Nevada Politics

Between a heavy union presence and immense pressure from industry players, next week’s hearing on a major pharmaceutical regulatory measure, including price controls on diabetes medicine, promises to be one of the hardest fought battles of the 2017 session.

CARSON CITY — Doctors and traffic safety researchers urged Nevada lawmakers Thursday to pass a bill making seat belt violations a primary offense, but opponents countered the change would lead to profiling and infringe on personal choice.

While it didn't gain much traction during the 2015 session, Democratic Sen. Tick Segerblom is hoping that newly won Democratic majorities will be more amenable to his plan raising taxes on alcohol, cigarettes and gaming licenses to help pay for expanded substance abuse programs and an experimental pilot program for supervised injectable heroin treatment.

Senator Ben Kieckhefer, whose district includes Reno and Carson City, introduced a legislative package Tuesday to strengthen Nevada’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and ensure Nevada is the destination of choice for business startups and entrepreneurs. The package includes a first-of-its-kind $45 million venture capital fund for businesses in the state.

Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval vetoed a Democrat-backed “motor voter” initiative petition Tuesday, sending the measure that would require automatic voter registration when people apply for driver’s licenses or identification cards unless they opt out to the 2018 ballot.

CARSON CITY — The Assembly on Monday voted to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, making Nevada the first state in 40 years to support the addition of the language to the U.S. Constitution.

CARSON CITY — Gov. Brian Sandoval and state lawmakers took time Wednesday to honor the service of Nevada’s military and veterans in a ceremony on the Capitol grounds.

Silver City, Nevada - On Sunday, March 19th at 2pm, Danish journalist Peter Krogh Andersen will offer a talk at the Silver City School House (385 High Street) with a slide show from his trips, followed by a question and answer session with the audience. The event, which includes light refreshments, is being hosted by the Resident Artist Program in Silver City. The public is cordially invited to attend this free event.

The Governor’s Office of Energy (GOE) recently awarded $76,000 to help Carson City implement a $4.1 million project that will conserve energy and reduce the city’s operational costs.

Helene de Bossier Swanson, who completed a 7,000 mile spiritual pilgrimage on foot traveling across all 15 states that have not yet ratified the Equal Right Amendment will be staffing the table Wednesday during the International Women's Day, Empowering Women event.

Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval announced Friday the appointments to the Governor’s Task Force on the Implementation of Question 2, the Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act.

CARSON CITY — The Equal Rights Amendment was approved by the Nevada Senate on Wednesday after passionate floor debate and more than 30 years since it was sent to the states by Congress.

This week's edition of It's Your City with host Cortney Bloomer features District 40 Assemblyman Al Kramer, representing Carson City. They discuss how citizens can participate in the legislative bill process and how to contact legislators.

Politics don't have to divide friends, families and communities, according to a panel discussion Tuesday hosted by Sierra Nevada Forums.

When Nevada lawmakers approved spending nearly $16 million to hire hundreds of school social workers during the 2015 session, the expectation was that schools would soon see hundreds of licensed experts pouring through their doors to combat bullying and other behavioral health issues.

Despite building a budget based around an excise tax on marijuana, Nevada officials are taking a wait-and see approach in the wake of promises from the Donald Trump administration promising “greater enforcement” of federal marijuana laws.

Special Olympics athletes, program leaders, Unified Partners and family members from 39 states and the District of Columbia converged on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, Feb. 15, for Special Olympics’ 15th annual “Capitol Hill Day.”

Facing the likely repeal of the Affordable Care Act, Democratic female lawmakers are preparing a multi-pronged effort to preserve access to women’s preventative health services in Nevada.

CARSON CITY, NV – Gov. Brian Sandoval announced Monday that he has appointed Lt. Governor Mark Hutchison to serve as Chairman of the Governor’s Committee on Energy Choice. The Governor announced the body’s creation during his biennial State of the State address in January.

CARSON CITY — The Nevada Legislature set a fast pace in its first week, beginning with a historic moment in the Assembly, political puffery in the Senate and committee hearings out of the starting block.

Welcome to an everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know and things-you-didn’t-even-know-you-needed-to-know primer on the Legislature, the never-boring 120-day bill-making stint energized by 63 state lawmakers, hundreds of staffers, more than 1,000 lobbyists, and lots of citizen witnesses and advocates. And the governor.

CARSON CITY — Nevada Attorney General Adam Paul Laxalt announced that his office will be presenting Assembly Bill 59 in the upcoming legislative session. If the bill is passes, it would amend the current state statute to expand conditions that may be imposed upon sex offenders subject to lifetime supervision.

After years of being a “donor state” that gives more to the federal government than it gets back, Nevada’s become a “recipient state” that gets more than it gives — mainly due to an influx of new federal money from the state’s move to expand Medicaid beyond the poorest of the poor.

Carson City Assemblyman Al Kramer has requested five bills for the upcoming Legislature including two that deal with issues at Clear Creek.

Gov. Brian Sandoval’s budget depends on nearly $100 million in revenue from marijuana over the next two years, although Nevada officials said Tuesday that they haven’t heard from the Trump Administration either way on whether it’ll start enforcing federal law and shut the practice down.

This week included a very historic moment for the State of Nevada when Governor Sandoval gave his State of the State Address to a packed audience in the Assembly Chamber.

Nearly 30 miles of river that’s been largely locked away from the public could become a jewel of Nevada’s state parks system. It’s one of two new parks included in the budget proposal by Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval, who announced the plans Tuesday in his State of the State address.

Gov. Brian Sandoval painted a hopeful picture of a recovering Nevada during his State of the State address on Tuesday, saying dreams of a diversified economy are starting to materialize and proposing a two-year budget that’s 10 percent larger than the one before it.

The 2015 Nevada Legislature passed Gov. Brian Sandoval’s sweeping education reform package that included 25 bills and an investment of $343 million to prepare students to meet the demands of the new Nevada economy.

Here is the 2017 State of the State presented by Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval.