Legislative Briefly 5/13

New tourism chief named

Dann Lewis, who was dumped in 2007 as Maine's tourism director, was named Tuesday as Nevada's tourism chief by Gov. Jim Gibbons.

Gibbons said in announcing the appointment that Lewis has been in the tourism-hospitality business for more than 40 years, and tourist-dependent Nevada "will receive an immediate benefit from his knowledge and skills as we work together to attract more visitors and the revenue they generate."

Lewis was one of three finalists for the $117,000-a-year Nevada job. Others included Pasquale Barone, who has been managing director of global sales for Eos Airlines in Purchase, N.Y.; and Tom Jensen with Windermere Real Estate in Washington state.

Gibbons had tried to name Kirk Montero, station manager for US Airways at Reno-Tahoe International Airport, to the post earlier, but the state Tourism Commission said Montero applied after a deadline had expired.

Senate endorses bill to tighten DUI regulations

The Nevada Senate has passed an Assembly-approved bill that tightens state laws to ensure that people convicted of drunken driving in urban areas attend meetings with victims or family or close friends of DUI victims.

Nevada Senate members voted 21-0 for AB209. Under the measure, now on its way to Gov. Jim Gibbons, victim-impact sessions must be part of the process, along with fines, possible jail time and other penalties, that drunken drivers undergo so that they don't continue to drink and drive.

Sandy Heverly of Las Vegas-based STOP DUI says the bill makes it clear that people attend the victim-impact sessions rather than be allowed by judges to watch an online video aimed at stopping drunken driving.

Green energy plans are high priority for Legislature

Behind dealing with a gaping budget hole, jump-starting a renewable energy economy in Nevada has emerged as a top priority for Nevada lawmakers.

Republican and Democratic lawmakers, as well as GOP Gov. Jim Gibbons, have focused on renewable energy as a lifeline that will help pull the state out of its harshest economic recession in decades.

A final energy compromise is expected to emerge this week, combining measures from both houses as the session's June 1 deadline nears.

The major bills include SB395, sought by Gibbons, which proposes to transform Nevada from a state that spends $9 billion on fuel costs and importing energy to a renewable energy exporter.

As amended, the plan would abate property taxes of renewable energy producers for 10 years. The tax break also would help developers of transmission lines for such projects.

SB358, sought by Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford, D-North Las Vegas, would streamline rules, foster innovation and employ various incentives to attract large and small-scale renewable energy developers.

Property tax breaks of up to 75 percent would extend for 20 years for renewable energy producers and for 10 years for renewable energy equipment manufacturers.

Unlike Gibbons' bill, SB358 would require companies to hire two-thirds of their workers from within the state. Horsford's bill also would abolish the governor's Energy Office and create a Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Authority to oversee the state's renewable energy efforts.

SB358 also would increase the percentage of energy that NV Energy must get from renewable sources to 25 percent by 2025 " and also require that 2 percent come from power generated by small businesses, schools or homeowners with their own renewable energy systems.

AB522, by Assemblywoman Marilyn Kirkpatrick, D-North Las Vegas, would restructure the way the state uses tax abatements to draw renewable energy developers and streamline renewable energy regulation.

Of the three bills, AB522 provides the least generous tax abatements. Renewable energy developments would be eligible for 50 percent abatements on property and sales taxes for five years if they purchase 30 percent of their materials in the state and for two years if they do not.

The key difference in the Assembly bill is that it seeks to establish a fund to help rate-payers lower their energy costs. To that end, the bill would create a small excise tax on renewable energy produced in the state to fund a conservation rebate program and energy assistance program.

" Nevada Appeal Staff and Wire reports