2012 Voter Guide: Nevada Question 1 (Special Sessions)

Former Assemblyman Harry Mortenson figures he has an irrefutable reason for voters to approve Question 1 on November's general election ballot.

Rod Blagojevich.

Yes that Rod Blagojevich, the former Illinois governor who was impeached by his state Legislature 114-1 in 2009 for corruption and misconduct over trying to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama when he was elected president.

But Mortenson, D-Las Vegas, said if Blagojevich had been a Nevada governor, then he still could have served in office. He pointed out that under the Nevada constitution, only governors can call the Legislature into special session and they also dictate what legislators can consider at such sessions. Since the state Legislature meets only four months every two years, a Nevada Blagojevich conceivably could go 20 months before legislators would be able to boot him from office.

"What governor is going to call a special session to have himself impeached?" Mortenson asked.

That would change if voters approve Question 1, which would allow legislators to call themselves into special session with the written request of two-thirds of the members of each house. They also could set the agenda of the special session, which could last no more than 20 days.

If the proposal sounds familiar, that's because it is. Nevada voters in 2006 rejected an identical question by 25,997 votes, or 4.7 percentage points.

That settled the matter until Blagojevich made his ill-advised decisions. So in 2009, Mortenson once again introduced his special session resolution. It won legislative approval handily that year, but in 2011 the measure squeaked by the Legislature on a party-line vote, with all Democrats backing it and every Republican voting no. To place constitutional amendments before voters, resolutions must be passed twice by the Legislature.

The governor has no vote on resolutions. But Gov. Brian Sandoval opposes passage of Question 1. He believes the state constitution, which establishes the duration of the legislative session, was crafted to protect the separation of powers and he supports that principle, according to a spokeswoman.

During hearings, Sen. James Settelmeyer and Assemblywoman Heidi Gansert, both Republicans, offered amendments. If the resolution allowed the Legislature to call special sessions only to deal with matters affecting the governor, then they would support it.

"They wanted the power to call us into special sessions for taxation purposes," Settelmeyer said. "If they wanted a 'filthy governor clause' to deal with governors like Blagojevich, we would have supported it."

But Mortenson balked at making that restriction. He argued that the Legislature is a co-equal branch of government and ought to decide what matters it will consider in special sessions. He conceded legislators could look at tax and budget matters. In 34 states, legislators can convene special sessions and decide their agendas.

"It would not happen often," Mortenson said. "How often would two-thirds of the members of both houses agree to call a special session?

Records show the last time a party controlled both houses by at least a two-thirds majority was in 1977.

Contact Capital Bureau Chief Ed Vogel at evogel@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3901.