Wednesday, Feb. 24, 1999 | 11:19 a.m.
CARSON CITY -- The bill to allow voters to decide if former Sen. Floyd Lamb's name should be stricken from a state park in Clark County is dead in the Assembly Committee on Elections, Procedures and Ethics.
Committee Chairwoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas, said Tuesday she will probably not bring the bill up for a vote. There is no backing for the measure, she said.
Assembly Speaker Joe Dini, D-Yerington, agreed, saying, "There's not much support," for Assembly Bill 161.
Lamb, he said, is "an old man in Lincoln County. He served time in the Legislature and he did a good job. Floyd never called me. But other people in Clark County called to tell me not to insult him."
Dini said there was only "a small group of people on a crusade" to change the name to Tule Springs, which it was called for more than 100 years.
Lamb could not be reached for comment.
Assemblywoman Kathy Von Tobel, R-Las Vegas, who sponsored the bill, said it was "unfortunate" the bill will never come up for a vote, "But I understand it."
She said the opposition of Dini and Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, put legislators in an "awkward position" if they voted against the bill.
The park was owned by Las Vegas but the city ran into financial trouble and asked the state to take it over. Lamb, who served 26 years in the Senate, helped push through the legislation and get $2 million to refurbish the park. Before turning the property over to the state in 1977, the city renamed the park in his honor.
Lamb was convicted in 1983 of taking a $23,000 bribe in a federal sting operation and spent nine months in prison. He was paroled and his civil rights were restored by the state Pardons Board.
He was elected Lincoln County Commissioner but was then removed from office in a recall election. He continues to live on his ranch in Lincoln County.
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