COURT TO BE ASKED TO EXPEDITE APPEAL

Timeline Tight to Look at Initiative Petitions

CARSON CITY -- Secretary of State Dean Heller will ask the Supreme
Court to act quickly on an appeal over whether two initiative
petitions qualify for the Nov. 2 ballot.

But a high court ruling might not occur until after votes are cast for
a measure to raise the minimum wage by $1 an hour and another to ban
frivolous lawsuits and prohibit limits on attorneys fees, a state
election official said Thursday.

If the measures win and a later ruling favors Heller's position that
they do not qualify, they probably would be removed from the 2006
ballot, Chief Deputy Secretary of State Renee Parker said.

Because both the minimum wage increase and frivolous lawsuits measures
are amendments to the state constitution, they would have to win voter
approval twice to take effect, in the November general election and in
November 2006.

"It would be in the best interest of the voters to not go to the polls
and vote on a measure that was later struck down," Parker said. "But
it is a tight timeline."

The notice of appeal of a ruling by Carson City District Judge Bill
Maddox directing Heller to place the measures on the November ballot
was filed in his court Monday. The notice will be forwarded to the
Supreme Court within a day or two, Parker said. At that time, Heller
will ask for an expedited schedule, she said.

While the appeal deals specifically with the minimum wage and
frivolous lawsuits petitions, a ruling also could be a factor in an
appeal filed in U.S. District Court by supporters of a marijuana
initiative, which would legalize the possession of small amounts of
marijuana.

Heller rejected the marijuana initiative for failing to submit the
required number of signatures.

One of the issues raised in the marijuana initiative appeal is the
same as that ruled on by Maddox in the minimum wage and frivolous
lawsuit measures, and deals with signature-gathering.

After a hearing July 20, Maddox found unconstitutional a provision of
the state constitution dealing with the gathering of signatures.

Heller rejected the minimum wage and frivolous lawsuits measures for
the ballot after thousands of signatures were thrown out. They were
rejected because the petitions did not have an affidavit from a
registered voter in the county who signed the petition, in accordance
with the state constitution.

Maddox rejected that provision in the state constitution, saying it
served no legitimate government purpose.

Billy Rogers, president of Southwest Group, which helped gather the
signatures for the marijuana measure, questioned why Heller and Clark
County Registrar of Voters Larry Lomax have raised the signature issue
in this election cycle.

Rogers said some petitions submitted in 2002 for a different marijuana
initiative contained similar flaws, but the names were counted and the
measure was put on the ballot. It was defeated by voters.

Rogers said Heller is quoted as saying you cannot pick which
constitutional provisions you want to enforce.

"But he picked and chose two years ago," he said.

Lomax said Rogers is wrong. If there were problems with the petitions
two years ago, they would have been spotted, he said.

Parker said she does not know whether the requirement was accidentally
overlooked two years ago.

"But you don't get to violate the constitution just because it wasn't
caught last time," she said.