[Principled]

Does the Nevada constitution require a 2/3 majority to raise taxes? Seems so in this tidbit, but how could it be ignored so blatantly

[Dont Mention the War]

Yes! Up yours, SCONEV!

[Support Free Republic]

"Please contribute to FreeRepublic and make these posts go away"
	Donate Here By Secure Server Or mail checks to FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794 or you can use PayPal at Jimrob@psnw.com
STOP BY AND BUMP THE FUNDRAISER THREAD- It is in the breaking news sidebar! Thanks Registered

[microgood]

Great news! Thanks for the post. This one was steaming me all weekend even though I do not live in Nevada.

[Mr. Lucky]

Any idea how the Federal Court determined jurisdiction?

[HOYA97]

I think one point that is being missed here is that the Democrats in California, including Davis, are most probably watching this court case with great interest to see if they can apply the law likewise.

Thought?

[Political Junkie Too]

It's amazing that these people never consider reducing spending in other areas. If education is of such importance that it must be funded, doing away with the constitutional threshold for taxes isn't the only answer -- cutting something else is always an option.

Naaaaahhhhh...

-PJ

[Redcloak]

I hope that the weasels in Sacramento are watching this.

[OldFriend]

Good news.

[GWhite]

Would have been nice if the Nevada Supreme Court had ruled that Nevada "must cut spending to ensure adequeate funding for public education."

I won't hold my breath............

[avg_freeper]

It is obviously time to have the Nevada State Supreme Court strip naked and run around in the desert while people pick them off with paint guns.

[chance33_98]

An earlier posting with info on the subject: The court order -- made public by Chief Justice Deborah Agosti -- says public education is the TOP issue before Nevada lawmakers. It sides with Republican Governor Kenny Guinn. He asked the court to step in after the Legislature deadlocked without meeting a constitutional requirement to pass a balanced budget by July first.

[goldstategop]

Impeach The SCON Seven! And yes, what they did WAS illegal! God bless Lynn Hetrick and the lower house Nevada Republicans telling the Democrats and RINOs to take their tax increase and shove it where the sun don't shine!

[cdrw]

I can't add any value to the educated legal opinions on this thread but ... I will throw in my two cents about the state of affairs in Nevada.

1) If the legislature is faced with the prospects of such dramatic tax increases then the voters should toss them all. It appears that Nevada has, as have many other states, ratcheted up their budgets during boom times to unsustainable levels and they are now holding education hostage to avoid cutting all the pork programs they got passed. Sure - as if all the budget increases over the past six years went into education.

2) Sounds like its time for a little "Nevada Tea Party" to take place on the steps of the SCONEV. I completely agree with the previous poster who suggested the legislators should have been locked in session (I would add armed guards) until they did their job.

The legislature has failed miserably in its responsibilities and then the court failed miserably to "check" them and, instead, stepped in to do the job for them. Big mistake.

[steveegg]

For the record, there's actually 4 portions of the Nevada constitution playing against each other here:

• The 2/3 rule for any tax increase (except if the voters agree by a majority vote in a general election before the increase takes effect; the next one is in November, 2004)
• The requirement that the state's general funds cover whatever portions of school spending other constitutionall-specified funds (also collected by the state) doesn't through direct appropriation (that means that it's not it doesn't automatically happen) with no proviso of adjustment by the state once the local districts submit their budgets (that shoots down the "cut the school budget" idea)
• The requirement that the state operate with a balanced budget
• The agenda for any legislative special session (which they are in as they already burned through the constitutional 120 days) is set solely by the governor (who refuses to allow anything other than the massive tax hike)

The first disbursement to the schools is due on August 1 by law. The legislature passed (and I presume Governor RINO signed) a sufficient amount of spending to guarantee that once the education funding was approved, that taxes would go up $788 million over the next 2 years. Governor RINO steadfastly refuses to allow the legislature to revisit the budget, and all 7 "justices" agree.

[Core_Conservative]

Anybody want to read the Decision of the Court Case it is here http://www.leg.state.nv.us/scd/119NevAdvOpNo34.pdf