Tax Commission’s agenda was too vague

Jim Hartman is right.

The Nevada Tax Commission’s agenda for its May 8 meeting was too vague and, I believe, did violate the open-meeting law.

Feel free to look at the agenda for yourself, but here is the relevant portion:

Yes, you could look up NRS Chapter 453D, which is the regulation and taxation of marijuana. You could probably also find LCB File No. T002-17 among the documents. But you shouldn’t need to.

The agenda has to be clear and complete, according to the law on meetings. And when all it gives you is some acronyms and references, that’s a bunch of government gobbledygook. As Hartman pointed out, it needs the word “marijuana” in there somewhere.

The upshot — if the Attorney General’s Office upholds his complaint, which it should — is that the commission’s action will be void. Restart the process, notify the meeting properly with a clear and complete agenda and conduct it according to law.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re a marijuana advocate or not, there’s no excuse for shortcutting the statute.

Barry Smith

Barry Smith, a former reporter and editor in Illinois, Colorado and Nevada, is executive director of the Nevada Press Association.