Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval vetoes three more bills

CARSON CITY — With vetoes of three more bills, including one that might have led to more Democrats voting, Gov. Brian Sandoval now has vetoed 12 bills approved by the 2013 Legislature.

The latest vetoes, made late Friday, include Assembly Bill 440, which would have allowed people to register to vote as late as 5 p.m. before the Tuesday election. Because early voting occurs the two weeks before election day, the bill also would have allowed people to register and immediately vote at early voting places.

The secretary of state’s office wanted the bill because 7,000 people registered too late last fall to vote in the general election. Political observers generally believe late registration deadlines help Democrats more than Republicans.

Sandoval has promised to veto AB 440 ever since it passed the Legislature May 29 on a nearly party-line vote. In his veto message, Sandoval wrote that people now can register as late as three weeks before an election.

“There is no indication these deadlines are detrimental to Nevada’s voting process, or need to be changed,” he wrote.

Sandoval also vetoed AB 240, saying the bill would end the 30-year-old legal doctrine that in a wrongful death or injury case, a negligent defendant is “limited to his or her proportionate share of fault.”

He added that Nevada and others states have moved away from the doctrine of “joint and several liability,” which “unfairly exposes defendants to liability on their ability to pay, not their share of fault.”

The bill was approved without opposition in the Assembly, but all 10 Senate Republicans opposed it. Assemblyman James Ohrenschall, D-Las Vegas, sponsored the bill.

The governor also vetoed Senate Bill 312, which would give the Department of Motor Vehicles regulatory control over victim impact panels, which review driving deaths caused by drinking or drugs.

Sandoval said there was “no compelling reason” given why the DMV should regulate these organizations. Most legislative Republicans opposed the bill, sponsored by Sen. Mark Manendo, D-Las Vegas.

Sandoval signed into law Assembly Bill 58, which allows veterans with at least a 10 percent disability rating to visit state parks and recreational areas for free, as well as 10 minor bills.

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