Annual sessions proposed

CARSON CITY -- Nevada's every-other-year legislative sessions would be changed to every year under the latest of many such attempts to be proposed by state lawmakers.

Assemblyman Tick Segerblom, D-Las Vegas, author of the latest plan, says Nevada is one of only a few states with biennial sessions, and for this state they're "a relic of the past."

"You can see by the current budget crisis we can't address state problems every other year. Other states our size all have annual sessions," Segerblom said following introduction Thursday of his Assembly Joint Resolution 6, which would amend the Nevada Constitution to permit the change.

Also signing onto AJR6 as co-sponsors were 22 other Assembly members, including Speaker Barbara Buckley and Majority Leader John Oceguera, both D-Las Vegas, and six senators including Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford, D-Las Vegas.

AJR6 would keep the existing 120 day legislative session in odd-numbered years but add a 60-day session in the even years. Segerblom said the even-year session would deal primarily with the budget but wouldn't be restricted to that subject.

The amendment also would provide that lawmakers be paid for every day of regular sessions in which they serve. The current language in the constitution limits their pay to just the first 60 days of session -- the original limit on the length of session. When the 120-day limit was installed in 1997, the language limiting pay for lawmakers wasn't changed.