lawmakers

Gov. Steve Sisolak told Nevadans experiencing some of their darkest hours of economic and public health devastation that he has a plan to create more than 165,000 jobs over the next decade, launch new initiatives to retrain displaced workers and build out an economy based on clean energy, blockchain and other futuristic technologies.

Gov. Steve Sisolak is proposing a two-year budget that reverses cuts to Medicaid and other key K-12 programs made last summer, after financial projections left the state at what officials are calling an “inconsistent, if not positive, ending point” for tax revenue.

Democratic Assemblyman Alexander Assefa has resigned from the Legislature after a criminal investigation was launched into his alleged misuse of campaign funds and failure to live in his Las Vegas-area district.

Between a global pandemic, protests over racial injustice and a highly contentious presidential election, firearm sales in Nevada spiked in 2020, with the first 10 months of gun sales already 57 percent greater than all gun sales made in 2019.

In a rush to avoid an end-of-the-year reversion back to the federal government, Nevada lawmakers have signed off on a plan that will allocate roughly $207 million in federal COVID-19 pandemic relief dollars largely to equipment costs and salaries of state employees.

As Nevada’s economy continues to reel from the pandemic, Gov. Steve Sisolak’s finance office is asking state agencies to propose 12 percent cuts in their budgets for each year of the 2021-2023 biennium.

Nevada is launching a new, broad-based grant program for businesses and nonprofits that suffered pandemic-related hardship after an earlier effort to offer commercial rent assistance was able to get less than half of its funds out the door.

When the pandemic forced the DMV to close in-person services and waive deadlines, license renewals slowed, vehicle registrations lapsed and voter registration numbers plummeted as people largely stopped interacting with the DMV.

Lawmakers ended the second special session of the summer shortly after midnight on Wednesday after passing a heavily lobbied bill that shields many businesses from COVID-19-related lawsuits but ultimately exempted school districts, hospitals and other health care facilities from receiving the additional protections.

Democrats are pushing back on President Donald Trump’s latest criticism and threat of litigation over Nevada’s move toward a mostly mail general election.

Nevada lawmakers who say they’ve been inundated with pleas for help from constituents sorted through a bill Sunday night that they acknowledge isn’t a silver bullet for the state’s unemployment backlog, but could ease some of the system’s bottlenecks.

Hours after President Donald Trump threatened litigation over it through a tweet, members of the Nevada Senate voted on party lines to approve a bill that expands mail-in voting during times of emergency.

A bill that restricts police use of chokeholds, allows recording of law enforcement and calls for drug testing of officers involved in shootings passed the Assembly with bipartisan support, in spite of criticism that lawmakers could have gone further to address police brutality.

State lawmakers have taken the first steps to amend a cap on mining taxes in the state Constitution, a process that could raise hundreds of millions of dollars in new revenue but was staunchly opposed by Republicans and the mining industry representatives who warned it would be a “death knell” for rural Nevada.

Nevada lawmakers are convening for a special session to address a long list of policy topics ahead of their regularly scheduled session early next year.

To help readers understand where bills stand in the sometimes chaotic world of the Legislature, The Nevada Independent is maintaining this viewer’s guide with brief overviews and status updates on the measures.

Gov. Steve Sisolak has formally called on legislators to convene in Carson City for a second special session of the summer focused on a wide range of policy issues.

The governor issued an official proclamation on Thursday evening calling for the special session to begin Friday, with language requesting the session wrap up by midnight on Friday, Aug. 7.

Small businesses struggling to pay rent during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic may soon have a lifeline: a new state-run, federally funded commercial rent assistance grant program that will pay up to $10,000 to help prevent evictions.

Please support our Law Enforcement Officers at a Rally in front of the Carson City Nevada Legislative Building at 8:30AM on Thursday, July 30th.

CARSON CITY — On Monday, Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak signed into law the final bills of the 31st Special Session of the Nevada Legislature.

Lawmakers finalized hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts to state agencies on Sunday, adjusting a budget that is set to lose a quarter of the revenue previously projected because of the pandemic and wrapping up a protracted session marked by false starts and delays.

CARSON CITY — Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak released the following statement Sunday regarding the second special session of the Nevada Legislature:

The Assembly approved an omnibus budget bill a second time Sunday morning, this time with an amendment allocating tens of millions of dollars in federal coronavirus relief funding toward boosting alternative education strategies during the pandemic, winning over several Republican lawmakers who opposed the proposal 15 hours earlier.

Members of the Assembly took the first step to formally slash hundreds of millions of dollars from state budget accounts to close a $1.2 billion budget gap Saturday evening.

Renters who fell behind on payments during the pandemic should be able to apply this week for a new state program that will disburse $50 million in federal coronavirus relief funds to ease housing and business woes.

An individual at the Legislature has tested positive for COVID-19, according to an email sent by Legislative Counsel Bureau Director Brenda Erdoes to lawmakers on Friday and obtained by The Nevada Independent.

Assemblyman John Ellison receives a sticker from Nevada Army Guard Cpl. Travis Doll signifying he has passed a health screening and can enter the Legislature for the special session on Wednesday in Carson City.

The Nevada Guard screened all of the legislators for coronavirus symptoms before the special session began. The screenings will continue for the duration of the session.

Lawmakers began the task of filling the $1.2 billion hole in the state’s budget on Wednesday as they kicked off their special session with a litany of budget and agency briefings throughout the day.

More than a hundred teachers, parents and community members took to Carson Street in Carson City on Wednesday to protest proposed budget cuts to education.

Nevada lawmakers will convene on Wednesday morning for the first time since mid-2019 for what is expected to be a painful special session cutting $1.2 billion out of the state’s budget.

A special session of the Nevada State Legislature begins tomorrow, Wednesday July 8 as lawmakers decide what to do with the state's budget during the COVID-19 epidemic.

Legislative session has always been a major boost to Carson City's economy, with local businesses such as restaurants and hotels receiving many positive economic impacts.