Speaker: Procedures followed in the end

To the editor:

As the deadline passes for the governor to take action on the final bills passed by the 2011 Legislature, I want to set the record straight on the procedure for delivering those bills to the governor once the Legislature has adjourned. It is disappointing that some in the press have attempted to make an issue out of this situation without checking the facts.

Once a bill is passed by both houses, before it can be delivered to the governor, it must go through several steps. The official jacket of every bill passed must be signed by the presiding officer of the state Senate, by the secretary of the state Senate, by the presiding officer of the Assembly, and by the chief clerk of the Assembly. No bill can be officially transmitted to the governor without all four signatures. It is critical that exceptional care be taken at every step in this process; recently in Ohio, an incorrect version of a bill was sent to the governor, resulting in a lawsuit.

Before I left Carson City, after the Legislature adjourned, I signed the jackets for approximately 70 bills provided to me as part of this process. Some of the bills could not be transmitted to the governor until Monday because, according to the Senate staff, the lieutenant governor was traveling and not available to sign them until Monday. Consequently, it was also necessary for those still needing my signature to be sent to me via overnight mail and immediately returned to Carson City for final transmittal to the governor.

During this time, it is important to note, the governor had access to all bills that awaited his action and was given hard copies of all bills that awaited his action. The final versions of all bills are also available online on the legislative website for easy access. It was only the bills in their official jackets that still had to be transmitted to him for his signature or veto.

It is not unusual for legislators, who have been away from their families for a prolonged period of time during the legislative session, to take time with family members immediately after the session has ended. The time frame for doing so is often short, as many of our “citizen” legislators have to return quickly to their non-legislative jobs.

That was certainly the situation for me; I chose to immediately take some time with my pregnant wife and our 16-month-old son. For a presiding officer not living in the Reno/Carson City area, however, finishing the signature process via overnight mail would have been necessary whether that legislator returned to home and job or took some time away.

The bottom line is that due diligence and care must be taken every step of the way to ensure that the correct version of legislation is transmitted to the governor in a timely manner. That was certainly done this past week.

John Oceguera

Las Vegas

The writer, a Democrat, is speaker of the Nevada Assembly.