Legislature overrides another two vetoes

The Legislature has now voted to override 23 gubernatorial vetoes issued by Gov. Jim Gibbons.

That total is more than double the previous record of 10, a record which has stood since the first ever Nevada Legislature in 1865.

The most recent addition to the list is AB493 which requires the Public Employees Retirement System to report on investments it has in companies doing business with Iran. The vote was unanimous.

For two other bills handled by the Senate Monday, the governor's vetoes were sustained.

AB147 would have provided a 5 percent preference on public works and highway construction projects to contractors bidding on local governmental contracts . It missed the two-thirds majority required by just one vote " 13-8.

AB446 would have required the budget office to do long term planning and develop a consistent system of performance measures for state agencies. The governor vetoed it because the majority ignored the potential cost Director of Administration Andrew Clinger said it would have.

Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford, D-Las Vegas, charged that budget is already required to do this job. He said sometimes fiscal notes are put on bills to kill them and said he doesn't believe this will actually have a significant cost.

Senate Minority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, said if the budget director tells him there is a cost to a bill, he believes it and that it's unfair to mandate an agency do something if the Legislature isn't willing to pay the cost.

The override failed on a party-line vote, 12-9 " two votes short of the two-thirds required.