Editorials

Out-of-state license plates are a major source of irritation for Nevada taxpayers. Just about everyone can tell a story of a neighbor or co-worker who got away with keeping a cheaper plate from another state for months or years before finally registering the vehicle in Nevada.

Move over, entertainment industry. You’ve got company when it comes to unmatched theatrics and fantasy. Las Vegas is the undisputed jackpot justice capital of the world.

The threat of lawsuits over coal-fired power plants may have played a role. But no one who’s watched Nevada politics would discount the behind-the-scenes power of U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who seems curiously enamored with any number of subsidy-dependent wind and solar energy installations in our area.

Under current law, Nevadans can be put on the list of folks who aren’t allowed to purchase firearms if they’ve been involuntarily committed to a psychiatric hospital — a process that involves a hearing before a judge, where the “accused” has a due process right to counsel, and to present evidence that he or she is not dangerously insane.

Two companion bills now working their way through the Legislature — Assembly Bill 360 and Senate Bill 416 — seek to limit two Nevada business models: the free-standing sports betting kiosk and the slot machine parlor, of which the best-known local example is the Dotty’s chain.

Students at Nevada’s public colleges and universities have plenty of opportunities to influence higher education policy. They elect student governments, which participate in the Nevada Student Alliance. They can contact their elected representatives. They can lobby and demonstrate. They can work on behalf of candidates they believe in. And if they’re especially motivated and ambitious, they can run for office.

Fuel taxes are among the fairest levies imposed by government. The revenues pay for road construction and maintenance; the motorists who use those roads pay the tax. On the other hand, fewer levies have a greater impact on the cost of goods and services than fuel taxes. When fuel becomes more expensive, you pay more for everything, from food to plumbing repairs. Ultimately, everyone pays fuel taxes — even those who don’t drive.

In constructing a list of the state’s highest policy priorities, giving Southern Nevada firefighter unions more political and bargaining power ranks just below a 7 p.m. last call for alcohol and mandatory annual colonoscopies.

The discredited left can find little to say, save that she was “divisive.” How refreshing, then, to hear the enthusiasm in the equally widespread reports that former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who died Monday at age 87, managed in her remarkable 11-year tenure at Downing Street to vanquish socialism and restore the free market to Britain.

Nevada lawmakers are focused on party priorities and the state institutions they oversee. They’re far less concerned with the requirements of their offices and the laws that govern their own behavior.