Nevada Politics

Lawmakers are considering a bill, AB157, that would impose harsher penalties for those living off the earnings of child sex workers than for those living off the earnings of adult sex workers.

As the COVID-19 pandemic hammered the Nevada economy and led to a record spike in unemployment, the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation (DETR) paid out an estimated $1.4 billion in improper benefit payments, DETR Director Christopher Sewell told lawmakers Tuesday.

No Nevada Republicans have officially entered the race to challenge Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) for re-election to the Senate in 2024, but at least one potential candidate is staying out of the race.

The featured speaker at Monday's Democratic luncheon will be Karen Gedney MD, author of 30 Years Behind Bars: Trials of a Prison Doctor. Dr Gedney is an internal medicine specialist who spent almost three decades as a physician in Nevada's correctional system. Today she is an outspoken advocate for Holistic Prison Reform.

The featured speaker at Monday's Democratic luncheon will be Carson City Superintendent of Schools Andrew Feuling. Having served as the district's chief financial officer for eight years prior to taking over the top job, he has a detailed understanding of where the available revenue covers the cost of state mandates and where it doesn't. Exactly where the money and the mandates need to be brought into harmony will be addressed in Part Two of the Superintendent's PowerPoint presentation.

In a letter obtained by The Nevada Independent, Gov. Joe Lombardo’s office said it does not support two bills proposed by the Patient Protection Commission and is evaluating a third piece of legislation proposed by the commission, which was created under the Sisolak administration.

Featured speaker at Monday's Democratic luncheon will be Sarah Adler, Principal at Silver State Government Relations. She will speak on behalf of the Nevada Housing Coalition, a group that works with legislators on policy solutions that address both the shortage of affordable and supportive housing and access to existing housing.

Affordable housing is defined by the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development as “Housing for which the occupants are paying no more than 30% of his or her income for gross housing costs.”

The Carson City Republican Party will host our annual Lincoln Day Dinner on March 11, 2023. Our Keynote speaker this year will be the U.S. House of Representative Burgess Owens from the State of Utah. This promises to be a fun-filled evening so please join us. The public is invited. For further information, please call 775 841-1800.

U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) announced Monday that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will provide funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law the Senator helped pass to support cleanup efforts at the Carson River Mercury Site in Lyon and Storey counties.

A poll shows a plurality of Nevada registered voters — 39 percent — think Nevada is not doing enough about climate change, though 54 percent of respondents opposed banning gas stoves.

The featured speaker at Monday's Democratic luncheon will be Amber Falgout, Northern Nevada Manager of Battle Born Progress. Her presentation will provide an assessment of bills before the 82nd session that deserve progressive support and others that might be inconsistent with progressive values.

On the Battle Born Progress website, the headline is "We Fight the Right in Nevada." Its mission statement says that it "uses strategic communication efforts to empower, engage and mobilize Nevada voters to build a state where everyone has a fair opportunity to succeed."

Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford found the Lyon County Board of County Commissioners to have been in violation of Nevada’s Open Meeting Laws (OML) during three meetings in 2021.

The complaint was initially filed by Tony Stephenson on behalf of the Lyon County Democratic Central Committee, who alleged that violations had taken place.

A decade after then-Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto led a push to ensure Nevada law outlawed sex trafficking, at least four lawmakers plan to continue the fight against illegal sex work during the upcoming legislative session.

Gov. Joe Lombardo plans to propose lifting a cap on wages for state employees and creating new cabinet-level secretary positions within the governor’s office to coordinate with executive branch departments, the governor’s chief of staff Ben Kieckhefer told The Nevada Independent Tuesday.

The Douglas County Clerk-Treasurer’s Office is pleased to announce the debut of its new online presence: https://cltr.douglascountynv.gov. Note that this is a different URL from the old site, please update your browser bookmarks accordingly.

CARSON CITY — Announced publicly Monday, Gov. Joe Lombardo signed Executive Order 2023-005, which directs the Division of Internal Audits in the Governor’s Finance Office to review Nevada’s 17 public school districts and the Nevada State Public Charter School Authority.

For the first time in over four years, Nevada’s state government will be helmed by competing partisan arms: Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo to the right, Democratic majorities in the Assembly and Senate to the left.

Local governments in Nevada are seeking more autonomy on how they choose replacements on their boards, organize their management structure and distribute legal notices to the public, and the legislative session that begins Feb. 6 may be their opportunity to get it.

The featured speaker at Monday's Democratic luncheon will be Hall of Fame broadcaster Sam Shad, host of Nevada Newsmakers, long the state’s premier news and political program.

Sam started in Reno radio on KGLR in 1978. His first foray into the position of talk show host was in 1990 with a radio program on KHIT, which later moved to KROW 780 AM where he also did daily commentaries.

Gov. Joe Lombardo announced three new board and commission appointments on Friday, including Brian Krolicki to the Nevada Gaming Commission, Adriana Guzmán Fralick to the Cannabis Compliance Board, and Donna Bath to the Commission on Judicial Selection.

The Carson City Planning Commission approved by a 4-3 vote on Wednesday the expansion of locations that cannabis dispensaries might operate within city limits.

The Carson City Board of Supervisors will make the final decision on whether or not to approve the ordinance that would allow for more potential cannabis dispensary locations, specifically in the area along North Carson Street north of Winnie Lane and west of Hot Springs Road.

U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) announced that Nevada State College will receive $1, 218,626 to train school counselors, social workers, psychologists, and other mental health professionals to provide school-based mental health services in Nevada.

Senator Cortez Masto led the effort to include these funds in the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act that was signed into law last year to address the acute shortage of mental health professionals in Nevada schools.

With the authorization that allows federal funds to flow to the Tahoe Basin set to expire next year, Nevada’s congressional delegation and Tahoe stakeholders are hopeful they can pass a re-authorization this year.

In his first State of the State address, Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo laid out plans for aggressively saving for a potential economic downturn, cutting gas and payroll taxes, boosting public school spending and expanding a much-fought-over school choice program.

It’s known as the State of the State — a biennial address the governor delivers to the Legislature to highlight policy priorities and discuss the condition of Nevada.

On Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023, the Lyon County Board of County Commissioners voted to approve a three-year employment contract with Andrew Haskin to serve as the permanent County Manager.

Mr. Haskin has served as interim County Manager since September 2022 and as the Lyon County Community Development Director since August 2021. The motion to approve Mr. Haskin as the County Manager was made by Commissioner Wes Henderson and approved unanimously.

Carson City Supervisors approved American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to three Carson City non-profit projects on Thursday, helping transition individuals experiencing homelessness into permanent shelter.

Funding comes from the remaining $1.16 million ARPA funds provided by the federal government in 2021 and approved by supervisors to be used for projects or programs that support the Carson City Housing Plan.

The Carson City Republican Party will hold its general meeting on January 26, 2023. Our meetings start at 6:30 PM, with the first half hour for socializing.

Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo has appointed Alan Jenne as Director for the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW).

The appointment comes after Tony Wasley, NDOW Director of almost 10 years, retired in December ending a 25-year tenure with the agency.

Christopher Sewell, Director of the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation (DETR) appointed Josh Marhevka as Deputy Director of Operations and Troy Jordan as Deputy Director of Programs at DETR.