Nevada Legislature 2013 - Las Vegas Sun News

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.

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.

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.

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.

Math teacher Mikel Boland sets up his classroom at Western High School in Las Vegas Friday, August 19, 2011.

Education advocates threaten lawsuit over funding public schools: May 1, 2013; By Andrew Doughman; Nevada’s persistently poor public school funding may be putting the state at risk for a lawsuit. Advocates, upset with the incremental process of the Legislature when it comes to funding education, plan to meet to discuss litigation strategy.

Reid Gardner Station, a coal fired power plant in Moapa, is shown on Friday, Dec. 7, 2007. Sierra Pacific was fined a million dollars and required to install $85 million worth of new pollution control technology at the plant.

Nine problems regulators have with NV Energy’s coal-ditching plan: April 30, 2013; By Andrew Doughman; Nevadans of every political stripe have cheered NV Energy’s plan to eject itself from the coal business. They envision unemployed Nevadans back to work, laboring under clear, blue skies; dismantling dirty coal plants and installing new solar panels; guaranteeing Nevada’s energy independence for years to come. The state’s regulators, however, are hoping legislators will stop daydreaming and heed their warnings about Senate Bill 123, the utility’s “NVision” plan.

Traffic is seen Jan. 13, 2011, on Interstate 15 in a construction zone for the Interstate 15 South Design-Build South Project.

Committee weighs bill that would remove state transportation overseers: April 29, 2013; By Cy Ryan; Constructing the $600 million freeway between Reno and Carson City sticks in the craw of Clark County officials who maintain the highway needs of Southern Nevada are being ignored.

Improper discharges of psychiatric patients result in terminations at state hospital: April 29, 2013; By Anjeanette Damon; A review of 1,500 cases of busing a discharged psychiatric patient out of state has resulted in additional disciplinary action and employee terminations at the state psychiatric hospital in Las Vegas.

Democratic leaders, from left, Senate Majority Leader Mo Denis, D-Las Vegas, Assembly Speaker Marilyn Kirkpatrick, D-North Las Vegas, and Assembly Majority Leader William Horne, D-Las Vegas, answer media questions following Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval's State of the State address at the Legislature in Carson City on Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013.

Senate leader's former employer would benefit from his legislative pitch: April 28, 2013; By Anjeanette Damon; Senate Majority Leader Mo Denis, D-Las Vegas, has authored two bills — Senate Bills 315 and 316 — that would directly benefit the company that employed him up until the start of the legislative session this year.

Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval speaks to the Las Vegas Sun editorial board Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2012.

Hey, California press! It's Sandoval's usual practice not to say much: April 28, 2013; By Andrew Doughman; When asked about policy positions, the fallback position of the governor’s staff is to either decline to delineate a position or point to the transcript of Sandoval’s 2013 speech to the Legislature.

Nevada Assembly Speaker Marilyn Kirkpatrick, D-North Las Vegas, and Senate Majority Leader Mo Denis, D-Las Vegas, speak at a news conference on Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013, at the Legislative Building in Carson City. Democratic leaders say they will take an aggressive look at overhauling the state's tax structure.

Remember those promises of early tax talks during Nevada Legislature? Yeah, right: April 28, 2013; By Andrew Doughman; If uttering the magic word “discussion” brought gifts of wealth and riches, Nevada’s Democratic leaders would have already delivered state government money by the truckload. But for all the talk, legislators are entering the homestretch of the legislative session with no sweeping tax reform measures to speak of.

Taxable sales in Clark County down for first time in nearly 2 years: April 25, 2013; By Cy Ryan; Taxable sales in Nevada, one indicator of the strength of the economy, rose 4.2 percent in February compared to the same month a year ago, partially on strong sales of clothing, cars and furniture.

At age 101, former lawmaker says compromise key to politics, marriage, life: April 25, 2013; By Cy Ryan; It’s Old Timers Day at the Nevada Legislature, and the state Senate recognized Wilbur Faiss who, at 101 years old, is the oldest living former member of the body.

Health officials reverse policy that allowed for busing mentally ill patients out of state unescorted: April 24, 2013; By Andrew Doughman,
Cy Ryan; Nevada’s health department today reversed its practice of sending patients discharged from state psychiatric hospitals alone on bus trips out of Nevada.

Tyrone Thompson speaks to commissioners before an appointment vote during a county commission meeting at the Clark County Government Center Tuesday, April 16, 2013. Thompson got the appointment to replace expelled Nevada Assemblyman Steven Brooks.

Tyrone Thompson sworn in to replace ousted assemblyman: April 24, 2013; By Anjeanette Damon; Tyrone Thompson was sworn in today to represent Assembly District 17, which has been vacant since the Assembly ousted former lawmaker Steven Brooks.