Vote Nevada Supporters,

As of right now, our legislators and the Governor’s Office are working to achieve common ground.  The Governor signed the education budget, so, now we are waiting for him to sign the Appropriations Bill and to fund the rest of the state government. It is, therefore, unclear whether we will have a special session.  

The last day of the regular session is June 5^th, if a special session happens, the Governor will issue a proclamation with the start date and the topics the legislature may address. https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/lombardo-signs-state-worker-pay-bill-as-other-major-budget-bills-in-limbo

You can track what happens to bills once they go to the Governor’s office by going to the Reports page on NELIS and then clicking on Governor’s Actions On Bills: https://www.leg.state.nv.us/App/NELIS/REL/82nd2023/Bills/Reports

Our first Summer of Civics 2023 meeting is on June 10th, from 9 to 10:30 am, via Zoom.  We will review which bills passed, which bills died and need work to be resubmitted in 2025, and which bills never received a hearing. You can RSVP here: https://vote-nevada.news/Legislative-Roundup-2023 

The three Vote Nevada Neighborhood chats were very successful, thanks to everyone who attended.  The top two issues we discussed were how to help Nevadans who are chronically homeless and how to ensure that Nevada is in ADA (Americans with Disability Act) compliance.

On the issue of chronic homelessness, which often co-occurs with mental illness and/or drug addiction, there are many people who are concerned about this issue.  You can listen to a panel with academic and business leaders discussing what it will take to help these fellow Nevadans here: https://knpr.org/show/knprs-state-of-nevada/2023-06-01/part-1-nevada-womens-philanthropy-forum-on-homelessness-takes-deeper-look-at-issue

We also know that our law enforcement leaders support finding alternatives to trespassing homeless individuals and breaking up campsites: https://bja.ojp.gov/program/pmhc/responding-homelessness

There are possible sources of funding for solutions: https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/ag-nevada-to-receive-152-million-from-opioid-related-settlement-with-cvs

We have these examples of transitioning commercial properties into transitional housing for the chronically homeless:

Clark County and Reno transitioned some shuttered downtown hotels:  https://lasvegasweekly.com/news/2023/apr/20/partnerships-transform-old-downtown-motel/

https://www.propublica.org/article/reno-seeks-to-purchase-motels-as-affordable-housing-instead-of-letting-developers-demolish-them

Our first meeting to review what we can do to address chronic homelessness will be Monday, June 12, 2023, via Zoom, from 6 to 7 pm.  You can RSVP here: t.ly/8iqh

On ADA compliance to ensure Nevadans with disabilities can access all services and experiences equitably, there are filing processes for requesting that a service or experience come into compliance.  So, we will learn about these processes.  Our first meeting to draw up a plan to address ADA compliance issues is set for Saturday, June 17, 2023, via Zoom, from 4 to 5 pm.  You can RSVP here: t.ly/uaiR

The third topic is Sports Equity.  Nevada is now home to many, many sports teams in our schools, colleges, and universities, as well as our minor and major professional leagues. Currently, our one national championship professional team is the Las Vegas Aces, yet we have data showing continuing pay disparities between men’s and women’s sports.  https://www.npr.org/2022/04/14/1092677483/brittney-griner-russia-detention-wnba-nba-pay-gap

Nevada is ahead of the game in this area.  Las Vegas Aces owner Mark Davis has invested to draw fans to the games and has provided the team with a world-class training facility.  UNLV invested resources promoting the Lady Rebels basketball team as well.  And we have some good media coverage of women’s sports at the high school level.

But we still need to work on pay parity.  If women can draw in the fanbase and compete at the top levels, women need equitable pay as coaches and players.

If you are interested in the Vote Nevada Summer Celebration of Women’s Sports, you can read more about the Celebrating Sports project here: Vote Nevada Summer Celebration of Women’s Sports 2023 

Our planning meeting for the sports equity project is June 17, 2023, from 9 to 10 am, via Zoom, you can RSVP to attend here: t.ly/mEYJ

This gives us a good kick-off for the Vote Nevada Summer of Civics Series. Here are the other topics we will be diving into; I will have meeting dates and times as soon as I confirm the guests for some of these events.

Entrepreneurship Being the First Local Journalism Open Meeting Law Roberts Rules of Order Servant Leadership  Nothing about us without us

Learn to Facilitate a Meeting What is Consensus Democracy? What’s civics? Being a Civics Influencer Background Checks Men and Mental Health

 And finally, this is a great panel of women from different states working to elect more women: https://vote-nevada.news/Electing-Women-RCV  

Thank you for being Nevadans with me,

Sondra

Vote Nevada: Solving Problems with Civics

Vote Nevada is now qualified to receive donations through Smith’s Inspiring Donations, you can read more about how to donate to Vote Nevada each time you use your Smith’s loyalty card here: https://www.smithsfoodanddrug.com/i/community/smiths-inspiring-donations

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

Sondra