NEVADA - TELL LEGISLATORS TO VOTE 'NO' ON SB 75

CLARK COUNTY REPUBLICAN PARTY

The CCRP concurs with the Citizen Outreach’s recommendation to call or e-mail Republican Senator Kieckhefer (bkieckhefer@sen.state.nv.us) and urge him to “Please vote against SB 75.”

  

Article 8, Section 9 of Nevada’s Constitution prohibits the state from lending money to any company or private corporation “except corporations formed for educational or charitable purposes.”

Knowing how badly and inefficiently the government runs the post office, Amtrak, the DMV, our public schools – why in the world should Nevada taxpayers trust it to act as a bank lending money with taxpayer dollars?

And why in the world should Nevada taxpayers trust Treasurer Kate Marshall - who already “blew $50 million in taxpayer money on a Wall Street gamble” in the Lehman Bros. debacle – to serve as the state’s banker and lending officer?

Three ballot initiative attempts…in 1992, 1996 and 2000…to amend the Constitution and allow Nevada’s government to enter the bank lending business have been defeated by Nevada’s taxpayers by huge margins.

But that isn’t stopping Kate Marshall and Senate Democrats from trying an end-run around the Constitution with SB 75 – “The Private Equity Subsidy Act.”

The state can’t lend money to private corporations, but it can lend money to non-profits, and SB 75 would set up a non-profit funding entity, using taxpayer dollars, for the purpose lending money to private corporations engaged in favored (some might say “politically correct”) businesses such as health care, cyber-security, and alternative energy.

It’s being sold as “economic development,” but it’s risky and it puts Nevada taxpayers on the hook if Treasurer Marshall blows another deal like she did with the Lehman Bros. “investment.”

And if all ten Republican state senators vote no, all they would need is one Democrat state senator to vote with them to kill this idea for a fourth time. 

The good news is that Republicans reportedly have the one Democrat they need to kill this bill: Sen. John Lee.

The bad news is that they’re reportedly in jeopardy of losing one of the Republicans they need to kill this bill: Sen. Ben Kieckhefer. 

The vote is now scheduled to occur today, Monday, May 9, 2011. 

If you can spare 30 seconds or so, please shoot Sen. Kieckhefer a short email (bkieckhefer@sen.state.nv.us) with simply the following in the subject line:

Please vote against SB 75.

  

And if you have a couple additional minutes available today, why not give him a short call with the same message.  If he doesn’t answer, just leave him a voice-mail: (775) 684-1450.

Again, PLEASE…no threats, no anger and no profanity. Be forceful, but courteous.