Silver State Musings: The election is over, enjoy the holidays, then get to work

The dust has finally settled on Nevada's 2018 mid-term elections following months of relentless media blitzing. I doubt that I am the only one breathing a sigh of relief.

I'm not going to comment specifically on the results, except to say that each candidate who was elected or re-elected has been tasked to speak and act on behalf of those who hired them to do a job.

Remember, you folks who charmed us for our votes now have work to do. We are not only your employer, we are also your leaders. We expect nothing short of respect for all of the hard work we put in every day to better our communities, the heartbeat and life blood of our state and country.

To the new Democratic House Majority, you have the opportunity to fix what you started nine years ago. Please make things right with health care this time around. You are there to legislate as legislators, not litigate as litigators, so please do not get bogged down in partisan politics as typically happens. Learn from your past mistakes lest your power grab be but a brief two years.

Ditto to the Republican Senate Majority. Show me what can get done that will benefit the people, establish justice, provide for the common defence, ensure domestic tranquility, promote the general welfare and preserve individual liberty for all. Continue playing games with the other party and you may find your majority gone in a few short years.

Then again, I get the distinct impression that these power shifts are nothing more than a Beltway game to both major parties in the swamp anyway. They've played it for so long and so often that it's no wonder the federal government is in the shape it is.

But I digress. The election is over, and we missed yet another opportunity to really send the swamp things a message.

To Nevada's new blue state government, please don't muck it up. Nevada has some positive, good things going on.

Our state is business and tax friendly. It should remain that way. The people here value their individual liberty, keeping more of what they earn, property rights and a diverse economy made up of multiple industries that provide reasonable pay and a bright future for its workers.

Nevadans also value a fair shake and do not appreciate being taken advantage of by anyone, either in business or in government. Tread lightly while ensuring fairness, equality and justice for all.

There is work to be done here in the Silver State, and some things need improvement.

Public education is one of those. But please don't get caught up in the popular notion that spending more money will fix what is wrong. That's a superficial solution, at best.

A person can spend thousands of dollars to rid a house of mold only to see the problem persist or resurface, because the structure has been compromised and corrupted.

I suspect something structural within the public education system itself has been failing students, parents and teachers.

While it is true that one must spend money to get a positive return on an investment — and per pupil spending in Nevada has lagged behind much of the country — I think there is a systemic reason why Nevada has been trailing the rest of the nation in education results for many years now. Money alone is not going to fix what I believe is a qualitative problem.

Another challenge our state faces is health care. There's a problem when few area providers accept the only insurance a resident qualifies for. Certain types of Medicaid, for instance, are required for particular counties or regions in Nevada. When a person cannot find a sufficient number of providers who accept that insurance in their area, that's problematic and it needs to change.

There's a problem when a person must wait months to see a specialist or weeks to see a general practitioner. There's a problem when individuals or families are unable to afford a monthly premium and cannot even come close to covering the out-of-pocket deductible.

There's a problem when a person must use all of a health insurance tax credit a year in advance just to afford a monthly premium, and are up a creek without a paddle when trying to qualify for deductions can come tax season.

Mental and behavioral health services have long been in short supply in Nevada, and so has access to sufficient treatment resources. I'd like to see our new executive office holders cultivate more business with the mental and behavioral health industry, attracting more providers to the Silver State and ensuring cooperation with insurance carriers.

Nevada's upcoming biennial legislature will face even more challenges now that five of the six statewide ballot questions have passed.

Among those will be to determine the impact of lost sales tax revenue caused by new product exemptions, and figure out how to address that shortfall. State, county and municipal governments will all be challenged in this way.

Add to it new expenditures of imposing Question 5, the automatic voter registration law, and suddenly the state government will not only be looking at less revenue, but more costs, too.

There are also financial implications to the new Marsy's Law, Question 1, passed by voters earlier this month. The language in a section of this new Nevada constitutional amendment has been interpreted to mean that all victim restitution must be paid in full first before the government may recover its costs incurred over the course of pursuing justice.

The new legislature will have to figure out how courts and other public agencies can make up for losses resulting from these costs until such time as they are paid by convicted persons, whenever that may be. It could be many years before the public sees compensation for its costs.

Furthermore, Nevada energy producers will now have to meet new standards on clean energy production over the next decade. The legislature will need to work with state utilities to mitigate increased infrastructure costs that this new law will likely result in and ensure that Nevada consumers are not punished for those, either.

All of this in addition to the usual long line of bills on the docket to be considered for legislation.

The 2019 Nevada Biennial Legislature and the new incoming executive officers will have their work cut out for them. I hope they are up to the task, because there is much to do and little time to do it in.

So, savor and relish this holiday season with your families and loved ones, because it may well be the calm before the storm. Nevada's next political zephyr is forecast to arrive shortly after New Year's.