Inside Politics - April 2003

Living in “East California”

Nanny State Influences Its Neighbor

by Scott Craigie

When Assemblyman Ron Knecht, R-Carson City, introduced a bill in February that, among other things, proposed Nevada be renamed East California, he was tapping into one of our most basic communal loathings. Ingrained into every person who is born or moves into the Battle Born state is the unifying message of the Nevadan culture: We are not California!

When Nevada legislators want to pass a bill, they warn, "Otherwise, we’ll end up like California." To defeat a bill, of course, they promote the message that the bill would make our laws just like those in California. Voters will hang any Silver State legislator who tries that – and that includes voters who just got here last week.

We don’t want more taxes, like California has. They tax everything and everyone – and even with all those taxes, they can’t seem to help their decaying infrastructure. Nevadans believe that if you drive for two hours to get to work, you should arrive at an office at least 150 miles away, not just across the valley.

We don’t want traffic and congestion, like California has. We won’t allow intrusive taxes or nuisance laws or oppressive, burdensome regulations like California does. Don’t get me wrong. I am a Nevadan, too, and react with horror at the thought Nevada could become like California.

The spirit of Nevadans’ collective attitude toward California is probably captured best in the tag the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s opinion page often pins on our neighboring state. When decrying California’s abusive tax and regulatory polices for businesses and residents, the paper calls California the "Nanny State."

California’s bureaucracy is second only to that in Washington, D.C. It has laws for everything, including (so I hear) regulating when and how you can use leaf blowers. The entire state operates as though it has been taken over by your worst nightmare of a Homeowner’s Association.

So how bizarre is it that this year’s top tier of issues before the Nevada Legislature so closely reflects California’s? The toughest puzzles raging through Nevada’s 72nd legislative session all have California overtones.

For the first time, Nevada’s deficit is now described as close to a billion dollars – decidedly a California word. And everyone’s top five list of reasons to broaden our tax base onto non-gaming industries includes – you guessed it – California gaming. How dare California try to become a gaming Mecca? Let them stick to grapes, quiche and movies.

Construction defect lawsuits returned to Nevada’s 2003 session with a vengeance. True, in San Francisco the median price of a house has reached $1 million, a far cry above anything we see in the Silver State. Nevertheless, defects lawsuits imported here from the Nanny State have nearly shut down construction of affordable townhouses, are driving prices for starter homes out of reach for average wage earners and are increasing the purchase price for almost all new homes.

Tort reforms contained in the "Keep Our Doctors in Nevada" initiative petition are drawn from California’s MICRA laws passed three decades ago. Yet, you almost never hear "MICRA" said out loud – the mere mention of a tie to California law casts a pall on the discussion.

Of course, there are silver linings. In California, you have to call days in advance to get an appointment with your legislator’s aide. Meanwhile, Nevada’s legislators are among the nation’s most approachable – the majority of people reading this article likely have shared opinions with at least one Nevada elected official recently. Nevada’s legislators take calls and answer their own mail.

And even if your legislator doesn’t vote your way every time, you know in the near future you’ll have the opportunity to talk to him or her about it. Take that, Nanny State!

Scott Craigie
Scott Craigie served as Governor Bob Miller’s Chief of Staff through three regular legislative sessions. He currently is a legislative lobbyist representing numerous business interests.