Student fund-rasing, ATM fees on agenda

CARSON CITY -- Public schools would be prohibited from fund-raising drives that send students door to door.

Banks and other financial institutions would be barred from levying a surcharge to use automatic tellers.

And the sales tax imposed on property used for funerals would be repealed.

These are just three of the 313 requests to draft bills for the 1999 Legislature that the Legislative Counsel Bureau made public Wednesday. A list that gives a one-sentence summary of each bill also identifies who requested the bill unless the person asked to keep his identity a secret.

Estimates suggest up to 1,500 bills and resolutions will be introduced next year in the Legislature, down from the almost 2,000 that appeared in 1997.

Assemblywoman Merle Berman, R-Las Vegas, wants to stop the door-to-door sales by pupils to prevent children from being harmed or molested. There's been instances in which a youngster has been enticed by an adult with a promise of candy and then sexually abused. In one case in Philadelphia, the child was killed.

Berman said she doesn't want to stop fund-raising activities at schools, but there are other ways to make money, such as having parents telemarket or set up booths at markets or malls. "This is for the safety of children," she said.

Assemblyman Wendell Williams, D-Las Vegas, is asking for legislation to stop financial institutions from imposing a fee to use an ATM. The number of ATMs nationally reached 120,000 in 1997, up from the 89,000 two years before. Williams said the average charge for an ATM transaction has gone from 17 cents to 62 cents.

In addition, customers face an additional charge for using an ATM of another bank, meaning two fees for a single transaction.

"They (the banks) are taking advantage of the consumer," Williams said. Fifteen states, he said, have tried to pass laws regulating these machines.

Williams also is asking for a bill to stop governments from coming into an area, reducing the tax values and then starting condemnation to acquire the property at a reduced price.

Sen. Jon Porter, R-Boulder City, would like to give an exemption on the sales tax on property used at funerals. This request came from a woman who was taxed on a funeral package she purchased and didn't feel it was right to impose a tax on death.

Porter also has set aside five bill requests for the recommendations made by the Southern Nevada Strategic Planning Authority, which is looking for ways to handle the rapid growth in Clark County. Porter said the authority is still working on the final recommendations for planned growth, and they will be incorporated into these bills.

Assemblyman Dennis Nolan, R-Las Vegas, wants some relief for lawmakers who must maintain two homes during the Legislature. He's suggesting that lawmakers who live more than 100 miles from Carson City during the session get an extra $400 a month for living expenses.

Legislators now receive $66 per diem during the session. Nolan said he rooms with two other lawmakers and it's still hard to get by and maintain a home in Las Vegas.

He also wants to eliminate the restriction that committee members can't vote during the session during video teleconference hearings. He said this would speed up the process instead of having to take all the votes in Carson City. He said the floor votes would still be required in Carson City.

There also are bills calling for consolidation of certain governmental functions between Clark County and the city of Las Vegas.

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