Nevada Gov. Kenny Guinn exercised his veto powers April 7 – for the first time this session – by killing a bill to increase fees paid by insurers to cover costs of two new staffers in a state office that investigates insurance fraud.
Guinn chief of staff Mike Hillerby confirmed the veto during a Senate Finance Committee meeting, explaining that money for the two positions in the attorney general’s office already is in Guinn’s proposed budget and so there’s no need for AB 135.
“This is not a confrontational thing,” Hillerby said after the meeting. “We just don’t need this.”
Hillerby said a veto wouldn’t have been necessary if the bill was recalled by legislators. But that wasn’t possible because the Assembly didn’t schedule a floor session for April 7 – the deadline for a veto of AB 135.
Without a veto or a recall of the bill – a process that requires votes by both the Assembly and Senate – it would have become law automatically, even without Guinn’s signature.
Hillerby said a reserve fund for the insurance fraud unit can be tapped for the two new staff positions, and that would still leave about $200,000 in reserve after two years.
The fee increase would have required insurers to pay between $1,000 and $4,000 a year, depending on how much business they have. Now they pay between $750 and $2,000 to help fund the insurance fraud office.
Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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