President of the League of Women Voters of Nevada Janice Browne and First Vice President Sondra Cosgrove attended the League of Women Voters US 2015 Council June 19-21 in Leesburg, Virginia.  The main theme was “Celebrating the past, embracing the future.”

http://lwv.org/

We attended presentations on how to guide the League into the Twenty-First Century to improve our viability as an organization, while staying committed to our mission of promoting and protecting democracy.  The presenters were experts who reported on research in the field of civic engagement and strategic change for non-profits.

Matt Leighninger, the Executive Director of the Deliberative Democracy Consortium, presented on what he called “Thick” and “Thin” engagement.  Thick engagers willingly attend in-person meetings, take on tasks, and become involved in administrative duties.  This group is shrinking and many organizations are actively recruiting them; because they are in high demand, each can pick and choose from different offers.  They therefore need good reasons to join one particular organization; many are looking for opportunities for leadership and/or the ability to be truly effective.

Thin engagers are socially aware, sign petitions, send messages in response to action alerts, attend a few in-person meetings, and stay engaged mainly through social media and word of mouth.  These type of people are in the majority and interact with many different types of organizations; they will join a group or provide a donation if they are not required to make an extended in-person time commitment.

Mr. Leighninger stated that League has traditionally geared outreach and recruitment exclusively at the Thick type of engagers, but as their numbers dwindle, it is now necessary to also appeal to the Thin engagers. For Thin engagers it is important to see an organization working on goals and activities that align with their values.  Thin engagers also need consistent opportunities to engage with or on behalf of the organization both in-person and electronically.

Mr. Leighninger, therefore recommended, and LWV President MacNamara concurred, that local and state Leagues put Mission Fulfillment above Membership Recruitment.  League activities and strategic plans should focus on actions and activities that fulfill the League’s mission.  In doing this each League’s public profile will be enhanced, which will attract both Thick and Thin engagers.

https://www.facebook.com/deliberative.democracy

We heard from Nancy Tate, LWVUS, about the need for strategic change in how local and state Leagues function.  We need to adapt to how people currently generate and receive information by having a stronger online presence and by re-imagine administrative functions and how we deliver services.  While keeping a focus on the League’s mission, local and state Leagues should begin examining processes, functions, and services.

In a session with Cheryl Graeve, Senior Director of Membership and Field Support, we discussed ways to recruit and develop “Bold and Effective New Leaders.”  To recruit new leadership League should be thinking in terms of “skill-sets” and “talent.”  Local and state boards should have position description written for each role in League that includes not just responsibilities, but also the skills necessary for the role.

These role descriptions should then guide the Nominating Committees in its selection of candidates. Each League should also have a leadership development process to bring new people into leadership roles; this should include an orientation to League’s practices and rules.   This new way of recruiting and developing leaders helps to capture remaining Thick engagers who are not current League members and is necessary to ensure League’s vitality based on current best practices for non-profit, volunteer organizations.

There were also presentations on top League issues.  LWVUS Chief Lobbyist, Lloyd Leonard, did a presentation on the current redistricting cases before the Supreme Court.

The first is Arizona State Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission challenging the constitutionality of Arizona’s initiative-created, independent redistricting commission.  The US Constitution states that it is the function of state legislatures to manage federal elections, so a group in Arizona filed a case against the initiative-created redistricting commission stating it unconstitutionally stripped the redistricting power from the state legislature in federal races.  This case hinges on whether citizens have direct legislative power through the initiative process.  If the Court rules against the commission, it would only be barred from redistricting for federal offices.  It would still have power to redistrict for state offices.

In a separate workshop on redistricting, the League’s working group on Redistricting Reform encouraged local and state Leagues to vigilantly monitor all proposed changes to redistricting processes.  Any time a governing body recommends changing how redistricting is done, Leagues must ensure the process is transparent and compliant with federal laws and court rulings.

The second redistricting case is Evenwel v. Abbott from Texas.  In this case a Texas group wants the Supreme Court to rule that the traditional method of counting raw population when creating election districts should be replaced with a new method of counting only eligible voters. As states have used the raw population method since the founding of the country, it is highly unlikely the court will rule to change the method states currently use to one that only counts eligible voters.

Professor Erin O’Brian, Associate Professor of Political Science at Boston University, presented on state legislative interest in Voter ID.  She noted that, based on statistical analysis, the states most likely to see Voter ID legislation proposed have seen increases in voting among minorities and the poor.  While there is no statistically significant proof of voter impersonation in these states to justify Voter ID, there is statistically significant evidence of voter disenfranchisement in states that adopt Voter ID.

http://www.scholarsstrategynetwork.org/content/forward-or-back-voting-rights

Emily Shaw, Deputy Policy Director at the Sunlight Foundation, presented on publicly available resources to track campaign spending, government contracts, budgets, and expenditures; as well as issues related to corruption and ethics violations.  She recommended the website www.openstates.org for reliable information.

http://sunlightfoundation.com/

Professor Daniel J. Tokaji reported on the repercussions of the Citizens United ruling and possible remedies to the large influx of money into American politics.  Under Citizens United federal rules limiting individual contributions directly to candidates and political parties were upheld, while federal rules limiting expenditures on behalf of a candidate or issue were thrown out.

The result has been the rise of Political Action Committees with the ability to aggregate individual contributions to spend on behalf of candidates and issues without being required to report the source of the contributions. The court did not say that the money must be kept anonymous, so Congress could require greater disclosure.

Consequently, candidates and political parties have lost control over the quantity and quality of political advertisements, events on behalf of candidates, and the number of staff working for or against a candidate.  This shift away from the parties running campaigns to private groups running campaigns has distorted all existing checks on spending in the elections process; this is causing the political parties to veer more toward emulating the PACs by not following accepted rules of engagement.

Professor Tokaji and the League’s working group on Money In Politics both recommended against pursuing a constitutional amendment as the means for overruling Citizens United.  Once the constitutional convention process begins any group can hijack it to push through their own amendment.

Instead, both recommended looking to Congress to create stricter disclosure laws to force PACs to divulge the source of contributions; to limit the number of days candidates can campaign; and for League to be purposeful in promoting good candidates for future openings on the Supreme Court.   Professor Tokaji noted that the American public, especially millennials, is growing very weary of constant campaigning, which may cause the PAC phenomena to eventually reach a point of diminishing returns on its own.

http://www.opensecrets.org/

Lastly, all the “buzz” at Convention was about Vote411.org.  More and more Leagues are using Vote 411 not only as an electronic voter guide, but also as a tool for membership outreach and community engagement.  As Vote 411 embodies the League’s Mission it is a prime way to “show” League doing good work.

Leagues using Vote 411 statewide reported an increase in members and an increase in community awareness of League’s role in promoting voter registration and civic engagement.  During the Action Planning sessions Jan and I talked with LWVUS staff knowledgeable about Vote 411; I attended a Vote 411 “How To” workshop; and we discussed among ourselves not only using Vote 411, but how to engage with community members throughout Nevada who reach out to our Leagues after using Vote 411.

League Supporters:

The League of Women Voters Of Nevada met June 13^th in Las Vegas for our biennial Convention. We elected a new state board, honored two legislators, and discussed plans for the next two years.

Our new League of Women Voters of Nevada State Board is:

President: Janice Browne

1^st Vice President: Sondra Cosgrove

2^nd Vice President: Beverly Abderrahman

Secretary: Jean Laird

Treasurer: Ann Marie Smith

Directors:

Kathleen Bienenstein

Frances Rust

Nancy Scott

Betty Pardo

Grace Mills

Denise Gerdes

 We discussed the need to recognize political leaders who promote and practice good governance and possibly hosting a Good Governance event after each legislative session to celebrate political leaders who prioritize the greater good.   At the meeting we recognized Chair of the Assembly Taxation Committee, Assemblyman Derek Armstrong, and Assembly Minority Leader, Assemblywoman Marilyn Kirkpatrick, for their efforts this session.

We will be sending letters of recognition to the many other legislators who ensured that Nevada is an exception, not the rule, this year.

The State Board will be meeting over the summer for a strategy session to prioritize issues and align our budget with our priorities. We are already looking toward the upcoming 2016 election and the 2017 legislative session and hope all Nevadans will take this opportunity to register to vote at: www.Vote411.org

If you are not yet a member of the League of Women Voters Of Las Vegas Valley, please join now and support our work:

http://lwvlasvegasvalley.org/

For the latest news updates:

Please follow us on Twitter at: @LWVLVV

Please like our Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/League-of-Women-Voters-of-Las-Vegas-Valley/156257151058459

 Sondra Cosgrove

RT @jasonhidalgo: NV @GovSandoval announces plan to create Nevada Electric Highway connecting Reno, Las Vegas and rural areas #ev http://t.co/2uQtNeC7H9

RT @RalstonReports: Summary of Moody’s assessment of Nevada tax increase: http://t.co/Xoz6IF2Yyw

League Supporters:

The focus this week is the Governor’s budget. If the Governor’s budget does not pass, few, if any, funding increases for K-12 education or health and human services will survive the session. The Governor’s tax plan has been amended to include parts of other proposals; you can read the details at: http://www.reviewjournal.com/taxes/sandoval-unveils-262-million-compromise-tax-hike-plan

Last Friday was the deadline for non-exempt bills to be voted affirmatively out of committees in the second house. Parts of some bills with no chance of passing were amended into live bills, but for the most part these bills are dead: https://www.leg.state.nv.us/Session/78th2015/Reports/MissedMay15th.cfm

By Friday May 22^nd remaining bills must receive an affirmative floor vote in the second house to continue to the Governor’s desk. Budgets and exempt bills will be introduced for floor votes beginning May 27^th; and the regular session ends on June 1^st.

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/

Sondra

League Supporters,

We are in the final stretch of the 2015 legislative session. If nothing else, this session has taught us that Nevada’s governing system is broken. Fittingly, this week we’ll have the opportunity to weigh in on a referendum to create annual sessions. We’ll still only have 120 days of direct legislative representation, but at least under this proposal we’ll have direct representation in the people’s branch of government every year.

Here are the final deadlines:

• 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
• June 1, 2015: Sine die

The following League priority bills will be heard the week of May 11, 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 11, 2015

SJR8: A referendum that would go on the 2016 ballot to create annual sessions. In odd years the legislature would meet for 90 work days and then in even years the legislature would meet for 30 work days. This would be an improvement to the current system that leaves Nevadans without direct representation in the co-equal legislative branch of government in even number years.

AB252: Creates an independent legislative advisory commission on redistricting.

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.
• • AB252, SJR8*

Sondra

Come one, come all! We’re wrapping up our spring meetings May 16th with Dr. Michael Green, UNLV History Professor and Storyteller extraordinaire!  RSVP by May 12th at lwv@lwvlasvegasvalley.org  The public is welcome.

League Supporters,

The Economic Forum met May 1^st 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

League Supporters,

This week includes an important legislative milestone on Friday May 1^st when the Economic Forum reviews current economic data and confirms revenue projections for the next biennium.

The Governor and legislature are bound to budget within these projections; if either wishes to spend money beyond the Forum’s numbers, taxes must be increased. Currently, both are using the Economic Forum’s December 2014 projections for budgeting purposes.

You can read more about the Economic Forum here: https://www.leg.state.nv.us/Interim/77th2013/Committee/NonLeg/EcForum/?ID=24

These are the remaining deadlines:

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

Monday June 1^st: Last Day of the Regular Session

The following League priority bills will be heard the week of April 27, 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 April 27, 2015

Presentation and Discussion of Voting Technology

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.

Wednesday April 29, 2015

AB462: Substantial and potential negative changes to election processes and voter access to the polls

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.
• AB462

Sondra

League Supporters:

As we move through the second half of this legislative session the following deadlines are looming:

Tuesday, April 21, 2015: First House Passage

Friday, May 01, 2015: Economic Forum Report Due

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

Monday June 1^st: Last Day of the Regular Session

As bills hit the deadline to pass through the House of Origination, floor sessions will be very important. You can view the File and watch floor sessions at: https://www.leg.state.nv.us/App/Calendar/A/

The following League priority bills will be heard the week of April 20, 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/

Wednesday April 23, 2015

AB94: Allows a voter to opt to receive the Sample Ballot in electronic format.

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.
• AB94

Sondra