transparency

CARSON CITY – A bill aimed at increasing transparency and accountability for state employees working as contractors saw final legislative approval today when the Assembly and Senate reached agreement on compromise language to the measure.
Assembly Bill 240, sponsored by Ways and Means Committee Chairwoman Debbie Smith, D-Sparks, will now go to Gov. Brian Sandoval for his consideration.

CARSON CITY – Two major bills seeking reforms to and transparency in Nevada’s campaign finance laws have seen final approval in the Legislature and are now on their way to Gov. Brian Sandoval for his consideration.
Assembly Bills 82 and 452 are two of three campaign finance reform measures sought by Secretary of State Ross Miller in the 2011 session.

CARSON CITY – A bill imposing more transparency on rate increases sought by health insurance companies is now on its way to Gov. Brian Sandoval for his review.
Assembly Bill 309, sought by Assembly Speaker John Oceguera, D-Las Vegas, requires health insurance companies to publicize their rate increase requests online and allows the public to participate in rate hearings before the Nevada Division of Insurance.

CARSON CITY – Two major bills seeking reforms to and transparency in Nevada’s campaign finance laws won approval in the Senate today and now must await review in the Assembly before they can go to Gov. Brian Sandoval for his consideration.

CARSON CITY – A bill implementing “performance-based” budgeting, including requirements for agencies to set benchmarks and goals and be held accountable for their spending priorities using quantifiable measurements, passed the Senate today and now heads to Gov. Brian Sandoval.
Assembly Bill 248, sponsored by Assemblywoman Debbie Smith, D-Sparks, and Assembly Speaker John Oceguera, D-Las Vegas, already passed the Assembly.

CARSON CITY – CARSON CITY – A bill seeking major reforms to Nevada’s campaign finance laws won approval from a Senate panel today after controversial provisions requiring a two-year cooling off period from lobbying by former public officials were stripped from the measure.
Assembly Bill 452 was approved by the Senate Legislative Operations and Elections Committee with Sen. James Settelmeyer, R-Gardnerville, voting no.

By Sean Whaley
CARSON CITY – An ambitious effort to make major reforms to Nevada’s campaign finance laws moved to the state Senate today after three measures sought by Secretary of State Ross Miller passed the Assembly by a deadline last month.

By Sean Whaley
CARSON CITY – A bill aimed at increasing transparency and accountability in state contracting passed the Assembly by a deadline today and will now be considered in the Senate.
Assembly Bill 240, sponsored by Ways and Means Committee Chairwoman Debbie Smith, D-Sparks, passed on a 40-2 vote.

By Sean Whaley
CARSON CITY – Two bills that would close loopholes and increase transparency in Nevada’s election and campaign finance laws won approval in the Assembly today with no time to spare.
Secretary of State Ross Miller is seeking the bills restricting the use of multiple political action committees to bypass campaign contribution limits and requiring electronic filing of campaign contribution and expense reports by most candidates.

CARSON CITY — Assemblyman Pat Hickey, R-Sparks, is asking other legislators to “lay your cards on the table.”
As the budget debate in Carson City roils to no discernible conclusion, Hickey is bringing 21 lawmakers, business leadersa and academics to the Legislature to talk taxes and government reform.
“This forum will help get out into the open things that have only been talked about behind closed doors,” Hickey said. “As moderator, I plan to press participants to speak openly about the ‘end game’ here this session.”

CARSON CITY – A major campaign finance reform bill that would require most candidates to file their contribution and expense reports electronically narrowly passed out of an Assembly panel today on an 8-7 vote.
The bill would also move filing deadlines up to give voters more time to review the political donation and expense information before casting their ballots.

CARSON CITY – A major campaign finance reform bill that would require most candidates to file their contribution and expense reports electronically narrowly passed out of an Assembly panel today on an 8-7 vote.
The bill would also move filing deadlines up to give voters more time to review the political donation and expense information before casting their ballots.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – A simplified campaign finance reform bill that would require most candidates to file their contribution and expense reports electronically was given a generally favorable reception today during an Assembly Committee hearing.

By Sean Whaley/Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – The Senate majority leader today advanced a bill intended to make state and local government contracts more efficient and transparent to benefit both taxpayers and consumers was reviewed by a legislative subcommittee on Friday.

(News Release) — In a lakewide study, a team of scientists lead by University of Nevada, Reno limnologist Sudeep Chandra has found a considerable decline in native fish species density at Lake Tahoe since 1951. In their final report, they are recommending establishing and implementing a management plan to protect the nearshore zone habitat, which is critical to native fish.

CARSON CITY – Assembly Speaker John Oceguera testified today in support of a bill that would expand health insurance transparency for consumers so they can shop for the best coverage.
Assembly Bill 309, reviewed by the Assembly Commerce and Labor Committee, is opposed by many companies offering health insurance in Nevada. Only one insurance representative testified against the bill at the hearing, however.

CARSON CITY – Secretary of State Ross Miller made his pitch for campaign finance reform before an Assembly committee today, saying that while his two bills are extensive and complex at 155 pages combined, the many provisions are necessary because, “we are behind the curve.”
Miller, in testimony before the Assembly Legislative Operations and Elections Committee, said Nevada should provide increased transparency to voters about the campaign contributions and expenses of the candidates for public office.

By Andrew Doughman / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – A coffee shop across the street from the Legislature announces “let the games begin.”
With the Legislature in session for less than two weeks, Democratic legislators seem to be playing the game well.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Secretary of State Ross Miller says the time is ripe to get a substantial campaign finance reform package through the Legislature, and with Gov. Brian Sandoval and lawmakers of both parties in agreement on the need for change, he may be right.

CARSON CITY – Mention government transparency and “Twitter” probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind.
A communication technology that gives users 140 characters to share where they just had lunch or “Tweet” trivia about the weather and celebrities doesn’t immediately scream “politics” either.
But Nevada state legislators, lobbyists and journalists are finding more and more use in Twitter because the platform allows information gathering and governing at high speed.

CARSON CITY – They speak of limbs hacked off, death and guts.
In a war of words, critics of Gov. Brian Sandoval’s $5.8 billion budget have lambasted his proposed cuts to K-12, higher education and health and human services.

By Andrew Doughman / Nevada News Bureau
New state legislators got the low-down this past Friday about how to deal with the press. The theme woven throughout the legislative training seminar was one of transparency.

By Andrew Doughman / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Secretary of State Ross Miller today appointed Scott F. Gilles as deputy elections officer. He steps into the role after his predecessor, Matt Griffin, resigned this past December to return to private practice.

In an apparent move to increase the transparency of his administration, Gov. Brian Sandoval released today the annual salaries of his staff. His 17 staff positions, one of which is vacant, consume about $1 million of the governor’s executive budget.
His highest paid employee, Chief of Staff Heidi Gansert, will earn $124,988 this year. The lowest paid, Celia Magana, is an administrative assistant in Las Vegas earning $29,984.

CARSON CITY – In the wake of a legislative audit critical of state agency contracting practices with current and former employees, the Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources has posted its information online.
Bob Conrad, public information officer for the department, said the contract information was placed on the agency’s website on Dec. 29.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – The Nevada State Medical Association believes consumers should have access to clear and understandable information about the cost and coverage provided under health care insurance policies before they sign on the dotted line.

Before you head to the polls tomorrow (if you haven't voted early), you might want to check out the candidate expense forms to see who is backing our local candidates. The Secretary of State's website doesn't have all the latest forms online yet, but here are the links to the ones they do have:

Nevada Assembly District 40
Pete Livermore
Robin Williamson

Republican Steve Martin, whose neck-and-neck race with incumbent state Treasurer Kate Marshall will be decided Tuesday, recently answered some questions about his candidacy in an e-interview with the Nevada News Bureau.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – The state Assembly’s Democratic Caucus failed to disclose more than $120,000 in donations from its own members earlier this year, but a Democratic leader says they weren’t legally required to do so.

By Nevada News Bureau
Barry Herr, the Republican candidate challenging state Controller Kim Wallin in the November general election, said today he would bring a GOP point of view to the office and use the position to bring conservative influence to the discussion of taxes and other issues.