Oceguera declines to hold votes on Gibbons’ vetoes

CARSON CITY -- Assembly Speaker John Oceguera decided Friday against holding votes to override vetoes by then-Gov. Jim Gibbons almost two years ago.

"Unless there is an overriding reason to bring them up, they will stay where they are (on a desk)," Oceguera said in an interview. "Some of them will come back in a new form, maybe with some tweaks (later in the legislative session)."

Gibbons' vetoes included that of Assembly Bill 395, which would have given state employees the right to collectively bargain for better working conditions and to handle grievances. It would not have given them the right to collectively bargain for salary and benefit increases.

The former governor vetoed a record 48 bills passed by the 2009 Legislature, and legislators secured the two-thirds vote necessary to override 25 of them.

The four that the Assembly could have considered Friday were vetoed right after the 2009 session. Because the votes came after that session, it was up to the new Assembly to consider whether to override or sustain the vetoes.

Oceguera acknowledged that he might have lacked the necessary two-thirds of the votes needed to override Gibbons' vetoes.

He said legislators did not "have a great relationship with the former governor, but it has been different this time" and work can be done to refine the bills to try to win bipartisan support.

Gov. Brian Sandoval has said he will work with legislators on bills to reform collective bargaining laws. He even asked the Legislature not to discuss a Gibbons bill that would have allowed local governments and school districts to do away with collective bargaining.

Nevada state workers do not have any collective bargaining rights now and the head of a union that represents state employees was disappointed the Assembly won't take up a veto override.

But Vishnu Subramaniam, chief of staff of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 4041, added he had done a count and realized there are not enough votes to override the veto.

"We want to be equal partners in the workplace and have rights of other public employees," Subramaniam said. "If there is something they are working on, then we hope to see it. Overriding the veto would have helped boost morale at a time when state employees are taking a lot of cuts."

Votes were not taken on three other bills vetoed by Gibbons:

■ Assembly Bill 130, which would have required the Clark County sheriff to serve as the sole negotiator with Metropolitan Police Department employee unions on contracts.

■ Assembly Bill 451, which would have set up a state program to require banks to offer lower-interest loans to small businesses in Nevada.

■ Assembly Bill 503, which would have created an advisory committee to come up with recommendations for funding highway construction in the state.

Contact Capital Bureau Chief Ed Vogel at evogel@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3901.