Wednesday, July 23, 2008 | 12:02 p.m.
CARSON CITY -- Gov. Jim Gibbons says he hasn’t yet approved a proposed $2 increase in the state’s annual mining claim fee.
“I want to see it and review it before I make any comment,” Gibbons said today, referring to the Tuesday vote by the state Minerals Commission to boost the fee and earmark the additional funds to help the mining school at UNR.
The commission unanimously approved raising the annual fee from $6.50 to $8.50 to raise an estimated $400,000 for the Mackay School of Earth Sciences and Engineering that has been hit with budget reductions ordered by the governor.
Some at the meeting raised questions whether the vote would run contrary to the governor’s no-new-taxes policy. Alan Coyner, director of the state Division of Minerals, said he had sent the information about the fee increase to the governor’s office and never received a reply. Since there was no objection, he said he interpreted that as approval of the fee increase.
Gibbons said he has not seen the plan. A graduate of UNR’s mining school, the governor said he wants to make sure that the money is going for the intended purpose.
The fee is scheduled to take effect Aug. 4, the commission decided. A contract in which the state division agrees to send the extra $400,000 to the mining school will come before the state Board of Examiners on Aug. 12. Gibbons is chairman of that board.
There are an estimated 220,000 mining claims in the state.
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