Lobbyist spending rate higher

CARSON CITY -- Three-quarters of the way through the 2009 Nevada Legislature, lobbyists have spent $124,858 on food and drinks at dinners, receptions and other events held to promote their clients' interests.

The spending shows the lobbyists are ahead of the pace of the 2007 session. Two years ago, spending at the same point was $120,724.

The February-April spending this year included $121,826 on group events, and another $3,032 on individual legislators, according to the report compiled by the Legislative Counsel Bureau.

The $3,032 for individual legislators is low compared with the group event spending, but that's because there's no lawmaker-by-lawmaker spending breakdown for big events to which all Assembly members and senators, as well as many nonlegislators, were invited.

A breakdown of the $3,032 in spending on individual legislators through April shows that Senate Energy, Infrastructure and Transportation Chairman Mike Schneider, D-Las Vegas, was No. 1, getting $539 in food and drinks from lobbyists.

Assembly Corrections, Parole and Probation Chairman William Horne, D-Las Vegas, was second at $475; followed by Sen. Dennis Nolan, R-Las Vegas, at $203; Assembly Commerce and Labor Chairman Marcus Conklin, D-Las Vegas, at $192; and Assembly Transportation Chairman Kelvin Atkinson, D-North Las Vegas, at $170.

Rounding out the top 10 were Senate Commerce and Labor Chairwoman Maggie Carlton, D-Las Vegas, at $165; Senate Taxation Chairman Bob Coffin, D-Las Vegas, at $134; Assembly Taxation Chairwoman Kathy McClain, D-Las Vegas, at $111; Assemblyman Tick Segerblom, D-Las Vegas, at $101; and Assemblyman Chad Christensen, R-Las Vegas, at $95.

Lobbyists reported spending nothing on 26 of the 63 lawmakers, and $20 or less on 11 others.

The most expensive gatherings held for lawmakers and others in April included a Stand Out for Equality reception that cost $2,370; a reception sponsored by the Nevada Press Association that cost $1,881; and a Nevada Library Association event that cost $1,800.

Besides the group events, the lobbyists filed information showing one-on-one meetings with lawmakers and money spent. At the head of that list was Tim Crowley, representing the Nevada Mining Association, at $255.

Other top-spending advocates included Morgan Baumgartner, with multiple clients, at $195; NV Energy lobbyist Judy Stokey at $184; Jennifer Simich of Republic Services at $173; Brian McAnallen of EMBARQ at $172; Victoria Riley of Citizens for Justice and Nevada Justice Association at $172; Bill Gregory, representing Southwest Gas, contractors and other clients at $96; and former Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins, with numerous clients, at $92.

Critics of the sketchy reports say there's likely to be some nonreporting or underreporting by some of the 970 registered advocates, including 570 paid lobbyists. However, there's no way to prove it since there's no follow-up accounting or auditing.