Nevada Legislature 2013 - Las Vegas Sun News

Six Republicans propose doubling Nevada's mining tax: April 24, 2013; By Anjeanette Damon; Six Senate Republicans today unveiled their plan to double the net proceeds on minerals tax, a proposal, that if approved by voters, would net an estimated $600 million that would be earmarked for education.

Assemblywomen Dina Neal, left, and Teresa Benitez-Thompson talks before an Assembly meeting on the third day of the 2013 legislative session Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013 in Carson City.

Which bills made the cut in the Nevada Legislature? Here are the biggest: April 24, 2013; By Anjeanette Damon,
Andrew Doughman; Tuesday was a big day for scores of bills in the Nevada Legislature — a day when measures died or traveled to the opposite house, where they may encounter more hostile territory for their second round of hearings.

Taxis are seen queued up at McCarran International Airport Friday, March 22, 2013.

Ever get the feeling the Las Vegas cab industry is long-hauling regulators?: April 24, 2013; By J. Patrick Coolican; Welcome to Las Vegas. Now I’m going to steal $10 from you. That’s the message we’re sending to thousands of tourists every year who get in a cab at McCarran International Airport and are taken to their hotel the long way. At least when the hotels take the tourists’ money, it’s based on a bet whose odds are well known. But the cabbies are just flat-out stealing, and our political system is so inept that it refuses or is unable to act.

Senators James Settlemeyer, left, and Michael Roberson talk at the conclusion of a Senate floor session Thursday, Feb. 7, 2013 during the 2013 legislative session in Carson City.

Roberson to unveil details of mining tax proposal: April 23, 2013; By Anjeanette Damon,
Andrew Doughman; Senate Minority Leader Michael Roberson plans to unveil the details of a mining tax proposal he hopes to put on the ballot as an alternative to the margins tax initiative.

Sandoval decries improper patient discharge from Vegas psychiatric hospital: April 23, 2013; By Anjeanette Damon; In his first official reaction to an ongoing investigation into whether the state's psychiatric hospital is routinely busing mentally ill patients out of state, Gov. Brian Sandoval said his administration took immediate action to address the situation, but downplayed any suggestion the state has a systemic problem on its hands.

Evaleen Diaz, 18, at Western High School on Thursday, April 26, 2012. Diaz, a senior at Western, is seven months pregnant.

10 facts you should know about sex education and teen pregnancy rates in Nevada: April 23, 2013; By Paul Takahashi; Should sex education be a school or a parent's responsibility? Or both? That's perhaps the most contentious question surrounding Assembly Bill 230, which would change sex education in Nevada from an opt-in to an opt-out program.

Services tax is dead; Democrats' hopes for major tax reform dim: April 23, 2013; By Anjeanette Damon; With just 41 days left in the legislative session, Speaker Marilyn Kirkpatrick, D-North Las Vegas, said any effort to pass a services tax is finished and sounded less than optimistic about the chances of any kind of broad-based business tax making it to a vote.

When student brainstorming hits the wall of reality at the Legislature

When student brainstorming hits the wall of reality at the Legislature: April 23, 2013; By Andrew Doughman; Mark Bird, a College of Southern Nevada sociology professor, recently taught a class in which he and his students sought to do more than complain. They brainstormed 35 solutions to “enhance the state.”

In split vote, Nevada Senate passes measure to begin repeal of gay marriage ban: April 22, 2013; By Anjeanette Damon; Following more than an hour of a riveting, emotional and personal floor debate, the Nevada Senate voted 12-9 to start the process of repealing the gay marriage ban from the state constitution.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid addresses a joint session of the Nevada Legislature in Carson City, Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2013.

Could Congress bail out Nevada's state budget?: April 22, 2013; By Andrew Doughman; State legislators piecing together Nevada’s state budget could get a helping hand from an unlikely source: U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

Lone freshman senator shepherding gun bill through Nevada Legislature: April 21, 2013; By Andrew Doughman; While Congress and several state Legislatures have recently held contentious and much-debated votes on gun control legislation, Nevada’s legislative leaders have largely kept quiet, leaving it to one freshman senator to carry the issue.

Are Sandoval's magic money gifts good news?: April 21, 2013; By Andrew Doughman; In the past month, Gov. Brian Sandoval has found another $77.7 million for his $6.5 billion budget. But much of the new money for education and social programs is flowing to Nevada because of continued economic distress.

A greyhound bus whizzes down Highway 97 south of Goldendale, Wash.

Policy change in 2009 prompted increase in busing mentally ill patients: April 20, 2013; By Anjeanette Damon,
Andrew Doughman; Since a mentally ill man from Las Vegas turned up in Sacramento on a Greyhound bus earlier this year, the state’s health department has disciplined employees involved in the man’s release, changed hospital policy and asked for a federal review of their practices.

Threat of losing driver's license at heart of teen truancy bill: April 19, 2013; By Cy Ryan; Students who often skip school could lose their driver’s license under a bill approved 21-0 by the Senate Friday.

Regents near-unanimous in opposing expansion to allow student representative: April 19, 2013; By Paul Takahashi; Nevada's higher education leaders opposed on Friday a bill that would allow a student representative on the board of regents, which oversees Nevada's seven colleges and universities.

Ousted Nevada lawmaker Brooks indicted on firearm count: April 18, 2013; By Ken Ritter, Associated Press; A former Nevada lawmaker has been indicted on a felony firearms charge stemming from an arrest in January in North Las Vegas that began a spiral leading to his expulsion from the Legislature.

Environmental group, opposed to pipeline, suggests ways to solve Las Vegas water woes: April 17, 2013; By Cy Ryan; An environmental group says tighter conservation restrictions and limiting development areas in the Las Vegas Valley should be imposed rather than siphoning water from rural Nevada to serve the growing urban needs in Southern Nevada.

Two Reno women named to Nevada Senate Hall of Fame: April 17, 2013; By Cy Ryan; The Senate has inducted two women from Reno to the Senate Hall of Fame, praising them for their long time in public service.

Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval delivers the State of the State address at the Legislature in Carson City on Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013.

Sandoval's tax break for business faces opposition: April 16, 2013; By Cy Ryan; Gov. Brian Sandoval’s plan to give a tax break to 2,700 small businesses in Nevada is apparently facing an uphill battle, at least on the Senate Finance Committee.

The capitol dome and Legislative Building are seen on the second day of the 2013 legislative session Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2013 in Carson City.

'We need to modernize': Senate OKs annual legislative sessions — and possibly in Las Vegas: April 16, 2013; By Cy Ryan; By a party line vote, the Senate Tuesday voted to allow the Legislature to meet in Las Vegas, permit the pay to be raised by 50 percent and to have annual sessions.

Nevada governor names new general counsel: April 16, 2013; By Cy Ryan; A senior deputy in the State Attorney General’s Office has been named general counsel to Gov. Brian Sandoval.

Tyrone Thompson, right, gets a high five from Meli Pulido after he was appointed to replace expelled Nevada Assemblyman Steven Brooks during a county commission meeting at the Clark County Government Center Tuesday, April 16, 2013. Pulido was also a candidate in the selection process.

Tyrone Thompson appointed to fill vacant Assembly seat: April 16, 2013; By Conor Shine; Clark County Commissioners have chosen Odis “Tyrone” Thompson to replace Steven Brooks as the assemblyman for District 17 in North Las Vegas. Thompson, who works on homeless initiatives for the Southern Nevada Regional Planning Coalition, was chosen over six other candidates by commissioners in a unanimous vote at their Tuesday meeting.

Nevada driver’s licenses could be issued for 8 years: April 16, 2013; By Cy Ryan; Drivers in Nevada would be allowed to renew their licenses every eight years, instead of every four, under a bill that has passed the Senate Transportation Committee.

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.

Coal politics: Why legislative power play could halt big NV Energy plan: April 16, 2013; By Anjeanette Damon,
Andrew Doughman; NV Energy’s powerful lobbying corps has quietly tried to muster wide support for a major energy proposal at the Legislature, but the choreographed show it hoped to premiere to legislators didn’t go quite as planned.

In bid to keep controversial bills alive, legislators unload on committee: April 15, 2013; By Cy Ryan; When senators were unable to reach agreement on controversial bills by the deadline Friday, they passed the buck to the Senate Finance Committee on such issues as energy, gambling and transportation.

City Hall in Henderson opened for voting at 7 a.m. Tuesday for the municipal primary election.

Senate OKs bill to require ward-only voting in Henderson: April 15, 2013; By Cy Ryan; Despite opposition by a majority of Republicans, the Senate pushed through a bill Monday that orders Henderson and three other cities to require candidates be elected from wards rather than the cities at large.

The Assembly meets in a floor session Thursday, Feb. 7, 2013 during the 2013 legislative session in Carson City.

Five fronts on the North-South battle at the Legislature: April 15, 2013; By Andrew Doughman; Fairness may be in the eye of the beholder, but some eyes are more equal than others at the Nevada Legislature. This year’s legislative session again features a number of ideas and proposals that would send state money sluicing south from Carson City to Clark County.

Kindergarnter Jonathan Mondragon leads his classmates in a single-file line down the hallway for their first day of class Monday, August 27, 2012, at Cambeiro Elementary School in Las Vegas.

Full-day kindergarten for the haves and have-nots: April 14, 2013; By Andrew Doughman; Unless something changes at the Legislature, some parents will have to pay $3,200 for their child’s full-day kindergarten class in the Clark County School District next school year. At the same time, other parents won’t have to pay to send their children to full-day kindergarten in the district.

A Union Pacific train unloads its coal Friday, Dec. 10, 1999 at Nevada Power Company's Reid Gardner power station near Moapa.

In its coal decision, NV Energy bows to economic reality: April 14, 2013; By Karoun Demirjian; Experts from both sides of the political spectrum see a future in which regulations and market forces will start pricing coal plants out of the market.

Commissioners to wrestle with assemblyman's replacement, Metro budget request: April 14, 2013; By Conor Shine; Assembly District 17 could finally have a new representative to replace the expelled Steven Brooks after Clark County commissioners consider nine candidates at their meeting at 9:15 a.m. Tuesday.