Amodei may give up seat

State Sen. Mark Amodei, R-Carson City, said Friday that he's considering quitting the Legislature before the 2009 session to avoid any appearance of conflicts with his job as president of the Nevada Mining Association.

Amodei has been questioned about a possible conflict because past Nevada Mining Association presidents lobbied the Legislature on mining issues. While he has often denied any conflict, he acknowledged that doing both jobs has become an issue.

"I am not going to let ethical issues taint either the association or my potential service in the 2009 session," Amodei said after speaking at a Western Industrial Nevada breakfast in Reno.

"I don't agree with the analysis (of conflict) but there is no way that it is going to be one of those things where there is some kind of wink and a nod," he added. "I've done 12 years (in the Legislature) with absolutely none of that being on the table, and it won't be on the table in 2009."

The 2009 Legislature is to be Amodei's last as a senator because of Nevada's term-limit law. He didn't say when he might announce his decision, other than to say it would be prior to the Feb. 2 start of the session.

Amodei, an attorney, said he has been unfairly criticized for taking the mining association job and disputed that it would compromise him as a lawmaker. He said his disclosure list of clients with lobbying interests in the Legislature was much longer when he worked for the Kummer, Kaempfer law firm than it is now.

Amodei was first elected to the state senate in 1999. He graduated from Carson High School and the University of Nevada, Reno.