Senate panel backs emergency money for Nevada Supreme Court
CARSON CITY — A Senate committee Friday passed a bill to keep the doors of the Nevada Supreme Court open after the chief justice said it was on the brink of going broke because of fewer traffic tickets and a decline in court assessments.
Senate Bill 469 would make a $588,000 supplemental appropriation to the court for the current fiscal year that ends June 30.
The Senate Finance Committee approved the bill, sending it to the Senate floor.
The court receives millions of dollars each year from assessments on traffic and parking tickets that range from $30 to $120 per citation. But law enforcement agencies in recent years have been issuing fewer tickets while they focus on more serious violations.
Statewide, 484913 tickets were issued last year, down from 615,267 in 2010.
During a hearing last month, Chief Justice James Hardesty said that without an infusion of money by May 1, the court would not have sufficient cash to operate.
Contact Sandra Chereb at schereb@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3901. Find her on Twitter: @SandraChereb.