Nevada’s Unpopulated Bullfrog County Ruled Unconstitutional

GOLDFIELD, Nev. — Bullfrog County, a county without any people or buildings that was created to squeeze more money from the federal government should it build a nuclear dump in Nevada, was declared unconstitutional Thursday.

Presiding Judge David Zenoff said the county stretched its legal limits “every which way” and left too many constitutional issues “hanging in the air.”

Among other things, Zenoff said the governor’s authority to appoint three commissioners for the county ran “contrary to the democratic process.”

“I cannot in good conscience uphold this law,” he said.

Zenoff, a former state Supreme Court justice, issued the ruling after less than 30 minutes of oral arguments in District Court here.

Nye County, from which zero-population Bullfrog County was carved, challenged the 1987 Legislature’s creation of the state’s 18th county, claiming that it was illegal.

“Obviously, we’re very pleased,” Dist. Atty. Phil Dunleavy said. “It confirms what we’ve been saying all along. As far as I’m concerned, Bullfrog County is dead and it should be.”

Attorney Frank Daykin, representing the Legislature and Bullfrog County, said it would be up to the Legislative Commission to decide whether to appeal Zenoff’s ruling to the state Supreme Court.

“We usually don’t accept defeat in the Legislature,” said commission Chairman Lawrence Jacobsen (R-Minden).

Legislators created the county out of a 144,000-square-mile chunk of Nye County as a way of giving the state control over federal funds available for the proposed nuclear dump at Yucca Mountain.