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Nevada just witnessed
the political equivalent of Shootout at the OK Corral. On one side was the full power of
the Nevada government, and on the other side was a grandmother armed with a pen, a
petition and a clipboard.
Janine Hansen is one of the leaders of a grassroots effort to require public officials
to obey the Nevada state constitution. Their petition drive has struck fear in Nevada
public officials seeking higher taxes.
Imagine that — forcing public officials to obey the constitution! In 1996, Nevada
voters amended their constitution to require a two-thirds vote of the legislature before a
tax increase could become law.
The legislators and the governor tried to ignore this requirement, and the governor
secretly obtained prior assurances from the Nevada supreme court that it would give
judicial blessing to the deal to bypass the constitution.
Janine Hansen began gathering signatures on petitions to put the tax issue on the
ballot so voters could have the last word. She took her effort to a large public bus
station in downtown Reno known as the CitiCenter.
Built with taxpayers' money, CitiCenter is open to all except, apparently, those
collecting signatures to hold government accountable to voters. Despite a 2001 law
mandating that the facility allow petition drives for properly registered initiatives, the
agency in charge had other plans.
"High noon" occurred during rush hour on Thursday, May 6th. Janine Hansen and
her son were collecting signatures for a referendum to overturn the tax increase, and
CitiCenter managers set out to stop her.
Less than two weeks earlier, officials had stopped the collection of signatures for
this referendum at a Department of Motor Vehicles office in Reno while allowing petition
gathering for a public school initiative. The governor's office later admitted it was
improper to interfere with the tax referendum effort there.
But the Regional Transportation Commission, which runs CitiCenter, was determined to
stop Mrs. Hansen at the bus station. Officers approached her and demanded that she cease
and desist.
"They told us to stop gathering signatures," Mrs. Hansen said. "I told
them their policy was a violation of state law."
Nevada Secretary of State Dean Heller had issued a letter explaining that petition
signatures may be collected without notice at public facilities in accordance with state
law. Mrs. Hansen explained, "We said we could, and weren't going to stop, so they
arrested us. We weren't going to follow some illegal edict by a petty bureaucrat."
Photographers snapped pictures of an armed policeman handcuffing Mrs. Hansen's wrists
behind her back. After all, if her hands were free, she might have been able to gather
more names on her petition.
Next came the ride to the local jail, where Mrs. Hansen and her son were incarcerated
with unsavory types in a community cell until one o'clock a.m. Mrs. Hansen was sustained
during this demoralizing experience by knowing she was in the right.
The transportation center remained unapologetic, demanding the power to arrest all
those who gather signatures unless they fill out a detailed government form, specify
future dates for the petition activity, and obtain prior approval from a bureaucrat.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal asked, "Why are these people being harassed, and even
jailed? ... You remember the Constitution, don't you, officers? It's that faded old
document that charges you with protecting our liberties -- the reason citizens fund your
paychecks."
The battleground then shifted to the courthouse. Finally on a level playing field, the
grandmother routed her more powerful opponents.
After hearing exhaustive testimony and working late into the night, state district
judge Kenneth C. Cory handed Mrs. Hansen total victory. He enjoined the transportation
center, the director of Motor Vehicles and other public entities from "intimidating
or preventing" Mrs. Hansen and her associates "from the full enjoyment of their
constitutional rights to free speech and to obtain signatures of individuals on initiative
and referendum petitions."
Judge Cory also extended the deadline for collecting signatures to qualify for the
ballot. It now appears likely that the voters will be able to repudiate the massive tax
increase that was rammed through the legislature.
A second referendum supported by Mrs. Hansen may also be put to the voters. Recognizing
the problem of legislators who are also employed by state or local government, she seeks
an independent legislature free from government bias.
When government employees also serve in the legislature or other elective office, that
provides a powerful incentive to continue the cycle of tax-and-spend. Thanks to the
valiant efforts of Janine Hansen, it looks like Nevadans will have the opportunity both to
roll back a tax increase and to improve their system of government. |
