CARSON CITY — Gov. Brian Sandoval on Thursday recommended the repeal of 654 Nevada regulations over a wide range of industries that he says are either unneeded or a drag on economic growth.

Among them: a rule requiring labels on toilets in manufactured buildings advising of maximum water use per flush. The state Manufactured Housing Division concluded the regulation is duplicative and unnecessary.
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RENO, Nev. — Things haven't gotten much better for Newt Gingrich since he alighted here early Wednesday from a stinging defeat in Florida's primary.

The former House speaker abruptly canceled a meeting with Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval after his campaign had arranged the photo opportunity at Sandoval's office in Carson City. Not even Gingrich's campaign advisers know why the campaign scheduler called it off, irking them and those in Sandoval's office who had helped set up the event.
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More than four months after a gunman opened fire at the Carson City IHOP, one of the Nevada National Guardsmen wounded in the tragedy is planning to re-enlist.

Sergeant First Class Jeremy Mock will be sworn in Friday by Governor Brian Sandoval in Carson City. (See video)
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Gov. Brian Sandoval today announced $500,000 in new funding for the Nevada Microenterprise Initiative, aimed at expanding small-business entrepreneurship among low and moderate-income people throughout Nevada.
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CARSON CITY – Nevada’s unemployment rate fell by four-tenths of a percentage point to 12.6 percent in December, the second consecutive monthly decline that saw the number of jobless drop to 166,300, a state agency reported today.

A year ago, the rate, which is adjusted for seasonal fluctuations in the labor market, hit a record high of 14.9 percent.

Gov. Brian Sandoval said he remains bullish about Nevada's economic future and dismisses banter of pending tax initiatives as premature and wrong for the state.

II don't believe it's prudent to set tax policy based on initiatives," the first-term Republican told The Associated Press this week in an interview at his Capitol office.
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UPDATE 510PM: Fire burns more than 3,000 acres with zero containment; 4,000 evacuated; no count on home and structure losses.

At 4:40 pm this afternoon, Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval, under his constitutional and statutory authority, made a state declaration of emergency which qualifies local governments for federal assistance associated with this event. The National Guard is on standby at the request of Sandoval and Washoe County. California has also provided fire assistance as part of a Governor to Governor agreement with Jerry Brown. “Our thoughts and prayers are with those who have been and are being affected by this fire,” Sandoval said. “Declaring a state of emergency ensures that every resource from the local, state and federal level is available to assist. The Nevada Division of Forestry and the Department of Public Safety have also engaged with local responders.” Additionally, Nevada has been approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for a Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG). As a result, Nevada is eligible for up to 75 percent funding assistance for eligible costs. The request was made by the Nevada Division of Forestry on behalf of Washoe County at the onset of the fire.

More below the fold.

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.

Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval has signed an executive order to begin planning for the state's 150th birthday bash in 2014.
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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 — The state will make another attempt to turn over to local governments the responsibility and cost of maintaining nearly 1,000 miles of roadway across Nevada.

At its meeting today, the state Transportation Board, chaired by Gov. Brian Sandoval, directed that a letter be sent to cities and counties asking them to accept what state officials believe are a local responsibilities.
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CARSON CITY – A legal firm retained by the state Department of Transportation to defend against a contractor dispute over construction of a section of the Carson City bypass has racked up $6 million in fees so far and the costs could still go higher.

Gov. Brian Sandoval today expressed concern about the amount of legal fees in the case involving a $40 million claim by Utah-based Ames Construction, which built the first phase of the U.S. 395 bypass in the capital that opened in February of 2006.

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.

CARSON CITY – Gov. Brian Sandoval this morning issued this executive order to all members of his Cabinet. He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work.

Nevada Sen. Dean Heller — along with Sen Harry Reid, D-Nev., the Senate majority leader, and Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval — remains committed to finding relief from the high unemployment in the state, especially with military personnel.

Heller, a Republican, made his remarks on Friday in his monthly rural press conference to Nevada reporters and editors.
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CARSON CITY – Nevada’s unemployment rate fell in November for the first time since May, to a seasonally-adjusted 13 percent, a state agency reported today. The rate is down nearly two percentage points from the same time last year, pushing the estimate of jobless Nevadans down to 171,800 from 198,200.
The rate dropped four-tenths of a percentage point from October’s 13.4 percent rate.

CARSON CITY – Efforts by Gov. Brian Sandoval and state lawmakers to encourage new business creation, relocation and expansion in Nevada took a major step forward today when the Legislature’s Interim Finance Committee approved nearly $3.5 million to fund a new economic development office.
The funding will enable Steve Hill, executive director of the Governor’s Office on Economic Development, to develop a state economic development plan and hire the staff needed to move forward on private sector job creation efforts.

CARSON CITY – A state board today agreed to pay a former prison inmate $175,000 to settle a federal civil rights lawsuit stemming from his shooting by a correctional officer in 2006.
The Board of Examiners, made up of Gov. Brian Sandoval, Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto and Secretary of State Ross Miller, approved the settlement with former inmate Donald Hixon.

The state Tax Commission adopted regulations Monday that reduce some deductions mining companies have been taking and will produce $24 million a year in revenue for the state and local governments.

Commissioners had no choice but to pass the new regulations since they put into effect a law approved by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Brian Sandoval. ...

CARSON CITY – A member of the panel charged with helping diversify Nevada’s economy and create jobs said today he wants to make sure the state plan developed to achieve these goals is a practical working document.
“I hope we have concrete definitions that go beyond buzzwords,” said Sam Routson, a member of the state Board of Economic Development.
The plan needs to be a working tool that the public can easily understand, he said. Routson is the chief administrative officer for the agricultural company Winnemucca Farms.

CARSON CITY – A 22-month, $280,000 contract with a private sector individual to work as a liaison between the Department of Transportation and contractors seeking work with the agency has been terminated by Director Susan Martinovich.

Gov. Brian Sandoval should have stopped the Department of Corrections from running up a $2.5 million deficit and moving to close the Nevada State Prison three months ahead of a legislative requirement, a union leader said Tuesday.

Vishnu Subramaniam, chief of staff for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 4041, said it is apparent that Sandoval was caught off guard until a Monday meeting where it was reported that the Corrections Department incurred $2.5 million in unbudgeted overtime in the July-through-September quarter.

He also said Sandoval had no idea that Corrections Director Greg Cox was moving to close the 144-year-old prison on Jan. 9 despite a legislative directive to close it April 1.

CARSON CITY – A state official said today the firm hired in January to take over the operation of the Medicaid billing and information systems has completed its work by today’s deadline.
HP Enterprise Services was given a four-month extension to complete the transfer and start-up of the system after it failed to make an Aug. 1 deadline.

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.