Trampling the Constitution Won’t Solve Nevada’s Budget Crisis

Tucked into Governor Gibbons’ proposals to solve the budget crisis are thinly-veiled attacks on the Constitution and Nevada’s libertarian ethos. Some measures are illusory: they won’t actually solve Nevada’s financial woes because they shift the financial burden from one part of the criminal justice system to an increase in liability. Others measures undermine individual rights and civil liberties.

While the ACLU of Nevada takes no position related to specific budget allocations of the state, we remind the legislature that Nevadans’ constitutional rights, like free speech, protection from discrimination, and freedom from governmental surveillance, are not for sale.

Below is a summary of the provisions the ACLU of Nevada is asking the legislature to reject as unwise affronts to our civil liberties. Click here to read the ACLU of Nevada's testimony submitted to the legislature that contains our more detailed positions on these issues.

School Voucher Program

• Under a school voucher system, parents have the option of sending their child to a private school using payments from the government to offset the cost of tuition. School vouchers can be used for both religious and non-religious private schools.
• While individuals have an absolute right to send their children to a school consistent with their own beliefs, the ACLU opposes the direct funding of any religious institution with taxpayer dollars because of the constitutional mandate that church and state remain separate. The Nevada Constitution clearly states that public funds cannot be applied to sectarian uses. We believe that a school voucher program would not withstand constitutional scrutiny.
• Because vouchers only pay for part of the tuition to a private school, they create a benefit only for those students who can afford private tuition.
• Private schools are not subject to the same non-discrimination protections as government-run schools. Putting taxpayer dollars towards institutions that are permitted to discriminate undermines and threatens crucial civil rights protections.

Closure of State Prisons and Juvenile Facilities

• Closing state prisons and juvenile facilities and re-locating those inmates to private prisons or out-of-the-area facilities creates a bad situation for Nevada: liability without control.
• Sending prisoners out-of-state or to rural areas severs ties between offenders and their families. This bond is crucial to maintain for successful rehabilitation, especially for youth offenders.

Closure of the Nevada Equal Rights Commission

• The Nevada Equal Rights Commission (NERC) serves a vital role in our state, as an expression of our state's public policy against discrimination in employment and places of public accommodation.
• NERC extends important resources that the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is simply too overburdened to grant to Nevadans, such as mediation services and factual investigation, for claims such as sex discrimination in employment, or racial discrimination in places of public accommodation. It would lead to more filings in state court, which of course should be weighed in any serious cost savings analysis.
• The closure of NERC would eliminate the opportunity for any redress of grievances for individuals suffering discrimination based on sexual orientation, as this is not a protected class under federal law.

Creating a Statewide Surveillance Network

• InsureNet would would lay the groundwork for a system that would permit surveillance data to be captured in ways that raise serious civil liberties issues. It is an unproven system and would likely overburden the courts.
• An electronic police state is not a budget solution.

Eliminating Collective Bargaining

• Nevada law prohibits strikes by public employees, and the repeal of binding arbitration laws would effectively leave the government free to ignore legitimate concerns of its employees and would prohibit employees from engaging in meaningful and protected union advocacy.

Race to the Top

• The ACLU of Nevada supports proactive, positive approaches to school discipline that can reduce suspensions and expulsions, and ultimately keep juveniles out of the criminal justice system, while improving student achievement and perceptions of school safety.
• There is a potential for the state of Nevada to implement programs that will address the school-to-prison pipeline issues currently created by our state’s unjust disciplinary policies using “Race to the Top” funds available from the US Department of Education.