LVRJ: Nevada high court declines to hear single-subject initiative rule challenge

(Sean Whaley, Las Vegas Review-Journal) – The Nevada Supreme Court has rejected a request to determine if the Legislature’s “single subject” rule requiring bills to be limited in scope is constitutional.

The challenge was brought by Citizen Outreach and two other groups that argued last year that the single-subject rule for citizen-backed initiative petitions is too restrictive and should mirror the more liberal legislative rule.

But in an unpublished order dated Friday, the court rejected the challenge to the legislative single-subject rule because the groups don’t have a petition in circulation to make the issue eligible for review.

The court did not agree however, with a lower court’s ruling that the Legislature’s single-subject rule is constitutional. That finding was premature and was reversed by the court, leaving the potential for a future challenge.

The case for Citizen Outreach was brought by Las Vegas attorney Kermitt Waters, who told the court in oral arguments in March 2014 that the rule for citizen petitions should be the same as for the Legislature, which may enact bills dealing with multiple subjects.

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