EDITORIAL: Public-sector lobbying in Carson City just incestuous backslapping

Lawmakers will reconvene in Carson City on Feb. 6 — along with an army of lobbyists hoping to influence legislation. Among them will be lobbyists representing virtually every significant public body in the state.

So — follow the bouncing ball — we have taxpayers footing the bill for public-sector power brokers to arm twist the elected representatives of the taxpayers to shake down those very same taxpayers for more of their hard-earned money.

Guess who typically gets beaten up in that equation?

One of those public entities is the Clark County School District. Not surprisingly, the district’s legislative agenda includes more cash, in this case to pay for a “weighted” funding formula that will direct more money to certain students.

But that’s not all.

Review-Journal reporter Amelia Pak-Harvey revealed Monday that the district will also agitate to impose higher property taxes on state residents. The district hopes to persuade lawmakers to scuttle a cap they imposed in 2005 during the real estate boom to shield homeowners from escalating levies tied to property values.

So again, here we have a three-member school district lobbying team that is paid by taxpayers gearing up to travel north in the coming weeks at taxpayer expense in hopes of convincing elected representatives of the people to hammer them with higher property taxes.

This isn’t to single out the Clark County School District. Every Southern Nevada municipality, the county, the Metropolitan Police Department, UNLV, the College of Southern Nevada and other public-sector outfits will use tax dollars to lobby in Carson City, often in pursuit of more tax money.

The Pacific Research Institute called this charade a “circular and self-promoting cycle.”

Some draw a distinction between a public-sector entity hiring an outside agent or simply relying on someone already on the payroll to do the job. But that’s splitting hairs, given that taxpayers cover the cost either way.

The National Conference of State Legislatures notes that 14 states impose some restrictions on using public funds for lobbying efforts. With the abundance of incestuous back-slapping going on in the capitol between lawmakers and government lobbyists, it’s no surprise that Nevada isn’t one of them.