There oughta be a law
Last year, the Nevada Legislature approved 558 new laws. Five-hundred and fifty-eight! Does anybody really think the state would have been unable to survive the coming year without scores and scores of new mandates on the books?
Most of the measures have already gone into effect. But more than a dozen hit the books today, as the calendar turns over to 2008. An additional 17 won't be imposed upon the populace until July 1.
Among the bills that take hold Jan. 1:
-- A law creating a new chapter in the statutes to govern condominium hotels.
-- A measure creating more state regulation of nontraditional mortgages.
-- A law allowing consumers to record debt-collection phone calls if the party at the other end of the line agrees.
-- A requirement that compensation payments be made directly to an injured worker's bank account if he prefers that approach over being issued a check.
-- A measure allowing Nevadans to request that certain personal information they must turn over to various government agencies be kept private.
Lawmakers don't reconvene for another year, so Nevadans will be safe from another legal onslaught until then.
In the meantime, we're still waiting for a lawmaker -- any lawmaker -- to take us up on our request: Draft a bill requiring that for every new statute enacted at least two be repealed.
Anyone?
