Term Limits

The state Supreme Court's term limits decision on Friday was hardly a surprise. The court ruled that the term limit amendment was properly approved and in so doing, side-stepped its own role in changing the amendment's language between passages to exempt the judicial branch from the measure's reach. Similarly, the court's decision to exclude local elected officials from seeking office again, while upholding the right of state legislators to run in 2008 was not unexpected. Nonetheless, the episode was revealing on a couple of fronts.

First and as been discussed prior in this space, the whole mess demonstrates the frailty of the ballot initiative process as a means to craft public policy. Pushed by interest groups, often times from out of state, ballot measures tend to be poorly written and full of unintended consequences.

In a sweeping ruling handed down Friday by the Nevada Supreme Court, 21 elected officials in the state have been ruled ineligible to run for re-election because of term limits. In a separate ruling, 13 others, including the state Assembly speaker and state Senate majority leader, were ruled eligible to run for re-election.

Nevada voters approved term limits in 1996. Friday's ruling examined when exactly they kicked in for local officials and state lawmakers.

Term limits are ruled constitutional. Seperate opinions were issued on the legislative challenge and all others.

For the lazy: Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley (D-Las Vegas), Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio and all legislators are still on the ballot, Clark County Commissioner Bruce Woodbury and elected officials other than legislators are off the ballot.

WALLY MEMO

TO: Honorable members of the Nevada Supreme Court

FROM: Wally Edge

RE: Term Limits Decision

It has come to my attention that a final decision has not been announced in the term limits case, although arguments started weeks ago.

Two possibilities may exist:

(1) You may not be aware of the election calendar this year and the fact that early voting for some involved in the case starts Saturday.

Clark County Commissioner Brian Scroggins? Senator Sharron Angle? Assemblyman Kevin Child? The race for all three candidates may get a boost today as the Nevada Supreme Court continues to hear arguments in the term limit cases.

Potentially at risk are Clark County Commissioner Bruce Woodbury, state Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio and Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley. Many others originally elected at the same time could be caught up in a sweeping purge if the court rules a strict adherance to the 12-year intent of the term limit initiative.

LAS VEGAS-Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez-Masto has submitted a petition to the state Supreme Court, asking for clarification of the state's term limits laws, according to the Associated Press.

The term limits law, passed in 1996, limits legislators and other officials to twelve years of service.  Controversy has arisen because some officials, like Clark County Commissioner Bruce Woodbury, believe that term limits only went into effect beginning with the next election in 1998.  Woodbury has served on the Clark County Commission since 1981.

Assemblyman John Marvel (R-Battle Mountain).LAS VEGAS-The 2008 election may be a landmark year for Nevada, with control of the state senate and a possible Democratic assembly supermajority both hanging on only one seat.  Perhaps more important, however, assuming term limits hold, is that 2008 will be the last election for eighteen  veteran state legislators, including the assembly's longest-serving member, Republican John Marvel.

Marvel, 80, has represented his home of Battle Mountain and Assembly District 32 for thirty years and reflected on his career and his last reelection with PolitickerNV.com earlier this week.

Clark County Commissioner Bruce Woodbury.LAS VEGAS-Secretary of State Ross Miller's office issued challenges today against the candidacies of Clark County Commissioner Bruce Woodbury, Clark County School District Trustees Mary Beth Scow and Ruth Leola Johnson, Humboldt County School Board member Linda Schrempp and university regents Howard Rosenberg and Thalia Dondero.