Andrew Doughman

Story Archive

Miller under attack as he pursues campaign finance reform: Sunday, May 19, 2013; An out-of-state conservative group wants you to call Democratic Nevada Secretary of State Ross Miller and tell him that you’re “sick of his costly hypocrisy.” But that group doesn't have to disclose its campaign contributions.
Panel finalizes plan to send $37.5 million more to Southern Nevada colleges: Saturday, May 18, 2013; The four Northern Nevada colleges and universities in the Nevada System of Higher Education would receive less money during the next two years, according to the new higher education funding formula plan legislators approved Saturday.
Last-minute amendment could create the state drink: Saturday, May 18, 2013; Lawmakers killed a bill earlier this year that would’ve made the Blue Weimaraner the state dog, but Assemblyman William Horne, D-Las Vegas, now has a measure to make the Basque alcoholic beverage Picon Punch the official state drink.
Reid, Sandoval among heavy hitters going to bat for compromise NV Energy bill: Friday, May 17, 2013; NV Energy’s plan to shut down coal plants in Nevada moved forward today with strong support from some of Nevada’s most influential politicians and business interests.
Pot dispensaries could mean green for state coffers, advocates argue: Friday, May 17, 2013; Advocates for medical marijuana argued Nevada could bring in $10 million to $30 million a year for state coffers if lawmakers approve a bill to create a dispensary system.
Former AG launches coalition to thwart NV Energy's 10-year plan: Wednesday, May 15, 2013; Former Nevada Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa is leading a coalition to defeat a major piece of energy legislation pushed by NV Energy that would create a plan to divest from coal and launch a massive project to build renewable energy plants instead.
Legislative panel seeks to redirect funding to Southern Nevada colleges: Wednesday, May 15, 2013; Legislators today recommended shifting money from northern colleges to southern colleges almost immediately, rejecting Gov. Brian Sandoval’s proposal to phase in the cuts to rural college budgets.
Debate over sex-ed bill devolves amid fears of 'worst-case scenario': Wednesday, May 15, 2013; While it may be difficult for parents to talk about sex with their kids, Nevadans have had no trouble talking about sex with the Nevada Legislature.
With time running out, Democrats' tax plans spark partisan firefight: Tuesday, May 14, 2013; When Senate Democrats on Monday released details of a tax increase they say is needed to adequately fund education, they swung a partisan hammer that shattered the patina of cooperation that had dominated this legislative session.
Sandoval threatens veto of Democratic tax plans, proposes more education spending: Monday, May 13, 2013; Gov. Brian Sandoval said today he opposes and would veto two Democratic tax plans that would hike payroll taxes and implement new taxes on consumers for entertainment and admissions to movies, gyms, and other businesses.
Democrats unveil plan to hike payroll tax to fund education: Monday, May 13, 2013; Nevada Senate Democrats announced a $255 million tax plan this morning that raises the payroll tax on large businesses.
Lawmakers near deal on more funding for Southern Nevada colleges: Monday, May 13, 2013; The deal involves transferring several million dollars to UNLV, the College of Southern Nevada and Nevada State College while also providing temporary funding to rural community colleges that will offset planned reductions to funding at those institutions.
Taxpayers footing $3 million lobbying bill for local governments: Friday, May 10, 2013; 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.
Do lobbyist spending reports measure influence?: Friday, May 10, 2013; 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: Thursday, May 9, 2013; Opponents to changing Nevada’s constitutional prohibition on same-sex marriage got the spotlight at a legislative hearing Thursday.
Their bills getting short shrift, Assembly Republicans hold town hall: Wednesday, May 8, 2013; Republicans at the state Legislature haven’t had much success getting their favored bills through the legislative process this year.
Twitter debates: Does the mining industry pay its fair share?: Wednesday, May 8, 2013; 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.
Nicolas Cage says filmmakers would love to shoot in Nevada: Tuesday, May 7, 2013; 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.
Roberson seeks to pre-empt lawsuits against mining tax proposal: Monday, May 6, 2013; 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.
Bill in Legislature would cut loopholes out of Nevada's renewable energy standards: Monday, May 6, 2013; 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.
In North-South battle, who's robbing whom?: Sunday, May 5, 2013; 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.
State agencies still trying to determine effects of federal cuts: Saturday, May 4, 2013; 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: Saturday, May 4, 2013; 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.
No longer neutral: Mining officially opposed to mine tax measure: Thursday, May 2, 2013; 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.
Economic Forum projects another $36.7 million in tax revenue for next biennium: Wednesday, May 1, 2013; State legislators got $36.7 million more to play with today as they work to craft the state’s next two-year budget.
Education advocates threaten lawsuit over funding public schools: Wednesday, May 1, 2013; 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.
Nine problems regulators have with NV Energy’s coal-ditching plan: Tuesday, April 30, 2013; 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.
Remember those promises of early tax talks during Nevada Legislature? Yeah, right: Sunday, April 28, 2013; 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.
Hey, California press! It's Sandoval's usual practice not to say much: Sunday, April 28, 2013; 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.
Health officials reverse policy that allowed for busing mentally ill patients out of state unescorted: Wednesday, April 24, 2013; Nevada’s health department today reversed its practice of sending patients discharged from state psychiatric hospitals alone on bus trips out of Nevada.
Which bills made the cut in the Nevada Legislature? Here are the biggest: Wednesday, April 24, 2013; 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.
Roberson to unveil details of mining tax proposal: Tuesday, April 23, 2013; 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.
When student brainstorming hits the wall of reality at the Legislature: Tuesday, April 23, 2013; 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.”
Could Congress bail out Nevada's state budget?: Monday, April 22, 2013; State legislators piecing together Nevada’s state budget could get a helping hand from an unlikely source: U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
Are Sandoval's magic money gifts good news?: Sunday, April 21, 2013; 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.
Lone freshman senator shepherding gun bill through Nevada Legislature: Sunday, April 21, 2013; 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.
Policy change in 2009 prompted increase in busing mentally ill patients: Saturday, April 20, 2013; 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.
Coal politics: Why legislative power play could halt big NV Energy plan: Tuesday, April 16, 2013; 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.
Five fronts on the North-South battle at the Legislature: Monday, April 15, 2013; 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.
Full-day kindergarten for the haves and have-nots: Sunday, April 14, 2013; 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.
Skeptical lawmakers move NV Energy bill forward: Friday, April 12, 2013; NV Energy’s big plan to say goodbye to coal and invest in renewable energy and natural gas got a rough reception at a Senate hearing today.
Legions of bills will die today, except for the zombie bills: Friday, April 12, 2013; Bills lacking the athleticism to sprint past today’s deadline for committee passage die a cold death of neglect, never to see a vote on the floor or life in the opposite house.
Sandoval says pot shouldn't be legal for recreational use, but he's open to dispensaries: Thursday, April 11, 2013; Gov. Brian Sandoval said this week that he’s against the decriminalization of marijuana for recreational use, but he’s open to seeing a proposal for dispensaries for medical marijuana. “I don’t support the decriminalization of marijuana,” the Republican governor said Tuesday after a meeting at the Capitol.
Why do you pay what you do for power?: Wednesday, April 10, 2013; NV Energy surprised the nation last week with an announcement that it’s divesting from coal and investing in natural gas and renewable energy. While many applauded the move away from coal, the announcement also spurred criticism that it would precipitously raise rates.
NV Energy doesn't need legislative action to shutter coal plants: Monday, April 8, 2013; NV Energy made waves last week with a major legislative amendment that called for divesting from coal and investing in renewable energy and natural gas. The amendment left some wondering why the proposal was before the Legislature at all.
Five ways the GOP's Roberson is invading Democrats' territory: Sunday, April 7, 2013; Maybe it was the procedural hijinks that redirected a priority bill to a friendly committee. Maybe it was when he plopped a surprise mining tax proposal in the laps of lawmakers; Senate Minority Leader Michael Roberson has been a thorn in the side of the Democratic majority since the start of the legislative session.
In education power play, who will benefit from leadership vacuum?: Sunday, April 7, 2013; March Madness in Nevada wasn’t just for basketball. Last month, the state’s top two education officials left their jobs in the middle of the legislative session.
Construction defect legislation gets its day in Senate hearing: Saturday, April 6, 2013; Legislators might change how homeowners can seek relief for their homes’ construction defects under a bill heard Friday at the Legislature.
With legislative session half over, which bills might affect you?: Friday, April 5, 2013; For most embroiled in the thick of the ongoing legislative session in the capital, Thursday was a day to celebrate. The halfway point. Day 60. The light at the end of the 120-day tunnel is that much nearer. (Well, we hope, anyway. Voters did happen to give lawmakers the power to call themselves into special session, so who knows.) At the halfway point, bills are slowly winding their way through the process, with the bulk of the work still remaining in the committees assigned to give legislation a first work through.
For some stakeholders, a cautious embrace of NV Energy's plan to ditch coal: Thursday, April 4, 2013; Nevada’s utility company delivered Wednesday what appears to be a gift to the community. NV Energy told state lawmakers at a hearing at the Legislature that it wants to divest from the coal business, reduce carbon emissions, invest in renewable energy and natural gas, and create thousands of jobs in Nevada. It even has a nice bow on top: The company says it can accomplish all this at minimal cost to ratepayers. But a broad array of stakeholders who endorsed the look of the gift reserved the right to inspect its contents before voicing more full-throated support.