Legislature
Lombardo calls for gas tax holiday, raises for state employees, and lots of saving for a rainy day
In his first state of the state speech, Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo on Monday made the case that Nevada “has more money than we can responsibly spend” and suggested that for every $1 in new general fund spending the state should squirrel away $1 into various savings accounts. Lombardo is inheriting a healthy revenue forecast […]
Legal Aid urges lawmakers to reconsider previously declined eviction bills, tenant protections
Lawmakers failed to pass several bills during the 2021 session that would have offered modest tenant protections against a Nevada eviction system that has been characterized by critics as one of the most tenant-hostile in the nation. Ahead of what they are seeing as an emerging eviction crisis, attorneys with the Legal Aid Center of […]
Lawmakers approve $35m in furlough back pay for state employees
More than 14,500 state employees will receive up to 48 hours worth of back pay for furloughs they were forced to take last year. Nevada’s Interim Finance Committee, which approves budget decisions when the full legislature is not in session, on Thursday approved $35 million in employee compensation. The funding is coming from the state’s […]
Democrats had their chance and they took a pass. Now what?
The only time a Democrat was elected governor of Nevada in this century was when Donald Trump was president. Maybe Nevada Democrats will get lucky, and the next time the governor’s race is on the ballot, in 2026, Trump will be president again. In the meantime, several reforms and proposals that failed to get enacted […]
Recession or not, Nevada and Gov.-elect Lombardo are primed for a bigger budget
Nevada is expecting to collect $11.4 billion in tax revenue over the next two fiscal years. The Economic Forum, a five-member panel of private sector fiscal analysts, on Monday approved the forecast for the 2023-25 fiscal biennium, which begins July 2023 and runs through June 2025. The forecast provides the base for the governor’s executive […]
Democrats expand hold in Nevada Legislature, but will fall short of veto power over Lombardo
Republican Gov.-elect Joe Lombardo has promised to bring back school voucher programs and eliminate “soft on crime” laws. But his ability to implement right of center policies are likely to be handicapped by the Nevada State Legislature, which assuming unofficial results hold, will be solidly controlled by Democrats. Going into this year’s midterms, Democrats held […]
Talk of recession lingers as fiscal analysts prepare to set Nevada state budget
Fiscal analysts are cautiously optimistic about Nevada’s economic future, even amid nationwide chatter about the possibility of a recession. Emily Mandel, an economist at Moody’s Analytics, said the U.S. economy is slowing after a stronger-than-expected recovery from the pandemic but is “clearly not in a recession yet” and that it is “far from certain” that […]
Butterflies are free – from protection in Nevada
A bill draft authorizing the Nevada Department of Wildlife to protect monarch butterflies, bees and other terrestrial invertebrates advanced from the Nevada Legislative Joint Interim Standing Committee on Natural Resources, yesterday. While the Nevada Department of Agriculture has authority over insects that are considered pests, no agency has authority over non-pests like butterflies, bees, snails, […]
Legislative panel preps mental health bills for 2023 session
State lawmakers Thursday signed off on several behavioral and mental health initiatives they want to see prepped as legislation for next year’s legislative session. The bill draft requests (BDRs) include a proposal to require health care providers who are authorized to diagnose an opioid use disorder to offer information on evidence-based treatment options, and better […]
Private school voucher group loses second legal challenge
Education Freedom for Nevada, a political action committee attempting to establish a private school voucher system, was dealt another legal blow Monday, as a district court judge ruled their proposed statutory initiative petition cannot move forward. Judge Charles McGee found that Education Freedom’s statutory initiative contained “an insufficient explanation of the affect of the initiative […]
Rural judges push back against law mandating bail hearings within 48 hours
Ahead of a law requiring a bail hearing within 48 hours of an arrest taking effect this summer, rural judges told lawmakers on Friday they worry smaller jurisdictions won’t be prepared. White Pine County Judge Stephen Bishop, who in October began conducting hearings ahead of the law’s required implementation, cited antiquated technology, staffing shortages, insufficient […]
Concerns about oversight cloud enthusiasm for $250M investment in affordable housing
Lawmakers on the Interim Finance Committee on Thursday universally acknowledged the need to address Nevada’s affordable housing shortage, but several committee members, from both sides of the aisle, expressed concerns that a $250 million investment will not have legislative oversight. Nevertheless, the committee, which approves state spending when the full Legislature is not in regular […]