By David McGrath Schwartz

Mon, Nov 17, 2008 (2 a.m.)

CARSON CITY — After years of worrying about a primary challenge from the right, Senate Minority Leader Bill Raggio is finally free.

With his victory this month, the 82-year-old Republican veteran has faced voters for the last time allowed under term limits. And Raggio is making it clear he will do what he thinks will be best for the state, even if supporting a tax increase would subject him to calls that he’s a RINO (Republican In Name Only) or a moderate.

“We cannot be the party of the far right,” Raggio told the Reno News & Review’s Dennis Myers in a lengthy interview. “That doesn’t sell. And if that means moderate or RINO in some people’s eyes, so be it.”

For the first time in state history, the legislative session will be populated by elected officials constitutionally barred from seeking another term in the house in which they now serve.

Though many will undoubtedly seek to switch houses, for others that means no more accountability to voters and no more fear of special interests pouring big money into the campaign of their opponents. In short, hands untethered from harsh political realities that have swayed votes in the past.

Carson City observers are wondering what effect term limits will have on the session.

Some see legislators more concerned about their legacies than having a controversial vote splashed across a campaign mailer, legislative leaders having a tougher time maintaining control over their caucuses, and, perhaps, a greater willingness to raise taxes.

Seven of 21 senators are serving their last legislative session. Five more have won their four-year term for the last time allowed. In the Assembly, 10 of the 42 members are serving their last terms, including Speaker Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, Sheila Leslie, D-Reno, and Ways and Means Chairman Morse Arberry, D-Las Vegas.

Philip Blumel, president of U.S. Term Limits, based in Fairfax, Va., said legislators who don’t face the possibility of future campaigns are more free to exercise their own judgment. Though he conceded this could mean not being accountable to voters, he also said politicians wouldn’t have to worry about upsetting special interest groups that fund campaigns, either the politicians’ own or those of future opponents.

“Term limits sever the comfortable relationship between legislators and the special interests that help get them reelected,” Blumel said.

One lobbyist said Buckley, who has historically been able to keep tight control of her caucus, might find it harder to manage its members. She holds a veto-proof supermajority required to raise taxes, but Assembly members could be free to defy her if there are no future consequences.

In the Senate, Majority Leader Steven Horsford will have to tame the often unruly Senate Democrats. He would need to get two Republicans on board to reach the two-thirds requirement to raise taxes.

One observer, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the veteran legislators will be looking out for their own legacies in the state.

Former Gov. Kenny Guinn proposed his tax increase in 2003, after winning reelection to his final term before being term-limited out. And although Guinn remains a controversial figure in more conservative Republican circles, he left office with high approval ratings.

“Does Raggio want to go down in history as having voted to eviscerate state government?” asked the observer, referring to the 33 percent budget cuts being contemplated to balance state spending and expected revenue.

During the campaign, Raggio promised voters he wouldn’t raise taxes in the upcoming legislative session, which begins in February.

In the News & Review interview, Raggio addressed the questions of taxes directly.

“You know, everything’s on the table. Now, obviously, the next question is, ‘Well, are you going to support taxes, increased taxes?’ I think, you know, everybody’s going to be reluctant to do that in this kind of a fiscal crisis,” Raggio said. “But the option could be survival of the state.”