'd see their hand jump. The sound wasn't very good, either."

But the quality and number of teleconferences have increased steadily over the years. In 1997, 145 teleconferenced legislative committee meetings were held. By 2005, that number had grown to 404 meetings.

Meetings are now teleconferenced to four rooms at the Sawyer Building. They draw anywhere from zero to more than 500 people, depending on the issue.

The total number of people attending legislative teleconferences ranged from 2,418 in 1999 to a high of 4,519 in 2003.

That was the year legislators were discussing a bill that would prevent a developer from building thousands of homes near Red Rock Canyon.

One meeting alone on the issue, held in Las Vegas and teleconferenced to Carson City, drew 565 people.

Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, remembers the meeting well because it was her bill that was under discussion.

"We packed a lot of people in there," she said.

Titus, who has been serving in the Legislature for nearly 20 years, said teleconferencing has its good and bad points.

"It allows southerners to have a voice on issues that are important especially in Las Vegas," she said.

"You can have a big crowd turnout."

But, she said, not enough people know that teleconferencing is available. It also makes it much less likely that meetings will be held in Las Vegas.

"I was here when we had some meetings in the south," Titus said. "They don't do that anymore."

Before teleconferencing, legislators regularly spent a couple of weeks each session meeting in Las Vegas. That practice was phased out.

Malkiewich said the difference in legislative participation in Southern Nevada since teleconferencing began is "night and day."

"Before video-conferencing came in, people in Las Vegas were not very involved in the legislative process, not very informed of the legislative process. Now we get participation from Clark County every day."

Titus said allowing Southern Nevadans to participate in legislative meetings via teleconferences might have assuaged some north-south power struggles.

"We'll always have some rivalries," she said. "We'll see a lot if we have hearings on transportation funding."

But Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, said teleconferencing doesn't affect such divisions one way or another, describing the rivalries as "overemphasized."

Raggio, who has served in the Legislature since 1972, also said there are instances in which teleconferencing isn't very effective.

"We do not teleconference the Interim Finance Committee meetings because it's just too cumbersome," he said.

He also said teleconferencing doesn't help those who live outside Las Vegas or Carson City.

"It's not available in the rest of the state. People in Elko, Reno and Sparks still have to travel here (Carson City)."

Watson might become a regular after attending his first legislative teleconference recently.

"I didn't realize this was here," he said. "I'll be down here all the time."