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Senator Heidi Gansert unwittingly spotlights the destructivity of political careerism

For Immediate Release 
Contact: Michael Schaus, 702-222-0642

CARSON CITY, NV — In its legal fight to make the state’s political class and government agencies respect the Nevada Constitution’s separation of powers clause, the Nevada Policy Research Institute’s Center for Justice and Constitutional Litigation on Friday responded to filings by state senator Heidi Gansert and the University of Nevada Reno.

“In her motion to dismiss, Ms. Gansert essentially tried to unilaterally rewrite the Nevada constitution,” commented CJCL Director Joseph Becker. “But, as the late Justice Scalia once pointed out, the Constitution is like any other legal document. It says some things, and it doesn't say other things.”

Representing plaintiff Doug French, CJCL filed the suit February 21st, alleging Gansert is violating Article 3, Section 1 of Nevada’s State Constitution by occupying a seat in the state legislature while also working in Nevada’s executive branch. Mr. French seeks the position currently held by Ms. Gansert at the Nevada System of Higher Education.

Gansert asked the court to dismiss the suit, alleging that because she does not serve any “sovereign” function of the executive branch in her role at the University, the constitutional separation of powers clause does not apply to her.

However, as NPRI noted when Gansert originally filed her motion to dismiss, Article 3, Section 1 of Nevada’s constitution specifically states that it is illegal for one person to exercise any function in more than one branch of government — not merely a “sovereign” function.

“It’s difficult to imagine how much clearer the constitution could be on this issue,” commented Becker. “It says clearly that any member of one branch shall not exercise any functions, appertaining to either of the others.”

“If, as Ms. Gansert alleges, the constitution doesn’t mean what it says, how exactly would she re-word it so it is clearer on the issue?” asked Becker.

In addition to blatantly disregarding the clear language of the constitution, Gansert’s motion to dismiss highlights, ironically, one of the reasons for the provision in the first place.

“In fact, not only does the term ‘sovereign function’ never appear in the Nevada constitution, the word ‘sovereign’ only appears once — and at that, only in reference to stopping political careerism,” commented Becker.

The corruption and appearance of corruption brought about by political careerism is destructive to the proper functioning of the first branch of our representative government. Congress has grown increasingly distant from the People of the States. The People have the sovereign right and a compelling interest in creating a citizen Congress that will more effective [sic] protect our freedom and prosperity.

— Congressional Term Limits Act of 1996 as Added in 1998 (emphasis added).

“It’s fitting that Ms. Gansert not only tries to rewrite the constitution to fit her argument, but she does so by using a word that only appears in the constitution once — in a clause espousing the dangers of career politicians,” said Becker.

Both the Term Limits Act of 1996 and the separation of powers clause have a similar aim, according to Becker.

“Nevadans deserve a citizen legislature — not a political class of ruling elites. Both the separation of powers clause, and the Term Limits Act were aimed at limiting the potential for career politicians to profit off the taxpayers,” explained Becker.

“Perhaps some of these limitations on the ruling class are inconvenient for Ms. Gansert, but Nevadans deserve a form of self-governance. Not political elitism.”

Click here for NPRI’s full Opposition to Gansert’s motion to dismiss

Click here for NPRI’s lawsuit

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The constitution doesn’t mean what it says, according to Senator Gansert

For Immediate Release 
Contact: Michael Schaus, 702-222-0642

CARSON CITY, NV – Last week, State Senator Heidi Gansert filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit the Nevada Policy Research Institute’s Center for Justice and Constitutional Litigation (CJCL) filed against her for violation of Nevada’s constitutional Separation of Powers clause.

“In her motion to dismiss, Senator Gansert essentially (and unilaterally) rewrites the relevant section of the Nevada constitution, then alleges her rewrite warrants dismissal of the suit,” commented CJCL Director Joseph Becker.

Representing plaintiff Doug French, CJCL filed the suit February 21st, alleging Gansert is violating Article 3, Section 1 of Nevada’s State Constitution by occupying a seat in the state legislature while also working in Nevada’s executive branch. Mr. French seeks the position currently held by Sen. Gansert at the Nevada System of Higher Education.

Gansert’s motion to dismiss asserts that because she does not serve any “sovereign” function of the executive branch in her role at the University, the constitutional separation of powers clause does not apply to her.

“However,” explained Becker, “Article 3, Section 1 of Nevada’s constitution doesn’t require that someone must be serving a ‘sovereign’ function in order for the clause to apply.

“In fact, it actually reads ‘any’ function.”

The full text of Article 3, Section 1 — the separation-of-powers clause in Nevada's constitution — reads:

The powers of the Government of the State of Nevada shall be divided into three separate departments,—the Legislative,—the Executive and the Judicial; and no persons charged with the exercise of powers properly belonging to one of these departments shall exercise any functions, appertaining to either of the others… [Emphasis added.]

“Apparently, Senator Gansert feels that she can simply rewrite the constitution to exclude herself from its constraints,” said Becker.

In addition to ignoring the plain text of the constitution, Gansert’s interpretation of the clause runs counter to that of many legal experts — including now-Governor Brian Sandoval.

In 2004, then-Attorney General Sandoval wrote in an AG Advisory Opinion that the “Nevada Constitution bars any employee from serving in the executive branch of government and serving as a member of the Nevada State Legislature.” (Emphasis added).

“Looking at the text of the constitution — not to mention the AG Advisory Opinion — it seems pretty clear,” said Becker. “She is a person. She’s in the legislature. And, as an employee of the public university, she exercises functions appertaining to the executive branch.

“It might be inconvenient for Senator Gansert, and the many other lawmakers in similar circumstances, but the fact is, the constitution means what it says. Even if she wished it didn’t.”

CJCL will file an opposition to Gansert’s Motion to Dismiss on behalf of Mr. French early next week.

Click here for NPRI’s lawsuit

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Nevada Senators vote to keep their pensions hidden from taxpayer scrutiny

Today, 11 state senators — most of whom are PERS members themselves — just passed a completely unenforceable law aimed at making private their taxpayer-funded pensions.

Such a singular focus on keeping the public in the dark, and perhaps a lack of proper understanding of the subject matter, resulted in language that plainly states the names of all public employees in Nevada would be confidential under the just-passed SB384.

Passing laws that place every Nevada government in a continual state of lawbreaking and, thus, subject to legal action, is bad policy.

“In their zeal to place the public pension system — not to mention their very own pensions — under a shroud of secrecy, Nevada senators have just passed a bill that would place an unenforceable requirement on every government agency,” explained Nevada Policy Research Institute Transparency Director Robert Fellner.

10 senators — all 9 Republicans and Democratic state Senator Nicole Cannizzaro — stood up for transparent government and sound policymaking by voting against SB384 today.

“NPRI applauds the Republican caucus and Senator Cannizzaro for supporting the principles of a transparent and accountable government,” commented Fellner. “But, unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to keep this blatant affront to transparency from moving forward.”

If SB384 passes the Assembly and is not vetoed by the Governor, Nevada will have undone the will of multiple legislative bodies who fought for a transparent and accountable government.

“Unfortunately, the law was so poorly written, it goes even further,” explained Fellner. “This vote shows just how blindly focused on reducing transparency many of our elected representatives seem to be.

“Does this Legislature really want to reverse Nevada’s history of bipartisan agreement on the importance of a transparent and accountable government, particularly for a bill that was rammed through the Senate on the narrowest of margins, and is based entirely on a claim that is demonstrably false? Especially given the blatant conflict of interest illustrated by the fact that almost all of the 11 senators who voted in favor of SB384 are PERS members themselves.”

For more background on SB384 — and its unintended consequences — click here.

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PERS secrecy bill would leave taxpayers in the dark

Having long championed the principles of a transparent and accountable government, the Nevada Policy Research Institute is dismayed to hear that some lawmakers are working to weaken the state's public records law.

With taxpayer contributions to the state public employees' retirement system (PERS) hitting a record-high $1.5 billion last year, the Legislature should be seeking to increase transparency, not reduce it.

Senate Bill 384, however, would weaken Nevada's public records law by carving out a series of exemptions for PERS. The bill was passed out of committee earlier this month and is now set to be voted on by the state Senate in the coming days.

NPRI’s Robert Fellner, director of transparency research for the organization, stated:

“It is deeply troubling that lawmakers are seeking to shroud PERS in even more secrecy, particularly at a time when costs are soaring to unprecedented heights, siphoning funds that could otherwise be spent on teachers, public safety and other vital services.

“The arguments in favor of SB384 disintegrate the moment one acknowledges the fact that more than two-thirds of states nationwide have already embraced the specific form of transparency SB384 seeks to destroy.”

Fellner also noted that SB384 has been sharply criticized by all of Nevada's major news organization, with the Las Vegas Review-Journal Editorial Board calling it an “obvious affront to transparency and accountability,” and the Reno Gazette-Journal Editorial Board declaring that SB384 “is a bad idea, based upon unfounded fears, that weakens scrutiny of government fraud, abuse and waste and creates a slippery slope to more government secrecy.”

To read NPRI's full commentary on SB384, please click here.

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SB384 would make the name of every Nevada public employee confidential
 
For Immediate Release
Contact Robert Fellner, 702-222-0642

CARSON CITY, NV — Senate Bill 384 is designed to make secret the names of every retiree collecting a taxpayer-funded pension from the Public Employees’ Retirement System of Nevada (PERS). If passed as written, however, it would place virtually every level of Nevada government in a continual state of law breaking.

Although the intent of SB384 is already a tremendous blow to transparency in government — while raising serious concerns over whether it is appropriate for lawmakers receiving six-figure PERS pensions to vote to make that information private — poor language has created a much larger problem.

“In the final, amended version of the bill that was passed out of committee yesterday and is now set to go to the Senate Floor, the bill inadvertently makes confidential the name of every single public employee in the State of Nevada,” explained Nevada Policy Research Institute Transparency Director Robert Fellner.

This inadvertent error is the result of language that appears to not recognize that active public employees are all PERS members, regardless of whether or not they are currently retired.

Consequently, when delineating the few pieces of information that are public, but making “all other information” about a PERS member confidential, SB384 makes confidential the name of all retired and active public employees.

As damaging as SB384’s original intent is to transparency, the actual result of the current language would place every Nevada government in a position to continually violate state law. The unintended consequence of SB384 would make it impossible for most government entities to even function.

“Imagine a school district being legally required to keep the names of teachers secret,” said Fellner. “This law would do just that. As worded, even the names of judges and other elected officials would have to, somehow, be made confidential.”

“It isn’t hard to see that, beyond the transparency issues, this bill would make it impossible for government to function in a lawful manner.”

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Las Vegas Metro corrections officer nearly quadruples $83,000 salary to $306,000 with OT, benefits

For Immediate Release
Contact: Robert Fellner, 702-222-0642

Seven Las Vegas Metropolitan corrections officers received overtime (OT) payouts over $100,000 last year, according to newly released public pay data from TransparentNevada.com.

The data reveals that Metro corrections officer Jason Scott collected a $146,747 OT payout last year — the largest of the more than 125,000 government workers surveyed.

A $146,216 OT payout helped boost Metro corrections officer Duane Jensen’s $83,752 salary to $306,605 in total compensation, which includes benefits and additional pay beyond regular salary.

In fact, 8 of the top 10 highest OT payout statewide went to Metro corrections officers. After Jensen and Scott, the next three highest OT payouts were:

  • Corrections officer Tammie Lavender collected $273,513 in total compensation, with $128,098 coming from OT.
  • Corrections officer Brenda Rowland collected $265,606 in total compensation, with $121,204 coming from OT.
  • Corrections officer Michael Dryden collected $265,984 in total compensation, with $117,643 coming from OT.

Metro wages among highest nationwide

Average pay for Metro’s correctional officers and supervisors both ranked among the highest nationwide, according to NPRI’s transparency director Robert Fellner.

“The average salary earned by corrections officers and supervisors at Nevada’s local governments surpasses what 90 percent of their peers nationwide received,” said Fellner.

The average Metro corrections officer received a regular salary of $77,286 and $153,526 in total compensation, while the average Metro correctional supervisor received a $101,351 base salary and $192,323 in total compensation.

A survey of TransparentNevada.com salary data for corrections officers at the cities of Henderson, Las Vegas, Mesquite and North Las Vegas revealed virtually identical numbers to those found at Metro.

By comparison, the average wage for correctional officers and jailers nationwide was just $45,320 in 2015, with supervisors of correctional officers earning $59,720, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

While salaries at Nevada’s local governments are near national-high levels, the State is closer to average — a disparity directly attributable to the broken collective bargaining regime found at the local level, according to Fellner.

“Unsurprisingly, mandatory secretive collective bargaining at Nevada’s local governments has driven public pay to astronomical heights, burdening taxpayers and reducing services. Ironically, the State is now going to increase wages in an attempt to catch up with the skyrocketing salaries paid by local governments, leading to a never-ending upwards spiral of higher pay, higher government spending and, consequently, higher taxes.”

A new year means a new $500,000+ Metro cop

In addition to the state’s highest OT payouts, Metro also had the largest payout for unused leave statewide, with former assistant sheriff Kirk Primas collecting $369,445 from unused leave immediately before drawing an $183,000 annual retirement allowance.

This practice also accounts for most of outgoing deputy chief James Owens’ $576,222 total compensation package — the largest of any Metro worker.

The next three highest compensated Metro workers were:

  • Retired police captain Robert Duvall: $460,487.
  • Retired police captain Brett Primas: $453,168.
  • Retired police captain Michael Dalley $443,282.

An inefficient and counterproductive approach to compensation

2016 also saw the departure of Metro’s Criminalistics Bureau executive director Tracy Birch. Birch is widely recognized as one of the department’s top employees, whose departure “will create a substantial void in the department, as her span of knowledge and experience is unrivaled,” according to Metro.

Birch’s departure demonstrates how the current pension system actually incentivizes good employees to leave the system, according to Fellner. The fact that state law caps the accrual of future pension wealth after 30 years provides little incentive for Birch to continue working, even if she were willing to do so.

“Nevada state law distributes pension wealth in an incredibly uneven fashion, penalizing both those who leave the system too soon, while also forcing out the most valuable and experienced employees after just 30 years,” explained Fellner. “A sane compensation approach would encourage the most valuable and experienced employees to continue working, if they so desired, instead of forcing them out of the workforce a full decade or more before normal retirement age.”

After a nearly 32 year career, Birch will now begin collecting a $139,000 annual pension, an amount equal to over 90 percent of the $152,000 wage — which includes regular salary plus longevity pay — she collected in 2015.

Las Vegas manager gets a $38,500 raise for ‘gender equity issues’

Last year, the Las Vegas City Council awarded city manager Elizabeth Fretwell a $38,500 bonus to address “gender equity issues,” which bumped Fretwell’s total pay to $323,875, and $408,450 when benefits are included.

Drawing on data from Transparent Nevada’s sister site, TransparentCalifornia.com, it is clear that the bonus helped push her earnings well above her peers.

“Even managers in cities that are significantly larger and have a much higher cost of living — like San Diego and San Francisco — don’t take home that kind of cash earnings,” explained Fellner.

The below chart lists the earnings of city managers or comparable administrators at several California and Nevada cities. The earnings for Nevada cities reflect the 2016 calendar year, while the data for California cities is from the 2015 year. The data excludes benefits and reflects cash earnings only:

To view the entire dataset in a searchable and downloadable format, please visit TransparentNevada.com.

Total compensation is defined as total wages plus the employer-cost of health and retirement benefits.

For more information or to schedule an interview with NPRI, please contact Robert Fellner at 702-222-0642 or RF@npri.org.

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TransparentNevada.com is a project of the Nevada Policy Research Institute. Nevada Policy fights to make sure Nevadans keep more of their hard-earned money by exposing wasteful government spending and promoting low-tax solutions to Nevada’s economic challenges. The Institute also supports a transparent and open government.

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Media Mentions

All Media Mentions

CCSD Administrators Hiring Outpaces Teachers over Past Decade

Policy director, Geoff Lawrence, was interviewed about CCSD’s hiring trend.

This North Las Vegas official quit in May. He made $1M anyway

Las Vegas Review-Journal article featuring interview with Policy Director, Geoff Lawrence

November Could Determine Future of Ranked Choice Voting in US Elections

Daily Signal article featuring quotes by Nevada Policy President, John Tsarpalas

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