Bill would repeal panel's authorityto rule on campaign honesty

"The law is unconstitutional," said Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas. "It puts the commission in the awkward position of policing what is negative campaigning."

Giunchigliani said she decided to request the bill after the Ethics Commission chose to fine Assembly District 4 candidate Bob Beers $5,000 for statements he made in campaign mailing about his Republican primary opponent, Dennis Silvers.

"That helped crystallize the matter in my mind," she said. "The Ethics Commission has gone far beyond what their job was supposed to be."

While advertising statements made by Beers were not false, commissioners ruled they implied Silvers, a radio talk show host, could have been culpable in a restaurant arson fire that killed 66 pets in a nearby animal shelter.

Giunchigliani said the law that made the Ethics Commission the arbiter of truth in political campaigns was approved only because Republicans attached it as a rider to the key campaign finance reform bill supported by Democrats.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, insisted upon the Ethics Commission provision. Even more than campaign finance reform, Raggio said, the general public wanted an end to negative political campaigns.

Besides the Ethics Commission provisions, the law has required candidates and political action committees to report the source of contributions of more than $100. Previously, only donations of more than $500 to candidates were reported.

"The (Ethics Commission provision) was a poison pill to make us kill campaign finance reform," Giunchigliani said. "We were concerned all along that it would not work."

Giunchigliani, the chairwoman of the Assembly Elections, Procedures and Ethics Committee, said her panel next year will reassess the duties of the Ethics Commission.

"We need to re-examine the whole law," Giunchigliani said. "We need a strong commission but one that knows its parameters."

She also said the law should be amended to eliminate frivolous complaints about public officials and to ensure that the same people do not make repeated complaints.

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