Legislature

CARSON CITY – As National School Choice Week gets under way today state officials say Nevada school children have more opportunities than ever before to choose a school that works best for them.

But one element of choice, a school voucher program, remains an unrealized and divisive issue for the state’s policy makers.

CARSON CITY – Nevada ranked 30^th among the states in how it protects animals in 2011, scoring only 25 points out of a possible 66, The Humane Society of the United States said in a national report released today.

Ranking first with 46 points was California, followed by New Jersey and Oregon with 40 points. In last place was South Dakota with eight points, with Idaho second to last with nine points.

CARSON CITY – Nevada voters can now be better informed than ever before with the Wednesday launch of Aurora, a user-friendly, searchable database for all campaign and public officer finance disclosures, Secretary of State Ross Miller said today.

Aurora, which can be accessed directly through the Secretary of State’s homepage, will provide a new level of insight into who is funding campaigns, and how those funds are being spent, he said.

CARSON CITY – A panel of key gaming figures and state officials will begin meeting next month to consider the impact of Internet gaming and other technological advances on Nevada’s major industry.

Gov. Brian Sandoval announced his five appointments to the Gaming Policy Committee yesterday. The full 11-member committee has not met since 1984. Sandoval will serve as chairman.

CARSON CITY – A state panel today supported a request from the Department of Taxation for $260,000 to hire a team of auditors to track cigarette sales to protect a $40 million a year payment to Nevada from the nation’s major tobacco companies.

CARSON CITY – Fifteen people, eight from within Nevada and seven from out of the state, have applied for the job of state superintendent of public instruction.

Three of the 15 did candidates that applied by a Dec. 30 deadline not meet the statutory requirements for the position, such as having a master’s degree in education or school administration, the Sandoval administration said in an update on the search process.

CARSON CITY – Washoe County School District Superintendent Heath Morrison has been named a finalist for the 2012 National Superintendent of the Year.

The American Association of School Administrators (AASA) selected Morrison and three other superintendents as the four finalists in the national program.

Swing into the new year with the Mile High Jazz Band at "Cool Jazz in January," a big-band event with vocalist Sheryl Adams at Comma Coffee, on Tuesday, January 10, 8:00 to 10:00 p.m. Comma Coffee, 312 S. Carson Street, is across the street from the state legislature building in Carson City. General admission is $5 at the door, and is free for age 18 and under. Come early for dance instruction, 6:00 to 7:15 p.m., $5 additional.

The state's Interim Finance Committee questioned Corrections Director Greg Cox over contradictory plans for running the license plate shop at the Nevada State Prison once the facility closes down. The original plan was for the shop to stay where it is and be run by minimum security inmates. But Cox had also been looking at moving the plant to either the Northern Nevada Correctional Center on the south side of Carson City, or to High Desert State Prison near Las Vegas. He said they didn't currently have the money to make that move.

The IFC also got the final $521,904 bill for the special election to fill Nevada's Second Congressional District seat after Gov. Brian Sandoval appointed Dean Heller to the U.S. Senate seat vacated by John Ensign.

The IFC also approved funding for 20 of the 30 new positions for the Department of Motor Vehicles approved by the 2011 Legislature. The new positions are supposed to help cut the wait time at DMV offices, which have increased since 85 positions were eliminated due to budget cuts.

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A coalition of organizations is urging the Attorney General's office to reject a multi-state settlement with the banking industry over allegations of widespread falsifying loan documents and other wrongdoing in the wake of the mortgage foreclosure crisis. New York and California have already signaled that they will not sign onto the agreement, and the Attorneys General of Nevada and California recently announced that they will work together to investigate allegations of wrongdoing by the banks.

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The Carson City Board of Supervisors approved an agreement with the Nevada Small Business Development Center at UNR to work together to operate the city's Business Resource Innovation Center, under the leadership of its new director Michael Salogga.

Occupy Carson City, an offshoot of the worldwide Occupy Wall Street movement, will be staging a protest Saturday, Dec. 10, 2011, at the Nevada State Legislature on Carson St., from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The public is welcome to attend the protest appropriately being held on Human Rights Day, and Occupy Carson City has chosen this day to take a stand and protest for human rights above corporate rights. The protest comes on the heels of a recently-released study that ranked Nevada last in the nation for children's healthcare, often considered an indicator of human rights in any particular

The state Board of Prison Commissioners meets today in Carson City, and on their agenda is a report on the progress in closing of Nevada State Prison.

This local landmark dates back to the 1860s, but the old facility was put on the chopping block by lawmakers earlier this year. Gov. Brian Sandoval wanted to close it by October, but the legislature extended its last days until April. Inmates and staff have been moved to other institutions, and as of last week, there were only 139 inmates left, down from 700.

Not much to sum up this morning, the first day the Nevada Appeal starts charging to read at least part of their news online. Just signed up, and it's a pretty backwards way of handing online subscriptions. Perhaps they've never heard the term "ecommerce" before. But enough about that.

Most of the news today that is locked behind the wall are stories we've already brought to you for free, such as the lawsuit alleging that state Sen. Mo Denis can't serve in the legislature while working for the Nevada Public Utilities Commission. Then there is the announcement that open enrollment for Nevada's prepaid college tuition plan begins today. And then there is this story about the committee that is looking at how Nevada funds education.

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Bethlehem Lutheran School won the trophy for collecting the most cans of food for FISH's annual Trick-or-Treat Fall Food Drive.

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A theater class at Carson High School has created an original play that they are performing for CHS health classes.

A conservative think tank filed a lawsuit today with the ultimate goal of preventing public employees from serving in the Nevada Legislature.

The Nevada Policy Research Institute's lawsuit focuses on state Sen. Mo Denis, D-Las Vegas, who works as a computer technician for the Nevada Public Utilities Commission, which is under the executive branch of state government. He also serves in the Legislature, which passes budgets and sets policy for state government.

Potential Democratic candidates for the Nevada Legislature are continuing their game of musical chairs.

First, Assemblywoman Dina Neal, D-North Las Vegas, announced in an email Friday that she had changed her mind and will not run for the soon-to-be vacant Senate District 4 seat now held by congressional candidate Steven Horsford.

Term limits and redistricting are about to end Northern Nevada's decades-long stranglehold on key leadership posts in the Legislature.

Because the top leaders shape each legislative session, that should mean more power for Southern Nevada.

Keeping a promise made during the 2011 Nevada Legislature, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency has taken the first step toward giving local governments in the basin control over permitting and other rules.

%u201CTRPA's goal is to operate more on a regional scale where we can be most effective at protecting the Lake Tahoe environment and to shift some level of permit review responsibilities to local governments,%u201D said Executive Director Joanne Marchetta.

Judy Monson, founder and director of the Carson Chamber Singers since 1985, has announced her decision to retire in June 2012 after the Pops Party concert. A well known and loved educator, vocalist, and conductor in Carson City and Reno, Ms. Monson has led the Chamber Singers in inspiring performances in Carson City, Reno, Virginia City, Minden, Genoa, and Fallon.

The Mile High Jazz Band and vocalist Sheryl Adams will be joined by Rita Geil and other award-winning poets for an evening of big-band jazz and poetry on Tuesday, December 13, 8:00 to 10:00 p.m., at Comma Coffee. The theme of the evening, "Illuminations," relates to the holidays and to life.

Comma Coffee, 312 S. Carson Street, is across the street from the state legislature building in Carson City.

General admission is $5 at the door, and free for age 18 and under. Dance instruction, 6:00-7:15 p.m. is $5 additional.

There is supposed to be a story here about a man being tried in the beating death of a boy, but instead the story is about a local family finalizing the adoptions of three of their 21 children. The full story about that family is here.

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The Carson City Board of Supervisors approved a plan to allow the Jump Around Carson bus service to place advertising on its bus shelters to earn extra revenue. The plan comes with some restrictions, such as limiting the size of ads and not allowing them in historic districts.

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Occupy Carson City held an impromptu demonstration in front of the legislature, coinciding with nationwide protests.

Tonight if you see your state senator and a lobbyist dining on Châteaubriand and drinking red wine in a fine Las Vegas restaurant, it's a safe bet they aren't going Dutch treat. The lobbyist will pick up the tab and no one ever will know he did.

With much fanfare in April, legislative leaders called for approval of a plan to make government more transparent to Nevadans. A few weeks later, the Senate unanimously passed a bill to require lobbyists to report their year-round expenditures on legislators.

Occupy Wall Street began their two-week march from Nov. 9-23 to Washington, D.C. to tell Congress' Deficit Super Committee that the Occupy movement is against any extension of the Bush tax cuts. An extension of those cuts, which are due to expire in 2012, as well as reducing the tax rate on the highest bracket from 35 percent to 28 percent is being suggested as part of possible negotiations in creating the deficit reduction package which has a deadline of Nov. 23.

The Mile High Jazz Band will perform "November Jazz," a program of big-band jazz on Tuesday, November 8, 8:00 to 10:00 p.m. at Comma Coffee, 312 S. Carson Street, across the street from the state legislature building in Carson City. General admission is $5 at the door; free for age 18 and under. Dance instruction, 6:00-7:15 p.m. is $5 additional.

Carson City, NV - Occupy Carson City, an extension of the Occupy Wall St. movement, will hold their weekly peaceful assembly on Saturday from 1:00-3:00 p.m. at the Legislature Sidewalks at 401 S. Carson Street in Downtown Carson City. Everyone is welcome to participate, and the group has been in close communication with law enforcement to avoid any problems.

Along with the myriad of other new laws, Nevada has several new estate planning laws. Here's how they may affect you.The Good: Nevada now has informal probate procedures that allow an executor to m...

In 1933, the Nevada Legislature adopted "Home Means Nevada" as the official state song. Bertha Raffetto of Reno wrote the song to honor the state. As Nevada celebrates its 147th birthday on Monday,...

Assemblyman Ira Hansen on Wednesday joined with the American Civil Liberties Union in questioning a provision requiring those seeking public records from the Legislature to say what they want them ...

CARSON CITY – Attorneys for the Nevada Republican Party today filed a brief with the Nevada Supreme Court opposing Secretary of State Ross Miller’s emergency petition seeking to intervene on the question of the authority of the courts to decide the state’s political boundaries instead of the Legislature.

by Guy Rocha, former Nevada State Archivist
Why all the fuss about Nevada's birthday on October 31? The battle lines were drawn between "traditionalists", and the "grinches" who would steal Nevada Day by calling for the last Friday of October to be the state's official holiday. The parade and other festivities would follow on Saturday; thus making for a three-day weekend for some Nevadans as well as state and local government employees. With the passage of AB396 by the 1997 legislature, Nevada voters, on November 3, 1998 advised the 1999 legislature they wanted to celebrate Nevada Day on the last Friday in October beginning in 2000. The legislature, after much heated debate, complied.

Occupy Carson City, an offshoot of the worldwide Occupy Wall Street movement, will be staging a protest Saturday, Oct. 22, 2011, at the Nevada State Legislature on Carson St., from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. They invite the media and the public to attend. Anyone who encourages violence will be politely asked to leave. This will not be an occupation – there will be no camping.

CARSON CITY – The National Governors Association (NGA) announced today  that Nevada has been selected as one of six states to participate in a Policy Academy on strengthening post-secondary education performance measures.