Assembly

By Sean Whaley
CARSON CITY – Work on closing Nevada’s two-year $6 billion general fund budget will begin in earnest tomorrow after the Economic Forum today finalized its tax revenue projections for the coming two years.
But legislative Democrats and Gov. Brian Sandoval remain far apart on an acceptable spending plan even with a $218 million general fund revenue increase.

The Assembly Ways and Means Committee was asked Saturday to create a system of tax breaks for businesses willing to invest in university programs.Assembly Bill 191 by Assemblyman Marcus Conklin and...

Union officials representing state workers Friday urged lawmakers to reject the governor's proposed changes to their pay, vacation schedule and other benefits.Assembly Bill 560 contains most of ...

Some of the outrage over Gov. Brian Sandoval's original buffet of proposed cuts was gone Friday, four days after he announced $46 million in "add-backs" to health and human services programs.Wit...

By Sean Whaley
CARSON CITY – The Assembly worked late today meeting as a Committee of the Whole to review Gov. Brian Sandoval’s proposed budget for health and human services.
The review by the entire 42-member Assembly followed a similar session held in the Senate earlier this week.

The power-shifting battle over redistricting began Thursday with Republicans and Democrats releasing competing plans for redrawing voting boundaries in Nevada's 21 state Senate and 42 Assembly d...

By Andrew Doughman
CARSON CITY – State Republicans and Democrats today released their proposals for new state legislative political districts.
The competing proposals for state Assembly and Senate districts both keep the Legislature at its current size of 63 legislators.
The Democratic proposal, however, includes Senate districts inside of which are nested two Assembly districts. Democrats said they introduced “nesting” in order to simplify and harmonize how Nevadans are represented at the state levels.

By Andrew Doughman
CARSON CITY — State legislative Democrats have released their proposals for state Senate and Assembly districts.
Democrats will debate the proposals together with Republicans during meetings of the Assembly and Senate tonight. Republicans released their proposals for new state Senate and Assembly districts, as well as Congressional districts, this morning.

By Andrew Doughman
CARSON CITY — Nevada Republicans have released data regarding their proposals for new congressional districts as well as state senate and assembly districts.
Please see below for the raw data. The Nevada News Bureau will be providing a full analysis of both Republican and Democratic proposals later this afternoon.
Click here for data regarding Republican proposals for U.S. Congress districts

By Sean Whaley
CARSON CITY – Legislative Republicans today announced that they are introducing redistricting plans for the Assembly, Senate, and the state’s Congressional delegation that will “ensure fair representation for the people of Nevada.”

Gov. Brian Sandoval announced today that he is appointing Congressman Dean Heller to fill the unexpired term of John Ensign in the U.S. Senate.

Heller, a long-time resident of Carson City and Carson High School grad, will join the U.S. Senate on May 3, when Ensign's resignation takes effect. Heller was elected to the Nevada's 2nd district congressional seat three times. Before that he served as Secretary of State and represented Carson City in the state assembly.

In the first move of what promises to be a contentious reapportionment tug-of-war, legislators later this week are unveiling their proposals for redrawing 63 Nevada Senate and Assembly districts. A...

Nevada lawmakers made a massive push to vote on legislation and beat a Tuesday deadline to get bills out of their house of origin or watch them die by default.The Assembly tore through dozens of...

CARSON CITY – State legislative Democrats will reveal their proposed maps for the political boundaries of Nevada’s Assembly and Senate districts at 5 p.m. today.
The unveiling of the maps represents the first public look at what promises to be a contentious debate about the state’s political districts, which the Legislature is required to alter every 10 years following the release of U.S. Census data.

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.

By Andrew Doughman
CARSON CITY – State legislative Democrats plan to be the first to reveal their proposals for redrawing political boundaries of Nevada’s Assembly and Senate this Thursday.
Democrats will introduce maps of the proposed boundaries and then debate their suggestions together with Republicans in the Assembly chambers during the evening, said Speaker John Oceguera, D-Las Vegas.
The unveiling of the maps represents the first public look at what promises to be a contentious debate about the state’s political districts.

State Senators are deliberating drastic education cuts proposed by the governor after their counterparts in the Assembly held party lines in similar talks last week.Democrats say Gov. Brian Sandova...

The Assembly on Monday gave unanimous approval to a bill that would let victims of sex trafficking clear prostitution convictions from their records.Assemblyman John Hambrick R-Las Vegas, said Asse...

By Andrew Doughman
CARSON CITY – A bill removing the mining industry’s right to take private land heads to the governor’s desk after passing in the Assembly this evening.
Senate Bill 86 gained early bipartisan support when Sen. Michael Roberson, R-Las Vegas, joined the bill’s sponsor, Sheila Leslie, D-Reno, in criticizing a corporation’s ability to take land from a private citizen.

By Andrew Doughman
CARSON CITY – The answer from Gov. Brian Sandoval is no.
Today the governor’s senior adviser, Dale Erquiaga, rebuffed a proposal from state Democratic legislators to hold public hearings and a public review process in selecting a replacement for resigning U.S. Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev.
“I think the law and tradition are clear, this is an executive decision,” Erquiaga said at a press briefing this afternoon. “We appreciate the Assembly’s and Senate’s advice, but it’s not relevant to the current decision.”

By Sean Whaley
CARSON CITY – After a lengthy hearing in the Assembly today on what several witnesses said were the catastrophic effects of Gov. Brian Sandoval’s budget recommendations for higher education, Republican members held firm with the executive branch in a series of funding votes.

CARSON CITY – As Gov. Brian Sandoval today said it is premature to speculate on who he will appoint to replace GOP U.S. Senator John Ensign, Democrats in the Nevada Legislature said they will seek a resolution urging a “fair, open, and transparent process for appointing a temporary replacement.”

CARSON CITY – Recently announced U.S. Senate candidate Shelley Berkley spoke to the Nevada Legislature today, stressing education, infrastructure and energy independence as ways to create jobs and get the state back on track.

CARSON CITY – The debate over Gov. Brian Sandoval’s proposed cuts to public education shifted to the state Senate today, with members of the upper house getting the details of the reductions that the Clark County schools chief said would mean the loss of $400 million for a 19 percent cut in funding.
But there was no effort by Democrats, who control the Senate with a narrow 11-10 advantage, to force a vote on the schools budget as occurred yesterday in a more contentious Assembly hearing. There were no fireworks either.

CARSON CITY – It was not until 30 minutes before midnight that a six-hour debate in the Assembly ended with a promise to talk more later.
After listening to presentations outlining more than $1 billion in “major reductions” to the K-12 budget, legislators debated their willingness to compromise or negotiate about Gov. Brian Sandoval’s proposed general fund budget.

(AP) - Assembly Republicans didn't budge an inch Tuesday in their support for Gov. Brian Sandoval's dramatic education cuts, in spite of Democrats' pleas for a compromise and the pressure of a r...

CARSON CITY – The Assembly was awash with numbers tonight.
As part of the Democratic strategy to close the budget, the Assembly as a whole discussed for four and a half hours the education budget so that all legislators could learn about the cuts.
Legislative staff presented to the Assembly more than $1 billion proposed “major reductions” to school districts. These numbers come from a variety of sources:

CARSON CITY – Lawmakers took time some away from the budget and other pressing issues today to honor former Sen. Bill Raggio, a fourth-generation Nevadan and the longest-serving member of the state Senate who retired earlier this year.

NEWS RELEASE — The Tahoe Transportation District is on the brink of becoming an unfortunate casualty of legislation proposed to withdraw Nevada from the bi-state Tahoe Regional Planning Compact with California. The unintended consequence of Nevada Senate Bill 271 will be a direct threat to over $400 million programmed over the next five years for vital transportation improvements that will connect communities within the Tahoe Basin and further protect the clarity of Lake Tahoe.