Hotel room tax hike becomes law without Gibbons action

Gov. Jim Gibbons on Wednesday forwarded the hotel room tax increase approved by the Legislature to the secretary of state to become law without his signature.

Gibbons has been widely criticized for neither vetoing nor signing the tax increase he proposed in his budget framework. Under Nevada law, after five days on the governor's desk without action, a bill becomes law.

"This bill was neither signed nor vetoed and therefore has become law," Gibbons stated in the short formal letter to Secretary of State Ross Miller.

Voters in Clark and Washoe counties approved an advisory question on November's ballot to raise room taxes in those counties by as much as 3 percentage points up to a 13 percent rate, with proceeds going to education.

The initiative came out of a deal between the state teachers union and some casino companies.

The tax is expected to raise more than $200 million in state revenue for the 2009-10 biennial budget.