Las Vegas NowNevada lawmakers reject governor's veto
Associated Press - May 22, 2009 5:25 PM ET
CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) - A day after a bill authorizing the state's water engineer to impose higher fees was vetoed by Gov. Jim Gibbons, Nevada lawmakers overrode him and enacted the measure.
The Senate voted unanimously to reject Gibbons' veto of AB480. That followed the Assembly's 37-4 override vote on Thursday. The action was the first of its sort since 1989, when legislators rejected a veto of a pension increase they approved for themselves. That increase was later erased in a special session.
Lawmakers who sought the fees said the state engineer's office faced staffing cuts under Gibbon's budget and needed adequate funding to oversee water supplies in Nevada, the nation's most arid state.
While legislators rejected the Republican governor's veto of AB480, party-line Senate votes preserved his vetoes of bills dealing with consumer health assistance and penalties for taking stacks of free periodicals from news racks.
Gibbons also rejected a measure authorizing the Washoe County Commission to enact a voter-approved gas tax increase. No override vote on SB201 has been scheduled yet.
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