Gibbons adds to veto lead; signs bill to move primary to June

Gov. Jim Gibbons vetoed 10 more bills on Friday, bringing his total to 41 " well beyond the old record of 30 vetoes set shortly after Nevada became a state in 1864.

The previous record for most vetoes in a session was set by then-Gov. H.G. Blasdel in a session that began in late 1864 and ended in early 1865, according to Legislative Counsel Bureau records.

The latest measures to be rejected by Gibbons include AB463, aimed at blocking unwarranted use of high-priced consultants by state agencies.

AB463 would restrict hiring of some consultants, require detailed reports on the use of consultants by agencies, call for audits of the contracts, and impose a one-year cooling-off period before former state employees could be hired as a consultants.

Gibbons also rejected AB147, requiring local governments to give preferences to local bidders; and AB304, which requires the city of Las Vegas to spend $22.5 million in redevelopment funds to reopen F Street.

Also vetoed were:

- AB22, which spells out the way in which civil and criminal penalties can be imposed for deceptive trade practices;

- AB141, which sets up a special recovery fund for people defrauded by mortgage brokers or bankers;

- AB135, which requires the state treasurer to review and the state Finance Board to approve certain state financial obligations;

- AB319, ensuring certain rights for school employees when meeting with administrators on issues that could lead to disciplinary actions;

- AB25, which limits waivers from some Department of Motor Vehicles examinations; and imposes a $25 fee for a noncommercial driver's license test;

- AB467, which provides that prevailing wage requirements apply to certain lease-purchase and installment-purchase agreements by local governments.

The governor also was busy signing bills into law Friday. Bills Gibbons signed:

- Among the bills on the latest list of bills signed into law by the governor was SB162, which moves the date of Nevada's mid-August primary elections to early June;

- AB10, which protects nurses against retaliation for disclosing problems that endanger patients at hospitals or othermedical facilities;

- AB102, which allows Nevada, the nation's No. 1 gambling state, to have special court programs for problem gamblers charged with crimes such as passing bad checks, embezzlement, forgery, insurance fraud, or even robbery or assault;

- AB149, a measure aimed at ending the downward spiral of home foreclosures in Nevada, which has the highest foreclosure rate in the nation. The bill mandates good-faith mediation between lenders and borrowers;

- AB151, which would require mortgage brokers to include a disclosure document that lists the lender's license number, and would require financial institutions to include a document that states the value of the home and the terms of the loan in "language that is easy to understand;"

- AB162, which requires both public and private health insurance companies to screen and provide treatment for autism spectrum disorders up to a cap of $36,000 a year. The requirement goes into effect in 2011;

- AB229, requiring "fire-safe" cigarettes that would self-extinguish if left unattended. Proponents say cigarette-related blazes are the nation's leading cause of fire deaths in homes.