Nevada Special Tax District Ban Measure (2012)
| Not on Ballot |
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| This measure was not put on an election ballot |
The Nevada Special Tax District Ban Measure did not make the November 6, 2012 general election ballot in the state of Nevada as a legislatively referred state statute. Also known as Senate Bill 495 (dead link), it was introduced on March 28, 2011 as a response to the certified sports arena ballot measure. The proposal would prohibit a special tax district in the state. Also, the bill would prohibit the creation of an area in which the sales tax was higher than other parts of the county. The measure was introduced by the Senate Revenue Committee, and according to State Senator Sheila Leslie, chairwoman of the committee, if approved by the Legislature, the bill would be placed on the 2012 ballot as a competing measure to the sports arena initiative. Leslie also stated that the proposal that received the most votes in the 2012 general election would win. However, if neither measure receives 50 percent of the vote, both would be considered rejected by voters.[1]
Support
Supporters
- Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford stated, "This is an issue that should be left to the voters, so I will be supporting the measure."[2]
Path to the ballot
The Senate Committee on Revenue voted unanimously to approve the measure on April 12, 2011. The measure was then placed in front of Nevada State Senate. On May 23, 2011, the state senate voted in favor of the measure, with a tally of 39 to 3. Then on May 24, 2011, the Nevada Assembly voted in favor of the measure as well. This final legislative approval sends the measure to the ballot, since it does not need to be approved in the next legislative session. Only legislatively referred constitutional amendments need to be voted on in two successive sessions to be sent to the ballot, according to the Nevada Constitution[3][4]
Removal
A lawsuit was filed against a citizen initiative in the state that lead to the Nevada Supreme Court striking that measure from the ballot, and therefore removing this competing measure from the 2012 ballot at the same time.
The citizen initiative that was taken off of the ballot was the sports arena initiative that would have allowed a 20,000-seat sports arena on the Las Vegas Strip. Specifically the initiative would have imposed a 0.9 cent sales tax in a taxing district near the proposed arena. The revenue would have financed bonds to construct the arena. The state supreme court ruling stated that the initiative's petitions were invalid because they didn’t say where the arena would be built.
Timeline
The following is a timeline of events surrounding the measure:
| Event | Date | Developments |
|---|---|---|
| Vote | April 12, 2011 | The Senate Committee on Revenue voted unanimously to approve the measure. |
| Approval | May 23, 2011 | The state senate voted in favor of the measure, with a tally of 39 to 3. |
| Final Approval | May 24, 2011 | The Nevada Assembly voted in favor of the measure. |
See also
- Nevada 2012 ballot measures
- 2012 ballot measures
- List of Nevada ballot measures
- Nevada Legislature
- Nevada Harrah's Sports Arena Initiative (2012)
Footnotes
- ↑ Las Vegas Sun, "Rival bill would create hurdle for proposed Las Vegas Strip arena," March 29, 2011
- ↑ Las Vegas Review-Journal, "Bill countering Caesars' tax proposal advances in Senate," April 13, 2011
- ↑ Las Vegas Sun, "Competing bill that would prohibit proposed Strip arena advances," May 23, 2011
- ↑ Business Week, "Nevada Assembly passes competing Vegas arena bill," May 24, 2011
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State of Nevada Carson City (capital) |
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