Vote Nevada Supporters,

I hope you are all okay and feel supported during these times of love and fear.  As we once again face exponentially increasing rates of COVID-19 infections, many holiday plans were disrupted; but please know that we still have the power to support each other. 

If you need a little more help, please visit Nevada’s affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness for more resources: https://naminevada.org/  The brain is a part of the body, just like the stomach and the heart, and sometimes it needs care just the same.

If you are looking for some activities to help pass the time, the National Constitution Center has recordings of their fall Slavery, Civil War, and Reconstruction series available here: https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/learning-material/slavery-the-civil-war-and-reconstruction

And you can sign-up for a slew of classes on the Supreme Court, Civil Rights, and the Constitution in January and February.  You can review the offerings here: https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/online-civic-learning-opportunities/upcoming-scholar-exchanges

For our election nerds, Deputy Secretary of State Mark Wlaschin released notices of workshops to review implementing regulations for the election changes passed in the 2021 legislative session. Most of these changes came in AB321, which you can review here: https://www.leg.state.nv.us/App/NELIS/REL/81st2021/Bill/7842/Overview

You can review the regulations and the instructions for providing feedback here:

Jan. 19th workshop: https://www.leg.state.nv.us/App/NELIS/REL/81st2021/Bill/7842/Overview

Jan. 20th workshop: https://www.nvsos.gov/sos/home/showpublisheddocument/9993/637757801413870000

Jan. 21st workshop: https://www.nvsos.gov/sos/home/showpublisheddocument/9995/637757801416370000

Our next Vote Nevada meeting is January 22nd, from 9 to 10:30 am, via Zoom.  We will review issue advocacy strategies for the interim legislative committees and the election cycle.  This will include a review of the Governor’s budget building process, which also happens in the spring.  RSVP here: https://vote-nevada.news/Advocacy

On January 28th, from 3 to 5 pm, via Webex, the Nevada Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights is hosting a follow-up meeting to review progress on the recommendations from the committee’s Impact of Remote Learning on Equity in Education report. 

You can RSVP to attend here https://vote-nevada.news/NV-Advisory-Committee-Meeting and you can read the report and recommendations here https://www.usccr.gov/files/2021-11/nv-sac-remote-learning-and-equity-in-education-report.pdf   It is vitally important that we advocate for implementing these recommendations before the 2023 legislative session.

Finally, our Vote Nevada Behavioral and Mental Health Committee has been working with the Las Vegas Alliance with Black School Educators on drafting a possible statutory ballot question to ensure every child has access to vital wrap-around services.  As we know, our children need mental health services now more than ever, but they also need career and leadership development, as well as family supportive services. 

We started to addresses these needs in the 2019 legislative session with SB89, which came from Governor Sandoval’s Task Force on School Safety’s recommendations. SB89 was not fully funded in 2019, however, and there was no effort to provide any additional funding in 2021, so we are discussing using the statutory ballot initiative process to make these services a priority in the 2023 legislative session. 

If the Governor and legislative leadership decide to not act on the initiative, it will go on the ballot for voters to decide in 2024.

This does not mean that we are proposing raising taxes.  We are reviewing a variety of existing programs, services, and funding sources that can support a standard package of wrap-around services in every school.

It is time to invest in the kinds of early interventions and preventative care that will address mental well-being and promote healthy development for every child.  Please save February 12th in the morning for a possible meeting to discuss this initiative as well as other community oriented solutions for helping our children.

Thank you for being Nevadans with me,

Sondra 

Vote Nevada: Solving Problems with Civics

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Vote Nevada is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit civic engagement organization.  Anyone can become a supporter by emailing info@vote-nevada.org, we have no membership dues.  We do, however, accept donations Here