Bill Removing Mining Industry Eminent Domain Privileges Passes Assembly, Heads To Governor’s Desk
By Andrew Doughman
CARSON CITY – A bill removing the mining industry’s right to take private land heads to the governor’s desk after passing in the Assembly this evening.
Senate Bill 86 gained early bipartisan support when Sen. Michael Roberson, R-Las Vegas, joined the bill’s sponsor, Sheila Leslie, D-Reno, in criticizing a corporation’s ability to take land from a private citizen.
The bill passed the Senate 21-1 and the Assembly 41-1 with two rural legislators from the Elko-area, a mining community, voting against the legislation.
But Assemblyman John Ellison, R-Elko, later said that he does not support eminent domain rights in any situation. He said he voted against the bill by mistake.
Gov. Brian Sandoval has not said whether or not he will sign the bill into law.
The bill arriving at the governor’s desk is among the least controversial of several proposals relating to the mining industry.
Progressives in Nevada have argued for removing the mining industry’s special provisions in Nevada’s constitution and reducing the amount of allowable tax deductions for the mining industry.
The mining industry has also come under fire after it was revealed that the state had not been auditing the industry’s tax deductions and that state regulators may have had a cozy relationship with mining lobbyists.
Senate Bill 86 also removes the same eminent domain privileges for the state’s now-defunct sugar beet industry.