Vote Nevada Supporters,
Monday, June 5, 2023, is the last day of the regular legislative session. Legislators have been in session all weekend to pass exempt and emergency bills out of committees, especially the money committees, and to the respective floors. The rules have been suspended, so, there hasn’t been much notice before individual bills move from a committee to the floor. Committees are also making decisions on the floors in what is called “behind the bar” sessions. This whole process is awful from the perspective of community civic engagement.
Once a bill has passed and is moved to the Governor’s office, the Governor must act on the bill 5 days after it arrives, not counting Sundays, if the legislature is in session. If there are fewer than 5 days in the session or if the bill arrives in the Governor’s office after the last day of the session, the Governor has 10 days to act.
The Governor has 3 options, he can sign a bill, he can veto a bill, or he can do nothing, in which case the bill automatically becomes a law. Legislators must wait until the next legislative session to override any vetoes made after sine die.
The Governor already vetoed one part of the budget called the Appropriations Act. The Democratic majority has now submitted a new Appropriation Act, so, it is unclear whether this new version will be signed by Monday at midnight. If the new Appropriation Act is signed the session will end with no special session. If the new Appropriation Act is vetoed, we will have a special session to resolve the budget issues.
Seeing we once again have many bills going through the legislative session outside of a normal vetting process, after the session ends, we need to review the bills that passed to ensure we do not have implementation issues.
The first Vote Nevada Summer of Civics meeting will, therefore, be our Legislative Roundup on June 10th, from 9 to 10:30 am, via Zoom. We will review what passed, what died, and what never received a hearing. You can RSVP here: https://vote-nevada.news/Legislative-Roundup-2023
One bill we need to start working on right now is AB528, which addresses homelessness in a more comprehensive way. The bill creates a hub and spokes model in each county, so we need community groups in each county who can provide feedback as sites are selected. If you have connections to community organizations that are already working on housing, mental health, and job training, please let them know about AB528. If anyone needs help finding groups who can work on AB528, let me know and I will help you plug in.
You can watch the AB528 legislative hearing here: t.ly/3woA
I have scheduled a meeting to discuss chronic homelessness for Monday, June 12th, from 6 to 7 pm, via Zoom, which specifically looks at the San Antonio model. You can RSVP here: t.ly/8iqh
Tomorrow, June 5th, the Carson City Democratic luncheon speaker is the Carson City Library Director Joy Holt. https://www.carsonnow.org/reader-content/06/02/2023/carson-library-director-speak-mondays-democratic-luncheon
If you would like to Zoom into the event at 1:30 pm, please email Rich Dunn for the link at richdunn as one word and then @aol.com.
On June 17th, we will kick off the other two major Summer of Civics projects, Sports Equity and ADA Compliance in Nevada. If you would like to sign up for the Sports Equity Team, please complete this form: https://forms.gle/ZHnyDbQB4ofdNHAi9
Our June 17th Sports Equity kickoff meeting is via Zoom from 9 to 10 am, you can RSVP here: t.ly/mEYJ
If you are interested in joining the ADA Compliance Team, our first meeting is June 17th, from 4 to 5 pm, via Zoom. You can RSVP here: t.ly/ocW0
In case you missed this great panel of women from different states working to elect more women, here’s the link: 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
Vote Nevada 