Politics - Las Vegas Sun News

Gay marriage debate shifts to Assembly, where committee hears fervent testimony: May 9, 2013; By Andrew Doughman; Opponents to changing Nevada’s constitutional prohibition on same-sex marriage got the spotlight at a legislative hearing Thursday.

Committees say yes to bows and cows: May 9, 2013; By Cy Ryan; In the next two fiscal years, more money will be poured into programs to stop smoking, immunize newborns and their parents against whooping cough, and instruction to students in Clark County on the use of bows and arrows.

Assembly Speaker Marilyn Kirkpatrick takes part in a Ways and Means Committee meeting on the second day of the 2013 legislative session Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2013 in Carson City.

Tax movies, strip clubs, gyms? That's Nevada legislator's proposal: May 9, 2013; By Anjeanette Damon; On Wednesday, Kirkpatrick released a sweeping entertainment and admissions tax proposal — the centerpiece of her effort to clean up a Nevada tax code rife with exemptions and haphazardly applied interpretations.

Assembly Minority Leader Pat Hickey, R-Reno, left, and Senate Minority Leader Micheal Roberson, R-Las Vegas, listen as Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval delivers the State of the State address at the Legislature in Carson City on Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013.

Their bills getting short shrift, Assembly Republicans hold town hall: May 8, 2013; By Andrew Doughman; Republicans at the state Legislature haven’t had much success getting their favored bills through the legislative process this year.

A foreclosed home is seen Thursday, April 28, 2011.

Legislature approves plan to help homeowners with defaulted loans keep their house: May 8, 2013; By Cy Ryan; A legislative subcommittee has approved a new $149 million program to help thousands of Nevada homeowners who became delinquent on their loans from 2002 to 2008.

Speaker Kirkpatrick introduces entertainment tax bill: May 8, 2013; By Anjeanette Damon; Speaker Marilyn Kirkpatrick, D-North Las Vegas, today introduced a long-awaited measure to implement a new entertainment tax on everything from movies to strip clubs.

A cable shovel dumps gold ore into a truck in Crescent Valley in September 2001. In Nevada, mining companies get a slew of tax deductions, including for equipment depreciation.

Twitter debates: Does the mining industry pay its fair share?: May 8, 2013; By Andrew Doughman; As lawmakers debated whether mining pays its fair share in taxes at the Legislature, advocates on either side of the issue took to Twitter to argue the merits of the bill. We parse their facts here.

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford discusses the fallout of a revealed affair that caused him to resign as head of the Republican Governors Association, June 24, 2009.

Ex-South Carolina Gov. Sanford back in political office: May 7, 2013; By Bruce Smith, Associated Press; Former Republican South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford revived a scandal-scarred political career by winning back his old congressional seat Tuesday in a district that hasn't elected a Democrat in three decades.

Harry Reid: Military mindset toward sexual assault must change: May 7, 2013; By Karoun Demirjian; The military’s long-simmering problem with sexual assaults boiled over into enough of a scandal with the recent sexual battery arrest of the Air Force’s top sex assault prevention official that Congress is finally taking some action.

Sen. Harry Reid warns against rushing to arm Syrian rebels: May 7, 2013; By Karoun Demirjian; Add Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid to the list of lawmakers who think Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad has crossed the so-called “red line” of using chemical weapons against his people.

Senator-elect Michael Roberson speaks at the Republican election night party Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2010, at the Venetian.

Roberson seeks to pre-empt lawsuits against mining tax proposal: May 6, 2013; By Andrew Doughman; Sen. Michael Roberson released details of his proposal to double taxes on Nevada’s mining industry. The bill would compete on the 2014 ballot with a business margins tax that the state teachers union backs.

Nevada competing to become commercial drone test site: May 6, 2013; By Cy Ryan; Nevada wants to be one of six places in the United States where commercial drones will be tested. The state Office of Economic Development today submitted its final applications to host the testing.

Bill in Legislature would cut loopholes out of Nevada's renewable energy standards: May 6, 2013; By Andrew Doughman; Legislators are pushing a bill that would remove loopholes from Nevada’s Renewable Portfolio Standard, which mandates that 25 percent of Nevada’s energy will come from renewable sources by 2025. Loopholes are provisions allowing energy companies such as NV Energy to meet the standard through measures other than actual renewable energy production.

A view of the Nevada State Legislature building in Carson City Monday, Feb. 11, 2013.

In North-South battle, who's robbing whom?: May 5, 2013; By Andrew Doughman; For years, observers have noted how the state seems to operate a hypothetical conveyer belt that redistributes southern wealth northward in a way that favors northern road construction, schools and universities. At the same time, some northern lawmakers are certain they’re donating to the south.

Are diehard anti-tax conservatives shrinking at the Nevada Legislature?

Are diehard anti-tax conservatives shrinking at the Nevada Legislature?: May 5, 2013; By Anjeanette Damon; The tax-pledge-signing, Tea Party-espousing, anti-tax Republican crusader appears to be a dying breed in the Nevada Legislature, though some hope to halt its decline. One politician says Republicans these days try to take a more nuanced approach to fiscal policy.

Monday, May 20

R&R Partners CEO Billy Vassiliadis on the big energy bill, taxes and online poker. Watch »

Monday, May 6

Assembly Minority Leader Pat Hickey says it's unlikely his caucus would support any tax reform that would actually raise revenue, but spoke favorably of Speaker Kirkpatrick's forthcoming live entertainment tax bill. Washoe County District Attorney Richard Gammick is calling it quits after two decades in office. Watch »