This Nevada legislative policy change has transparency advocates crying foul
In today’s edition:
- LCB says number of exhibits unavailable online is “undeniably large”
- Right-wing Trump ally attacks Lombardo
- Bill introduced to expand paid family leave.
From the Capital Bureau Chief:
During a hearing last month on how possible federal cuts to Medicaid could affect Nevada, I tried (and failed) to access digital copies of presentations being given to lawmakers.
The reason? The Legislative Counsel Bureau (LCB) had designated some of the materials as “unavailable online due to copyright issues.”
To get a digital copy, I needed to call or email the legislative library. I was under deadline, so I posted my dissent and moved on.
But that instance wasn’t an outlier. LCB admits the new policy change has resulted in an “undeniably large number of exhibits” not available online.
Interim Legislative Counsel Bureau Director Diane Thornton said the policy is a way to avoid violating federal copyright laws and noted the agency has received at least two copyright claims in the current two-year budget cycle.
“The fair use doctrine generally permits the use of copyrighted material for a live presentation at a hearing or for creating an accurate record of that hearing,” Thornton said. “It is not clear that making such materials permanently and freely available on the Legislative Department’s website separate from such a hearing or the record of that hearing is permitted under the fair use doctrine.”
LCB resolved one of the claims by removing the copyright holder’s material from NELIS. In the other case, LCB could not verify that the person making the complaint held a copyright, so Thornton said LCB did not take any action.
But the broad application of the policy has resulted in innocuous material not being available on the Legislature's website.
Examples: a handout from Assm. Selena La Rue Hatch (D-Reno) on her regional rail task force measure AB256 (copyright issue: images of trains) and a presentation from the Nevada Secretary of State’s Office that contained (gasp!) graphs without attribution.
Those in legislative circles are frustrated by the policy, which they say hinders transparency, makes it harder for the press to share information and increases the challenges to participating in the legislative session.
Nevada Open Government Coalition board members Bob Conrad and Alexander Falconi called the policy a “major overreaction” and “a huge step backward.”
“Requiring members of the public to individually request each supporting document or watch hourslong videos of meetings to gather the information is unacceptable and throws a massive shroud over the work of our elected representatives,” Conrad and Falconi said.
One lobbyist, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid jeopardizing a good working relationship with the agency, said “LCB is making a ridiculous presumption that any graphic in written testimony, even if labeled as created by the submitter themselves, is potentially copyrighted.”
“They say the same material can be viewed in hearing videos, so apparently they are encouraging the public to bring large poster boards of their charts,” the lobbyist added.
Another lobbyist granted anonymity for the same reasons said telling people to come to the library in Carson City when most of the population lives in Las Vegas and the legislative process itself has been more virtual is absurd.
“The comical thing is, you’ve heard [lawmakers] open every hearing saying, ‘Oh, don’t worry about us being on our devices, we’re looking at the information … Do not take that as a sign of disrespect,’” the lobbyist said. “What information are you looking at that’s not available to me because I can’t see any of it?”
As always, please send us your questions, thoughts and suggestions. You can reach me at tabitha@thenvindy.com.
Bill spotlight: Expanded paid family leave
A much-anticipated proposal from Assm. Selena La Rue Hatch (D-Reno) to expand paid family leave requirements was introduced Monday.
Here are the highlights.
- AB388 would require public and private employers to provide their workers with 12 weeks a year of paid family leave, which is paid time off for health and family purposes, such as paternity and maternity leave. Businesses with fewer than 50 workers would be exempt.
- The leave provided would be either 60 or 100 percent of the worker’s normal wage, depending on how much money they make, with lower-earning workers receiving their full pay.
- The bill expands the paid family leave policies for state workers, which lawmakers enacted during the 2023 legislative session.
- State workers are already entitled to eight weeks of paid family leave, but only at half of their regular wage regardless of income.
- The bill also allows the leave to include time with a newly placed foster child, following a miscarriage and to recover from incidents such as stalking and domestic violence.
- Nevada does not have a statewide paid family leave policy for private sector employees, but certain employees are eligible for 12 weeks of unpaid family leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act.
- One exception is private employers with at least 50 employees that receive relocation or expansion tax abatements. They must provide their workers with 12 weeks of paid family leave of at least 55 percent of their normal wage. This was included in the 2023 bill allocating public funds for the A’s stadium.
— Eric Neugeboren
What we’re reading and writing
Pay raises, hiring shifts helped Nevada cut state worker vacancy rate in half by Eric Neugeboren
It’s amazing what better pay and hiring strategies can do.
Nevada colleges have long welcomed undocumented students, but face new challenges under Trump by Lizzie Ramirez
The state helped college students work around financial barriers of lacking legal status, but students are feeling the limits of universities’ ability to support.
Lombardo gets ‘Stoned’
Shortly after a joint event with the Clark County Republican Party and Gov. Joe Lombardo last Monday, longtime Donald Trump ally and GOP consultant Roger Stone lambasted the governor on X for not being strict enough on immigration enforcement and alleged that the governor pressured county sheriffs to “oppose Trump’s illegal immigrant deportation policies.”
Here’s what else we know:
- The Clark County GOP has not responded to a request for comment on what Lombardo said at the event. However, a spokesperson for Lombardo called Stone’s post “ludicrous.”
- Lombardo’s campaign team doubled down on his support for Trump’s immigration policies last week and reiterated that Nevada will not be a sanctuary state under his watch.
- Here’s what Lombardo has said on immigration policy since Trump was elected:
- In a conversation last month with Indy CEO Jon Ralston, Lombardo said stricter immigration enforcement is important but the number of people eligible for removal is huge and it would be backward to pursue mass deportation without first securing the southern border.
- But he’s also sparred with his likely 2026 opponent, Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford, over Ford’s office’s release of model immigration policies. A war of words ensued — Lombardo’s office released a statement saying the “Attorney General does not have the authority to make Nevada a sanctuary state or jurisdiction.”
- Ford’s office released a statement calling Lombardo’s remarks “misleading” and noting that his office was statutorily required to create the nonbinding policies. “If the Governor didn’t know that, the question isn’t about my office — it’s about his,” he said.
— Isabella Aldrete
Keeping Tabs
💧A long-term water buyback program in Nevada? On the heels of a popular, federally funded pilot water buyback program, Nevada lawmakers are now considering implementing a more permanent version.
- Two bills are before lawmakers, including SB36, which would establish a tool for willing water right holders to permanently retire their groundwater rights and run the program through 2035.
- Context: A step toward addressing shortages in Nevada’s vastly over-appropriated basins, SB36 builds off 2023’s SB176, which stalled out in a state finance committee, and a $25 million, one-time allocation through the federal American Rescue Plan that funded the state’s pilot program, which saw more than 25,000 acre-feet of water retired.
- The bill heard last Thursday in the Senate Natural Resources Committee, which outlines a program that would sunset in 2035, doesn’t contain a fiscal note. Proponents hope that the bill’s passage would help build up a program that could be eligible for federal grants and donations.
- “While there may not be funding available right now, if you build it, it will come, and we’re hoping that just by building this program it can attract money to help pay for this,” said Kyle Roerink, executive director of the Great Basin Water Network.
🥊 Speaker calls Lombardo-backed PAC attack ‘disingenuous’ — During a budget committee hearing Friday on new government office buildings in Las Vegas, Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager (D-Las Vegas) brought up mailers sent by the Lombardo-affiliated Better Nevada PAC last year attacking a trio of Assembly Democrats for their support of a $127 million appropriation for the new buildings. Lombardo supported the legislation that included the appropriation, and four Republican legislators supported the legislation that funded the buildings as well. Yeager said the attack “at minimum was disingenuous.”
- Context: Read more details about the attacks in this fact check-filled edition of our Indy Elections newsletter from October.
✡️ Bills addressing antisemitism — As antisemitic hate crimes have skyrocketed in recent years, lawmakers are looking to strengthen protections for the Jewish community. Sen. James Ohrenschall (D-Las Vegas) last week presented SB179, which would allow the Nevada Equal Rights Commission to consider antisemitism when investigating complaints of discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodations. That same day, Sen. Lisa Krasner (R-Reno) presented SB96, which would mark Jan. 27 as International Holocaust Remembrance Day and acknowledge other global genocides.
- Alexander Marks, a supporter of Krasner’s bill, said he can’t believe Nazi salutes are still being performed in 2025 by public figures and that these actions are “testing society’s tolerance for hate.”
🇮🇪 Bipartisan Nevada-Ireland trade commission — A bill sponsored by Yeager and Assm. P.K. O’Neill (R-Carson City) would create a commission to advance trade between Nevada and Ireland. Irish political legends Sen. Mark Daly and Taoiseach Bertie Ahern co-presented the bill last week.
- O’Neill (whose grandfather is Irish) and Yeager attended a conference in Ireland last summer.
- A potential 💩 in the Lucky Charms bowl: The Governor’s Office of Economic Development submitted a fiscal note on the bill, saying it could cost up to $37,000 every biennium.
— Eric Neugeboren, Lizzie Ramirez, Amy Alonzo
Looking Ahead
- Tuesday, March 11, 1:30 p.m.: Assembly Education is hearing AB289, which would authorize the Board of Regents to establish a financial literacy course that students would be required to take before graduating.
- Tuesday, March 11, 3:30 p.m.: Lawmakers in Senate Health and Human Services will hear SB138, a measure sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro (D-Las Vegas) that would automatically enroll babies who qualify for Medicaid in the government-funded health insurance program.
- Wednesday, March 12, 1:30 p.m.: Assembly Commerce and Labor is hearing AB259, a bill sponsored by Assm. Venicia Considine (D-Las Vegas) that would have Nevada adopt drug prices negotiated by Medicare. Gov. Joe Lombardo vetoed a similar measure in 2023.
Days until:
- Last day for bill introductions: 14
- First house passage deadline: 43
- Sine die: 84
And to get you going into the week, a few social media posts that caught our eye:
- X: For the sake of insurance rates, don’t drive and bird watch.
- BSky: Do I spy the next speaker?
- Instagram: Is it too early in the session to share this video?
We’ll see you Thursday.