Panel merges bills to reform ethics panel

The Elections, Procedures and Ethics Committee agreed late Wednesday to roll into Guinn's SB478 all the provisions of Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani's AB130.

Her bill would repeal the law that has allowed the state Ethics Commission to fine candidates up to $30,000 for malicious statements made during political campaigns.

Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas, requested the combining of the two bills because the Senate Government Affairs Committee has not acted on AB130. Unless the Senate committee passes that bill by Friday, it automatically dies under legislative rules.

But by the actions Wednesday, both bills remain alive and the two houses would be forced to reach a compromise.

"We hope this helps them move faster," Giunchigliani said.

She has maintained that the law giving the Ethics Commission the power to act as a truth squad in political campaigns is an unconstitutional restraint on free speech.

But Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, has said some organization must determine whether candidates lie in campaigns. In a recent hearing, however, he hinted he might support changes that remove the ability of the Ethics Commission to fine candidates.

In another move, the Assembly committee decided to amend the Guinn bill in a way that would continue the current law of letting the Ethics Commission decide on a case-by-case basis whether elected officials should abstain from voting on issues.

Members said it is too difficult to construct a law that specifies all the instances when elected officials must abstain. The original version of the bill would have blocked officials from voting whenever they have a "personal relationship" with someone affected by a matter.

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