Nevada Legislature 2013 - Las Vegas Sun News

Governor seeks $5 million for drone research effort: May 10, 2013; By Cy Ryan; Gov. Brian Sandoval has asked the Legislature to allocate $5 million to support the state’s effort to be selected as a site for commercial testing of unmanned drones in Nevada’s airspaces.

Assembly committee urged to keep cost down for cancer pills: May 10, 2013; By Cy Ryan; A woman who contracted cancer in 2008 told an Assembly committee Friday she and her husband may have to sell their home to afford the pills that treat the disease. She and others told of the hardships faced by the high cost of these pills and urged the committee to pass a bill that requires insurance companies that offer cancer coverage to limit the co-payment to $100 per prescription.

Denis plows forward with recycling bill: May 10, 2013; By Anjeanette Damon; Responding to critics, Senate Majority Leader Mo Denis has amended his construction material recycling bill to protect smaller centers that could have been put out of business by the original version of his proposed legislation.

Judge declines former lawmaker's mental health court request: May 10, 2013; Associated Press; A California judge is declining to refer ex-Nevada Assemblyman Steven Brooks to a mental health court program. The decision came at a court hearing Friday in Victorville, Calif.

Lobbyists work in their room at the Legislative Building Thursday, Feb. 7, 2013 during the 2013 legislative session in Carson City.

Taxpayers footing $3 million lobbying bill for local governments: May 10, 2013; By Andrew Doughman; The popular image of lobbyists involves polished representatives of large corporations, plying their influence for the benefit of mining, gaming, retailers and labor unions. But you’re paying for lobbyists, too.

Actor Nicholas Cage testified in support of a bill proposing tax incentives to filmmakers at the Legislative Building Carson City, Nev., on Tuesday, May 7, 2013. Proponents of the measure say it will bring jobs and revenue to the state. Cage's agent Michael Nilon is at left.

Nevada Democrats seek 'help' for Nic Cage: May 10, 2013; By Anjeanette Damon; Nevada Democrats sent a blast email to supporters with headline "Help us help Nicolas Cage!" in an attempt to garner support for a tax incentive for movie production in Nevada.

Why Nevada Democrats' Fun Tax is the New Coke of politics: May 10, 2013; By J. Patrick Coolican; The Mini-Golf Tax. The “Iron Man” Tax. The Burning Man Tax. I’m pretty sure most Nevadans enjoy one or more of those activities, which means if Democrats in the Legislature pass their new Nevada Entertainment and Admissions Tax, every Nevadan will curse them when they try to enjoy themselves on the weekend after a long workweek.

Do lobbyist spending reports measure influence?: May 10, 2013; By Andrew Doughman; It’s no secret that full-time lobbyists wield influence at the Nevada Legislature. But far from the cliches of crooked politicians making quid pro quo deals with cigar-smoking lobbyists, the official tally for influence amounts to $93,000 worth of expenditures during the first two months of the legislative session, with many lobbyists reporting $0 in wining and dining expenses.

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.

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.

Subcommittee nixes toll roads in Southern Nevada: May 7, 2013; By Cy Ryan; A legislative subcommittee firmly closed the door Tuesday on plans by the state Department of Transportation to start toll stations, mostly in Southern Nevada.

From left, Nevada Assemblywoman Heidi Swank, D-Las Vegas, Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman, Michael Nilon and actor Nicholas Cage talk at the Legislative Building Carson City, Nev., on Tuesday, May 7, 2013. Goodman, Nilon and Cage testified in support of a measure that would offer tax incentives to filmmakers in an effort to bring jobs and revenue to the state.

Nicolas Cage says filmmakers would love to shoot in Nevada: May 7, 2013; By Anjeanette Damon,
Andrew Doughman; Movie star Nicolas Cage traveled to Carson City today to urge state lawmakers to pass a movie tax incentive bill, promising to use his connections in the industry to help spark a filmmaking boom in Nevada if the measure becomes law. “My name is Nicolas Cage, and I’m an American filmmaker,” Cage told lawmakers on the Senate Finance Committee, who put away their laptops and phones to listen to his testimony.

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.

With barely enough room to pass between desks, students in Mr. Gularte's fourth-grade class begin their morning learning in a classroom of 35 students exceeding the average of 30 students at William V. Wright Elementary School, Friday, March 22, 2013.

Cost to ease crowded Clark County classrooms put at $1.2 billion: May 6, 2013; By Paul Takahashi; Reducing class sizes in Southern Nevada to the national average would take $1.2 billion over four years, according to figures recently released by the Clark County School District. But it will take more than the will of the School District or its teachers union to bring class sizes down. The Nevada Legislature also will have to agree — and find a way to fund the effort.

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.

State agencies still trying to determine effects of federal cuts: May 4, 2013; By Andrew Doughman; Federal government programs in Nevada are about to take a hit, but nobody seems to know just how much the blow will hurt.

2.5 percent salary cut for state employees could become permanent: May 4, 2013; By Andrew Doughman; Senate Bill 483 extends current 2.5 percent salary reductions until June 30, 2015, but Gov. Brian Sandoval’s budget director Jeff Mohlenkamp told a legislative committee Saturday that the administration may amend the bill to make those salary reductions permanent.

Nevada State Superintendent Jim Guthrie testifies in an education committee at the Legislative Building in Carson City on March 1, 2013. Guthrie told lawmakers that effective teachers trump the issue of class size. Clark County Schools Superintendent Dwight Jones is at left.

Proposal for 'master teachers' with $200K annual salary has its skeptics — among teachers: May 3, 2013; By Paul Takahashi; Jim Guthrie's idea to pay a group of top-performing teachers an annual salary of $200,000 received mixed reactions from Clark County schoolteachers this week.

To citizen legislator Mo Denis: Don't forget about the rest of us citizens: May 3, 2013; By J. Patrick Coolican; Catching up on the news after a little vacation, and, oh, look, it’s like I never left -- a state senator has offered up some cheesy legislation that would help his old boss.

A cable shovel dumps gold ore into a truck in Crescent Valley in September 2001.

No longer neutral: Mining officially opposed to mine tax measure: May 2, 2013; By Andrew Doughman; The mining industry came out today in opposition to a plan to remove the industry’s provisions in the state constitution. While the industry remained neutral with concerns during 2011 and during debate in the state Senate this year, they now emphatically oppose Senate Joint Resolution 15.

Gov. Brian Sandoval says no to taxes, yes to water fees: May 2, 2013; By Cy Ryan; Gov. Brian Sandoval opposes new taxes, but he has no reservations about boosting fees or imposing new ones for state water permits. Sandoval’s budget includes an increase in fees of $1 million over to next two years for services provided by the state Engineer’s Office.

Economic Forum projects another $36.7 million in tax revenue for next biennium: May 1, 2013; By Andrew Doughman; State legislators got $36.7 million more to play with today as they work to craft the state’s next two-year budget.

Casino mogul Steve Wynn makes rare trip to Carson City to meet with lawmakers: May 1, 2013; By Anjeanette Damon; Casino mogul Steve Wynn met with legislative leaders today to "share insight" into what he called a slow recovery of the gaming industry at a time the Legislature is poised to consider new taxes.