Minority Leader: Democrat stalling ‘isolated incidents,’ not anti-GOP game

CARSON CITY – Senate Minority Leader Mike McGinniss, R-Fallon, says problems Republicans face getting Democratic leaders to schedule bill hearings are isolated incidents, not a widespread concern.

Still, McGinniss said Wednesday he would talk with Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford, D-Las Vegas, after freshman Sen. Michael Roberson, R-Las Vegas, chastised the Democrat in an email.

“Some senators seem to think that,” said McGinniss of the perceived problem. “I have not experienced that. I think it is just isolated incidents.”

McGinniss’ statement could tamp down the growing tension between Democrats and Republicans in the Legislature, at least momentarily.

The latest flareup started when Horsford gave Roberson less than 24 hours notice that Roberson’s Senate Bill 272 would get a hearing in Horsford’s Senate Finance Committee.

Roberson wrote a critical email to Horsford, alleging the short notice was part of a broader pattern of Democrats seeking to ignore or give short shrift to Republican bills.

Horsford responded that if Roberson wanted more time to prepare for the hearing he should have asked instead of taking his complaint public.

More broadly, with nearly half of the 120-day legislative session concluded Democrats and Republicans are growing frustrated with each other.

Democrats are frustrated not one Republican seems ready to break away from Gov. Brian Sandoval’s plan to balance the budget by holding spending to about $5.8 billion from 2011-13. Republicans are frustrated because Democrats have for weeks beat up on Sandoval’s budget by saying it isn’t enough money to provide adequate education and social services but haven’t produced an alternative of their own.