Fate of Nevada parole board could go to voters
CARSON CITY — Nevada voters may decide if the state will change the structure of the board that grants pardons.
Senate Joint Resolution 1, heard Tuesday in the Assembly Corrections, Parole and Probation Committee, would replace the State Board of Pardons Commissioners with a Clemency Board.
Currently members of the pardons board are the governor, the seven Nevada Supreme Court justices and the attorney general. SJR1 would change the state constitution so that the governor, supreme court chief justice and attorney general would each appoint three members to the nine-person panel.
The appointed members, state Sen. David Parks said, “would have the expertise and time to make evaluations regarding the appropriateness” of pardons.
Parks, D-Las Vegas, said the changes would modernize the board, also requiring it to meet at least four times a year. Parks said it is difficult to arrange meetings — now done about once a year — given the busy schedules of the prominent members.
“You create this new clemency board and they are able to meet more frequently,” said Assemblyman James Ohrenschall, the committee’s chairman. Ohrenschall, D-Las Vegas, is also sponsoring the proposal.
The measure has passed the Senate with a 20-0 vote. To become successful, the resolution would need to pass the Legislature this session and again in the 2019 session.
It would then go to voters for final approval in the 2020 general election.
A similar resolution passed in 2009, but it died in 2011.
Contact Ben Botkin at bbotkin@reviewjournal.com or 775-461-0661. Follow @BenBotkin1 on Twitter.
State models for granting pardons:
- Four states, including Nevada, use a board that the governor sits on. The other states are Florida, Minnesota and Nebraska.
- Other states use a variety of methods, including advisory boards, independent boards, or no boards with a consultation process.
Source: The Collateral Consequences Resource Center.
