NevadaÕs former attorney general is the only one of the three GOP gubernatorial front-runners not calling for Nevada to file a lawsuit against the new national health care law.
On Tuesday, 13 Republican attorneys general filed a lawsuit arguing that the law is unconstitutional, and VirginiaÕs attorney general filed a separate lawsuit making a similar argument.
Gov. Jim Gibbons and former North Las Vegas Mayor Mike Montandon said Nevada should be on that list, too. Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto, a Democrat, said sheÕs still reviewing the legislation.
Brian Sandoval, a former federal judge who previously held the elected office that is now Cortez MastoÕs, criticized the legislation, but stayed silent on whether Nevada should take legal action. He focused, instead, on the additional cost to Nevada state government.
He sent out a news release saying the health care bill Òwill further harm the economy of our stateÓ through increased costs to businesses and individuals. He also said Medicaid expansion will cost states $30 billion over six years.
ÒWe simply cannot afford it,Ó he said in his release.
Sandoval is trying to beat back the perception that he is not as conservative as Gibbons or Montandon, and has
attacked Gibbons for raising fees during this past special session. That makes his silence on taking legal action over health care legislation more conspicuous. There has been a steady drum beat from national and Nevada conservatives questioning whether the legislation, and its mandate, are constitutional. Rep. Dean Heller, R-Nev., on Tuesday afternoon was the latest to ask Cortez Masto to evaluate the constitutionality of the law.
ÒIf this many people are upset about it, we need to exercise the third branch of government,Ó Montandon said. ÒThere are so many apparently legitimate questions that seem to be raised, that something needs to be done.Ó
When asked to respond to SandovalÕs initial silence on a legal challenge, Montandon said: ÒLetÕs wait for Mr. Sandoval to change his mind, after this newspaper article comes out.Ó
Gibbons compared the bill to the federal government requiring people to buy cars or televisions, and threatening them with IRS fines if they didnÕt obey.
ÒThe federal government has no right to tell state residents that they have to go out and buy something,Ó said Dan Burns, GibbonsÕ spokesman.
Montandon argued that the 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which says that powers not enumerated by the constitution are reserved to the states, makes the health care reform unconstitutional.
Senate Majority Leader Harry ReidÕs spokesman Jon Summers compared the federal mandate for health insurance to statesÕ mandates that motorists have car insurance.
Burns countered that itÕs a poor analogy because driving, and therefore auto insurance, is optional.
Democrats also have argued that Congress has regulated many aspects of the economy under the Commerce Clause of the Constitution, which has been interpreted since the 1930s as authorizing Congress to regulate matters with a substantial effect on interstate commerce.
The state Health and Human Services Department estimates that the bill will cost Nevada state government $613 million between 2014 and 2019. An additional 70,000 Nevadans are expected to have health insurance through Medicaid.
Sandoval in January released a statement saying he thought the earlier version of the bill that had passed the U.S. Senate Òwill not withstand constitutional scrutiny.Ó But he specifically mentioned the different ways states were treated under that proposal, in particular a provision that would have given greater federal aid to cover NebraskaÕs Medicaid costs, known as the Cornhusker Kickback. A reconciliation bill making its way through the Senate would likely eliminate that provision and other aspects of the bill that House Democrats found objectionable.
A spokesman for Sandoval did not respond to questions about whether Sandoval would support legal action to block the legislation signed by the president.
david.schwartz@lasvegassun.com / 775-687-4597
Copyright 2010 Las Vegas Sun
