Legislative Priorities: Week of May 4, 2015

League Supporters,

The Economic Forum met May 1st to review current economic data and forecast projected revenues for the next biennium. The Governor and legislature must budget within the Forum’s projections or raise revenue to cover costs above those projections. The Forum met last in December to provide numbers for the Governor to use to build his budget. Overall, the economy is doing better, but due to approximately $153 million in tax credits Tesla and other entities are entitled to over the next two years, the Forum set revenues at $6.3 million.

This is about $1 billion less than the Governor’s proposed budget, so the legislature must either cut his budget or find ways to raise $1 billion in revenue to fund increases to K-12 education and other programs.  In other words, the next thirty days will be chaotic and tense; making your efforts vitally important.

You can read more at: http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/nevada-legislature/nevada-lawmakers-given-63-billion-revenue-projection-work

Here are the remaining legislative deadlines. If these are not met, we could face a special session, which will cost taxpayers $25,000 a day.

Monday, May 04, 2015: Start Resolving Budget Differences

Friday, May 15, 2015: Committee Passage (Second House)

Thursday, May 21, 2015: Finish Budget Differences

Friday, May 22, 2015: Second House Passage

Wednesday, May 27, 2015: Budget Bills Introduced; Exempt Bills from Committee

The following League priority bills will be heard the week of April 6, 2015. To have your voice heard you can email your representative, contact committee members, submit your opinion online, and/or provide public comment at the Grant Sawyer Building on 555 E. Washington Ave.

To find your representatives, enter your address in on this page: http://mapserve1.leg.state.nv.us/whoRU/

You can find committees here: https://www.leg.state.nv.us/App/NELIS/REL/78th2015/Committees/List

You can submit your opinion on a bill here: https://www.leg.state.nv.us/App/Opinions/78th2015/A/

To find out when a committee meets to provide testimony at Grant Sawyer, go here: https://www.leg.state.nv.us/App/Calendar/A/

**And now you can view past hearings and floor sessions from this video archive page on the legislature’s website: http://www.leg.state.nv.us/Granicus/

Monday May 4, 2015

Closing of the Education Budgets

8:00 AM

Assembly Committee on Ways and Means and Senate Committee on Finance, Subcommittees on K-12/Higher Education/CIPS

Agenda

  • Room 3137 of the Legislative Building, 401 S. Carson St., Carson City, NV.

Wednesday May 6, 2015

 Closing Mental Health Budgets

8:00 AM

Assembly Committee on Ways and Means and Senate Committee on Finance, Subcommittees on K-12/Higher Education/CIPS

Agenda

  • Room 3137 of the Legislative Building, 401 S. Carson St., Carson City, NV.

AJR8: Would apply the same two-thirds required vote needed to raise revenue to all initiatives.

3:30 PM

Senate Committee on Legislative Operations and Elections

Agenda

  • Room 2144 of the Legislative Building, 401 S. Carson St., Carson City, NV.
  • Videoconferenced to Room 4412E of the Grant Sawyer State Office Building, 555 E. Washington Ave., Las Vegas, NV.
  • AJR8

Sondra