Thursday, March 6, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
CARSON CITY -- Every election, state gaming regulators phone Deputy Secretary of State Dale Erquiaga and ask if it's illegal for casino executives to direct employees to contribute to the boss's favorite candidate.
Every election, Erquiaga gives the same response: "No, it's not illegal."
That reply will change under legislation agreed to Wednesday by the Senate Government Affairs Committee.
The committee agreed by voice vote to put an end to various soft-money donations, including what Erquiaga and election officials refer to as bundling, in which employees are advised to contribute. Their combined, or bundled, amount is then given to the candidate.
The practice is illegal in federal but not state and local elections, Erquiaga said after Wednesday's hearing.
A formal vote is expected after the committee receives the final draft of a bill that includes several provisions to uncover hidden campaign contributions.
The bill also reveals the names of any contributor who gives a candidate more than $100. The current threshold is $500.
Contributors who give more than $100 to a political party or political action committee also will be named. Current law allows them to remain unidentified no matter how much they give.
The provision to restrict soft-money contributions was added during Wednesday's hearing. That section had been removed from an earlier version of that bill but was put back in at the urging of Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas.
Also prohibited under the Titus amendment is so-called money laundering. That technique allows large donors to give huge unreported amounts to political parties, who turn around and funnel it to candidates. The name of the political party shows up on the candidate's contribution report, but not the big donor.
That became an issue last year, when County Commissioner Lance Malone received more than $300,000 from the Republican Party. Half of that was alleged to have been given to the Republicans by Sands hotel-casino owner Sheldon Adelson. Malone said he did not know the true source of his party contribution.
Erquiaga said after the hearing that the bill is stronger than Secretary of State Dean Heller expected the committee to approve. Last session, the committee bottled up campaign reporting legislation.
"It's far more than anybody predicted," Erquiaga said.
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