Law Maker or Law Breaker? Nevada continues to violate its own Constitution!
“We are only against using tax dollars to staff a union”
Carson City NV.
May 26, 2015
Nevada Assembly Bill 182 was heard today in the Ways and Means Committee. Testimony was taken for and against the bill. One of the provisions in the bill calls for tax dollars not to be used to pay people for their time serving on union boards.
Testimony was taking from people in Las Vegas that were for the bill, including Steve Sanson President Veterans In Politics International, Richard Carreon Veterans In Politics Nevada Chapter and Steve Brown.
Carreon states that people whose wages and compensation are paid for by the tax payers are public workers. Times are tough with battles being waged on how to pay for services. In these battles all government workers should realize that tax payers come first. Everyday Nevadans do not have deep pockets in comparison to corporations on the strip. What Nevadans pay in taxes are not voluntary and they deserve to have services like public safety and education to be of quality, services they were promised.
Sanson pointed out that the (LVPPA) Las Vegas Police Protection Association has eight police officers who solely work for the union: Officers Chris Collins, Mark Chaparian, Thomas Reid, Mike Ramirez, Steve Grammas, Darryl Clodt, Scott Nicholas and Bryan Yant.
Each officer averages $160,000 annually with benefits, for a combined total of $1,280,000.
It is time that tax payers eliminate all funding to staffing Executive Boards for Unions.
If we pay for teachers they should be in the classroom, if we pay for Fire Fighters they should be putting out fires, if we pay for police they should be patrolling our streets.
These police officers do not do ANY police work. All they do is protect police officers when they screw up, no matter how badly!
If the unions need employees then they should hire and pay for their own employees from their dues! not on the shoulders of tax payers!
According to Chris Collins the Director of the LVPPA, every time he testifies he makes sure he says that he represents 4000 law enforcement officers.
If the average union dues is $40 per month at $480 per year and all of his 4000 members paid the same amount that would give him $1,920,000 minimum!
We are tired of tax payers paying to protect officers when they screw up.
We are tired of tax payers paying lobbyist to rule against the will of the people.
We are tired of tax payers paying for political favors and calling it charity or campaign donations.
The unions should do that NOT the tax payers, isn’t that what their dues are for?????
Clark County taxpayers pay at least $4.6 million a year for at least 70,000 hours of union-related release time.
Union officials of the Las Vegas Police Protective Association, for example, received over $1 million a year for 15,500 hours of release time.
Could you imaging putting that time on our streets; our former Sheriff Doug Gillespie echoed a need for more police officers in the last session!
Violating the Nevada Constitution
Sanson cautioned the committee on the violation of Nevada Constitution.
Nevada’s gift clause — Article 8, Section 9 of the Silver State’s constitution — says:
The State shall not donate or loan money, or its credit, subscribe to or be, interested in the Stock of any company, association, or corporation, except corporations formed for educational or charitable purposes.
Sanson said we have been braking our own laws for a very long time and calling it “Collective Bargaining”.
In Arizona it was held “Unconstitutional” to use tax money to pay for staffing of a private entity that collects union dues.
The only way to avoid violating the State Constitution is to amend it, until then the Constitution as written is being violated.
Nevada clause is deemed sufficiently similar to Arizona’s; this is a tough argument for the union to win.
In order for the Nevada unions to do what they are doing right now they would NEED to Amend the Nevada State Constitution. Below is how to do so.
Amending the Nevada State Constitution:
An amendment can be proposed in either chamber of the state legislature.
A majority of the members of both chambers must approve the proposed amendment.
After the next general election for members of the state legislature, the proposed amendment must be considered again, and again approved by a majority of the members of both chambers.
The state legislature can call a special election for the proposed amendment(s) if they wish.
The amendment is then put to a vote of the people. If “a majority of the electors qualified to vote for members of the Legislature voting thereon” vote in favor of it, the measure becomes part of the constitution unless it is precluded by Section 2 of Article 19.
If two amendments are proposed at the same election that contradict each other, the one that gets the most votes becomes part of the constitution.
Section 2 of Article 16 governs constitutional conventions.
If two-thirds of the Nevada State Legislature votes in favor, a question about whether to hold a constitutional convention goes on a statewide ballot. That election must be held at the same time as an election is being held for members of the state legislature (that is, a constitutional convention question can’t go on a special election ballot).
A majority vote — but not a simple majority vote — of the statewide electorate is required to generate a convention: “In determining what is a majority of the electors voting at such election, reference shall be had to the highest number of votes cast at such election for the candidates for any office or on any question.”
Sections 2 and 3 of Article 19 govern initiated constitutional amendments.
Signatures equaling 10% of the number of voters who voted at the last preceding general election must be collected to qualify an amendment for the ballot, and these signatures are subject to a distribution requirement.
If an initiated constitutional amendment wins in one election, it must win again at the next general election in an even-numbered year for it to become part of the constitution.
Nevada is the only state that requires that a citizen-initiated amendment be voted on twice. The same requirement does not apply to legislatively-referred constitutional amendments in the state.
(VIPI) Veterans In Politics International
Steve Sanson President VIPI
Karen Steelmon Auxiliary Director VIPI
Richard Carreon President VIP Nevada Chapter
Vicky Maltman Auxiliary Director VIP Northern Nevada Chapter
Dennis Egge President VIP Hawaii Chapter
Reginald Angus Argue President VIP Canada Chapter
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