Many bills penned by Nevada reps die with end of 2004

When the year 2004 came to an end at midnight Dec. 31, so ended the 108th Congress and along with it the life of thousands of bills that failed to make it to the desk of President George W. Bush.

Among the would-be laws that died that night were many penned by members of Nevada's congressional delegation.

Royalties

A proposal to cut counties in on a percentage of royalties paid by geothermal energy producers within their boundaries died along with the massive energy bill in which it was placed. The proposal would have sent 25 percent of royalties to the county government in which a given plant resides.

Horse meat

A measure introduced by veterinarian and U.S. Sen. John Ensign to ban the slaughter of domestic horses for consumption, or the exportation of horses for consumption, also didn't make it. Meanwhile, a measure tacked onto a spending bill authorized the sale of wild horses removed from the rangeland for slaughter, if the horses are at least 10 years old or considered unadoptable.

An Ensign spokesperson said horses occupy a "unique place in American culture," and the emotional connection Americans have with horses makes them different than other livestock, such as cattle. Ensign has called the practice of eating horse meat, which is done commonly in Western European countries, "barbaric."

Hunting

After a professional hunting outfitter sued Nevada for its practice of allotting more big-game tags to residents than nonresidents, U.S. Sen. Harry Reid introduced a bill that would reaffirm the state's right to establish its own hunting rules.

The bill was introduced near the end of the 108th session and may have just been lost in a backlog of unheard bills. Reid plans on reintroducing the legislation this session.

"It's a priority of his," Reid spokesperson Sharyn Stein said of the issue.

Victories

While there were several defeats of bills, there were also some major victories on measures that have contended with fierce opposition for years.

Shoshones

After several defeats in Congress, the 108th finally passed the Western Shoshone Distribution Act, a measure backed by Nevada's entire congressional delegation. The bill directed the federal government to finally distribute millions of dollars that were awarded to the Western Shoshone people more than 27 years ago for land lost to settlers and the U.S. government.

The original $26 million award had grown with interest to about $145 million by the time the distribution bill finally passed.

Geothermal tax credit

A long-sought tax credit for renewable energy finally passed through Congress despite opposition from the fossil fuel industry.

The credit of 1.8 cents for every kilowatt hour of energy produced from new renewable resource power plants such as biomass, solar and geothermal energy, will lead to major expansion in power plants, proponents say.

Wind energy has enjoyed a similar tax credit for several years and is now the fastest-growing electricity industry in the nation.

There were compromises made to secure passage of the credit, however.

The credit will last for the first five years of a new plant's life despite the plea of proponents to make it 10 years, like the wind energy credit.

Contact reporter Cory McConnell at cmcconnell@lahontanvalleynews.com