Democrat State Sen. John Lee Calls For Legislative Commission Vote On Laughlin Incorporation

CARSON CITY – Nevada state Sen. John Lee, D-North Las Vegas, has added his voice to the chorus asking the Legislative Commission to take up the issue of whether the residents of Laughlin should have a chance to vote on incorporation.

In his letter sent to the Legislative Commission this week, Lee also said he supports the right of Laughlin residents to vote on the question in June.

In the letter, Lee said the panel is legally obligated to make a determination as to whether the incorporation of Laughlin is fiscally feasible.

State Sen. John Lee, D-North Las Vegas.

“As you undertake your statutory mandate I urge you to respect the will of the people of Laughlin and give them the right to vote on incorporation, he said. “Smaller communities than Laughlin has become thriving cities and Laughlin should be given the right to decide their own future.”

Lee said today Laughlin is much larger in population than Mesquite, the last city to incorporate in Nevada in 1984. Mesquite had about 1,200 residents when it incorporated, while Laughlin’s population is about 7,500.

“I feel they have every right to pick up their flag and charge forward,” he said. “They’ve jumped through all the hurdles, and even if they get a vote to incorporate, if they financially cannot do it they just won’t be able to. But at least this moves it forward to give these patriots down there a chance to build their own community.”

Lee’s letter comes a few days after the three Republican state senators who serve on the Legislative Commission sent a letter to commission Chairman Steven Horsford, D-Las Vegas, asking that the panel take up the issue.

“Since the Legislative Commission failed to take action on this matter at the last meeting this would mean that the citizens of the city of Laughlin will not be able to weigh in on this matter in the upcoming election. A meeting should be scheduled as soon as possible so the citizens are not denied that right,” said the letter from Sens. Michael Roberson, R-Las Vegas, Don Gustavson, R-Sparks, and James Settelmeyer, R-Gardnerville.

The Laughlin incorporation question was on a Feb. 15 agenda of the commission but Horsford did not allow a vote to be held.

The question then went to the Clark County Commission, which found in a unanimous vote that incorporation was not financially feasible for the community.

The Legislative Commission now needs to act within the next couple of weeks on the issue or Laughlin residents will not have a chance to vote on the matter in June.

Senate Bill 262 sponsored by Sen. Joe Hardy, R-Boulder City, was heard by the Senate Government Affairs Committee in the 2011 session. Lee is chairman of the committee and said he has an obligation to follow up on legislation passed by his committee.

There was a suggestion by Hardy that the Laughlin question was tied to getting GOP support for a completely separate issue involving a regulation sought by Secretary of State Ross Miller to allow him to assess a $200 annual fee on many home-based businesses that was also in front of the Legislative Commission on Feb. 15.

An official close to Senate Democrats denied there was any link.

But the issue is moot with Thursday’s approval of the Miller regulation by the Legislative Commission’s Subcommittee to Review Regulations. The panel voted 4-2 on party lines to approve the regulation, which will now take effect.

Dave Floodman, president of the nonprofit Laughlin Economic Development Corporation, said in an interview earlier this week that there was bipartisan support in the Nevada Legislature in 2011 to allow consideration of the incorporation question. SB262 passed unanimously in the Assembly and by a 16-5 vote in the Senate.

While a feasibility study of the incorporation prepared by the Nevada Department of Taxation found incorporation was not feasible, a separate study by a reputable California company and commissioned by his group found that it would be feasible, he said.

The two reviews differed on the cost of providing police and fire protection, Floodman said.

“Our position is that the two different scenarios should be decided by the people in Laughlin,” he said.

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Audio clips:

Sen. John Lee says Laughlin residents should have the chance to vote on incorporation:

030912Lee1 :16 when it incorporated.”

Lee says a vote will give residents a chance to build their own community:

030912Lee2 :18 their own community.”