Gov. Jim Gibbons adds two more vetoes

Gov. Jim Gibbons has added two vetoes to his list, raising the total so far to six.

But he hasn't taken any action on the tax and budget bills, which he has promised to veto.

The bills vetoed late Friday are AB121 requiring large hospitals to develop and report plans on staffing and AB410 which puts certain collective bargaining agreements ahead of state laws in industrial insurance cases.

At the same time, the Senate and Assembly voted to overturn Gibbons' veto of one of the first four he rejected: AB480 which increases fees within the State Engineer's office.

AB480 increased, eliminated and changed nearly all the fees charged for water permitting and related services primarily to cover the changing cost of providing those services. While Gibbons said he isn't aware of any support by the industry for the changes, lawmakers disagreed. The vote to override was unanimous in the Senate and 37-4 in the Assembly.

The Assembly supported overriding Gibbons on two other measures " AB122 expanding the authority and responsibility of the Office of Consumer Health Assistance and AB257 which would prohibit taking more than 10 copies of free publications from street racks. The Senate, however, couldn't raise the two-thirds majority to follow suit. The veto was sustained 12-9 for both of those measures on a party-line vote with Republicans backing Gibbons.

Gibbons said AB121 sticks the state's nose into an area which should be addressed by medical professionals " medical staffing. It could, he said in his veto message, "dramatically increase the costs of health care without a corresponding increase in levels and quality of service."

Gibbons said AB410 was vetoed because it would give collective bargaining agreements the power to supersede industrial insurance laws.

"To allow collective bargaining agreements to usurp existing laws would lead to a plethora of unintended consequences as those agreements are often written by and agreed to by individuals who are not experts in the field of industrial insurance," he said in the veto statement.

He added that the bill would curtail if not eliminate the ability of injured workers to choose a different doctor.

The Senate has yet to act on the governor's Thursday veto of SB201. That is the measure which would allow Washoe County to raise its gas tax to pay for street repairs and improvements. Gibbons vetoed the measure despite the fact Washoe voters strongly supported it in an advisory ballot question. He said he didn't believe voters knew what they were voting for.

That remark prompted Reno Mayor Bob Cashell to say: "Then maybe the voters didn't know what they were voting for when they elected him."

Gibbons is expected to veto not only the legislative tax bill but several of the bills which create the state budget since, without the tax increases, those budgets won't be in balance as required by Nevada's Constitution.

That will make him the first governor in Nevada history to veto the budget.

Lawmakers are expected to take action on all Gibbons' vetoes before they adjourn June 1.