One of Nevada’s Republican state senators who has steadfastly refused to sign the Taxpayer Protection Pledge called on legislators yesterday to put a tax hike on the ballot next year.
Sen. Dennis Nolan (R-Las Vegas), Chairman of the Senate Transportation and Homeland Security Committee, said that since Gov. Jim Gibbons - who HAS signed the “no new taxes” pledge - won’t raise taxes, then legislators should put a tax hike on the ballot and let voters decide if they want to raise taxes to pay for new highway construction.
Asking taxpayers if they want their taxes raised isn’t, in and of itself, a bad idea - if Nolan’s suggestion wasn’t so hypocritical. Why didn’t Sen. Nolan and the Legislature allow voters to vote on that gargantuan tax hike they imposed on their own in 2003? Why do voters only get to vote on *some* tax hikes, Sen. Nolan?
The fact is, voters HAVE already spoken on this issue. Gov. Jim Gibbons ran on a platform which was unequivocal. He said he wouldn’t raise taxes…period. He even put his pledge in writing. His Democrat opponent, state Sen. Dina Titus, took no such pledge. And the voters elected Jim Gibbons.
I don’t know about you, but I haven’t run into anyone at the grocery store or anywhere else clamoring, “Tax us more! Tax us more!” There is no groundswell of public demand for higher taxes to build more roads. To the contrary, what I hear is that maybe the government should set better priorities and use existing money for non-essential government programs to fix our traffic problems. Like that $2.1 million slated for a children’s museum in Reno.
In pushing to put the matter on the ballot as an initiative, Sen. Nolan said, “When citizens are shown what will happen if we don’t undertake these (highway construction) projects, I think they would prefer to pay a little bit more than to sit in traffic.”
Maybe yes, maybe no.
But if Sen. Nolan wants to let the voters decide on a tax hike for roads, he should have to do the same thing that Sen. Bob Beers had to do last year in his effort to limit government spending (the TASC initiative). He should file a petition with the Secretary of State and then go out himself to drum up support and get some 80,000 citizens to sign up asking to put the matter on the ballot.
Seriously. Why should one we have to gather 80,000 signatures to place a measure on the ballot to limit government spending, but not to raise taxes? Sen. Nolan’s idea to have legislators put a tax hike on the ballot next year should be DOA.
And if the good senator wanted to take the hypocrisy out of his call to let the voters vote on a tax hike to build roads, he’d introduce legislation which would REQUIRE a vote of the people for EVERY proposed tax hike he and his colleagues might approve in the Legislature in the future.
How to contact Sen. Nolan:
Phone: 775-684-1421
Email: dnolan@sen.state.nv.us
Posted on February 14th, 2007 by Chuck Muth
Filed under: Nevada
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