HELLER TO SEEK ANTI-SMOKING PETITION REVIEW

Secretary Of State Rejected Three Initiatives

CARSON CITY -- Secretary of State Dean Heller asked the attorney general's
office Thursday to review a request by several anti-smoking groups seeking
to have their initiative petition qualified and sent to the Legislature.

Heller said his staff also discussed with the groups' attorney, Robert
Crowell, the possibility of seeking a court ruling on the anti-smoking
petition in a nonadversarial manner.

Crowell, on behalf of the Nevada Tobacco Prevention Coalition, asked Heller
in a letter Wednesday to reconsider his decision rejecting the anti-smoking
petition.

Heller this month rejected the petition based on an attorney general's
legal opinion that it lacked enough signatures to qualify it. The opinion
said the group needed to collect enough signatures based on the number of
ballots cast in the 2004 general election, not the 2002 general election.

Far more voters participated in the recent presidential election than the
2002 general election.

"Mr. Crowell makes several points in his appeal I believe should be
reviewed by the attorney general's office to determine their merit," Heller
said. "Although I have great confidence that the opinion issued by the
attorney general's office was a very objective position supported by the
law and precedent, a thoughtful review by that office is a fair request."

The anti-smoking measure, along with a separate smoking petition and one to
legalize small amounts of marijuana, were turned in after this year's
general election. Heller invalidated all three.

None of the three petitions was signed by at least 83,156 residents, the
minimum the attorney general's office decided was required based on the
2004 election turnout.

If they are approved, the measures would go to the Legislature. If the
Legislature did not act on the proposals, they would go to the voters in 2006.

Crowell's letter makes several arguments in support of the initiative
petition, including the fact that a medical malpractice reform measure
circulated by doctors in 2002 used the vote in 2000 as the basis for how
many signatures it needed. Those signatures were turned in the day before
the 2002 general election, however.

The letter also says Heller made an initial determination on Nov. 19 that
the anti-smoking measure had enough signatures to qualify, based on the
2002 election count, not the 2004 results.