Nevada Regents Pass the Buck

And speaking of domestic-partner benefits …

According to an article in the Las Vegas Sun, the same-sex partners of employees in Nevada’s public universities may have to wait for health and other benefits.

While Nevada’s public-university presidents would like to extend benefits to domestic partners because they see it as a necessary recruiting tool, Nevada’s regents won’t touch the issue for fear that it will hurt them come re-election time, Christina Littlefield reports. “The last time it came up for discussion, 18 months ago, they tabled it for further study,” she notes.

It’s not hard to see why, a University of Nevada at Las Vegas professor told Littlefield in an interview:

“Nevada is not the most progressive state out there,” said David Damore, political-science professor at UNLV. “My guess is that they just want to kick the can down the road a little and wait for someone else to take the jump.

“You can sort of picture the attack ads in your mind. Regent X votes to give gay partners tax-funded benefits, furthering the liberal agenda.”

The good news is that, despite a “strong sense” that the regents “were glad to pass the buck altogether,” the state’s university presidents have refused to let the issue drop, Littlefield writes. Instead they went over the regents’ heads and directly petitioned the Public Employee Benefits Board, which will discuss the issue when it meets this Wednesday.