Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, liked the idea of more disclosure on corporate and limited liability company ownership. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., was noncommittal on the idea.

Sheriff Doug Gillespie couldn't be reached for comment about whether the bill would help police investigate financial crimes.

The bill would require secretaries of state to maintain records of the identities of owners of private corporations and limited liability companies. Although states could keep the owners' names confidential from the public, state officials would be required to provide the records in response to a law enforcement agency's subpoena or summons.

"Criminals are hiding behind U.S. corporations while committing all sorts of crimes -- from terrorism to money laundering, fraud and tax evasion," Levin said. "The bill we are introducing today will strike a blow against corporate secrecy, strengthen law enforcement, and curb the misuse of U.S. corporations."

Levin is chairman of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee for Investigations, which in November 2006 challenged officials of Nevada and Delaware about laws that allow corporate owners to hide their identities.

Critics of the bill call the measure unnecessary government intrusion into the investments of businesspeople who are legitimate.

"This is a huge impediment to new business," Derek Rowley, president of the Nevada Registered Agent Association, said in an e-mail. "In our current economic times, I can't imagine a worse idea."

But Buckley liked the bill.

"As a general rule, I think, for government, that the system works better if you're able to find out who owns the company," said Buckley, who had earlier pushed through legislation that requires disclosure of ownership in LLCs that are doing business with the government.

Meanwhile, Summers said: "Senator Reid wants to see what the bill looks like when it's done going through committee. He'll make his decision then."

Rowley lambasted the bill.

"It surprises me that Senator Levin is introducing this bill at this time, given the fact that the National Association of Secretaries of State has adopted a series of recommendations that we feel offer a very reasonable solution if they were instituted consistently in all the states," Rowley said in an e-mail. "Senator Levin is introducing this bill as though the states have been completely unresponsive, and that simply isn't the case."

The registered agent association worked with the Nevada secretary of state's office to help lawmakers adopt legislation for dealing with the same issue, he said.

The new Nevada law provides that law enforcement can request ownership records from corporations and LLCs. If the company fails to respond, the secretary of state can dissolve the corporation.

Rowley thinks the federal bill goes too far.

"(The Levin bill) mandates the disclosure of 'beneficial ownership' of all corporations and LLCs in the U.S.," he said, "a feat that is technically impossible."

Contact reporter John G. Edwards at jedwards@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0420.