Opinion upholds separation of powers

Attorney General Brian Sandoval's opinion that the Nevada Constitution bars state-government employees from serving in the Legislature will stand up in the Supreme Court, when it gets tested there.

That's unfortunate for a half-dozen legislators, including Assemblyman Ron Knecht of Carson City, who were placed there by voters and may well win again if they seek re-election in November.

However, Sandoval's opinion makes sense both legally and practically. And in the end, it's the people of Nevada who are well served by a strict separation of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of state government.

The foundation for the attorney general's opinion is Article 3, Section 1 of the state constitution, which says "The powers of the government of the state of Nevada shall be divided into three separate departments - the legislative, the executive and the judicial - and no persons charged with the exercise of powers properly belonging to one of these departments shall exercise any functions, appertaining to either of the others, except in the cases herein expressly directed or permitted in this constitution."

Knecht works for the Public Utility Commission, and five other legislators work for colleges. All would be considered part of the executive branch in their day jobs.

To emphasize the importance of separating the powers of each branch, Sandoval quotes from a Nevada Supreme Court decision: "the independence of one branch from the others; the requirement that one department cannot exercise the powers of the other two is fundamental in our system of government."

To their credit, some legislators like Knecht tried hard to avoid potential conflicts of interest by, in his instance, taking a leave of absence. But it was also obvious, from the several allegations of double-dipping throughout the year, that not all Nevada lawmakers are clear on the distinctions between their role in the Legislature and their government jobs.

Most of those potential conflicts are fairly apparent - voting on budgets, for example, or influencing legislation setting policy to be carried out by state departments. There are political conflicts, as well. A legislator must answer to his constituency; a state employee must answer to someone who must answer to someone who must answer to an elected state official, such as the governor or secretary of state.

Sandoval's opinion on local-government employees - that they can serve in the Legislature - makes just as much sense. Just as there must be separation of the powers of the three branches, there is also a division between the powers of state and local governments. As much as they overlap, they are distinct.

Although the Nevada Supreme Court has never ruled on this particular issue of government employees serving in the Legislature, Sandoval's opinion should spur someone to pursue the matter to its ultimate resolution there. When that happens, justices will find it hard to conclude any differently.