Congressman Jim Gibbons, accusing State Senator Dina Titus of voting for fee hikes in a negative campaign television spot, voted for the exact same increases in marriage license, motor vehicle and hunting and fishing license fees while he was in the Nevada Legislature, research of Gibbons' voting record has found.
The Gibbons commercial cites the following three pieces of legislation from 1989 and 1993:
- SB 410 (1989), increased fee for certified copy of a marriage license to $5; passed the Nevada Assembly 42-0 with Gibbons voting for it.
- SB 542 (1989), hiked motor vehicle registration fees by $1; passed the Nevada Assembly 42-0 with Gibbons voting for it.
- SB 122 (1993), increased the fee for a duplicate license for fishing and hunting to $5; passed the Nevada Assembly 41-0 with Gibbons voting for it.
During his tenure in the Nevada Legislature, Congressman Gibbons voted more than 100 times to raise taxes and fees - or to authorize others to raise them.
In the same attack ad, Gibbons also misrepresents Titus votes which took place after his tenure in the Nevada Legislature. The campaign commercial says Dina Titus "even taxed us on using the county swimming pool" and cites AB 208 in 2003 as evidence. That legislation reads as follows: "The board of county commissioners of any county whose population is less than 15,000 may enact an ordinance imposing a tax to support the operation and maintenance of a swimming pool." AB 208 passed unanimously in the Republican-controlled Nevada Senate.
The Gibbons commercial also cites SB 468 in 2001, which authorized county commissioners to vote on a real property transfer tax hike to control invasive weeds. That measure passed the Nevada Senate by 18-2, including support from Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio.
During his tenure as a congressman, Gibbons cast the deciding vote in 2002 (final vote: 215-214) to increase the national debt limit by $450 billion to $6.4 trillion (the largest increase in history at that time). His vote allowed the Republican-controlled administration to resume deficit spending after four previous years of balanced budgets.
"My opponent speaks in platitudes about conservatism and small government," said Titus, "but Nevada voters know that he has not practiced what he has preached."
"Now the congressman is distorting my record, and even using legislation that he himself supported to do so. I am confident that Nevadans will see through the name-calling and negative posturing, and instead focus on our actual records and plans to address the most important issues in this state."
http://www.dinatitus.com/index.php?section=news&id=842