Latest news with #AssemblyGovernmentAffairsCommittee
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Nevada charter schools keep falling behind on retirement contributions, says PERS
NV Prep is one of two charter schools currently in a repayment plan for PERS. ((Photo: April Corbin Girnus/Nevada Current) Charter schools made up five of the nine public employers in Nevada that at some point over the past 2 years fell more than 90 days delinquent on retirement contributions, state lawmakers learned Wednesday. The Public Employees' Retirement System of Nevada — better known as PERS — is now backing a bill in the state Legislature to establish a mechanism that allows them to recoup the delinquent contributions. 'The category of employer we've had the most trouble with is charter schools,' PERS Executive Officer Tina Leiss told lawmakers on the Assembly Government Affairs Committee Wednesday. With other types of public employers, such as local government, PERS is able to turn to the Nevada Department of Taxation, which has the authority to withhold payments of public dollars to the county, city or agency behind on the payments. 'Over the years we've been able to use that process successfully,' Leiss added. 'With charter schools there really is, right now, no one that we can go to that has authority over them.' Senate Bill 418 would enable the State Superintendent of Public Schools to withhold a charter school's per-pupil dollars in order to pay PERS. That option would only be available after the charter school is more than 90 days behind. The bill was unanimously approved by the Senate earlier this month and heard by the Assembly Government Affairs Committee on Wednesday. No groups have registered opposition to the bill. Any public employer falling behind on PERS contributions is a problem because it affects people's ability to retire. PERS cannot pay out a person's pension if the employer is behind on their contributions. Kent Ervin, who follows the Retirement Board as part of his work with the Nevada Faculty Alliance, called it 'outrageous and simply unacceptable.' 'These public charter schools have deducted the PERS contributions from employee's paychecks but did not forward even those amounts to PERS. Some have also not reported the service credits,' he said, referring to the amount of time a person has worked in a PERS-eligible position, which affects pension levels. 'It's a disgrace.' With charter schools, there is the added concern that they could shut down and never pay what they owe, leaving the state on the hook. 'I'm not picking on charter schools,' Leiss said, 'but charter schools are one of the few government entities that cease to exist. Our cities, counties, school districts, fire departments don't close.' Two charter schools — TEACH Las Vegas and Eagle Charter Schools, both in Southern Nevada — were delinquent on PERS payments before they shut down last year. PERS was paid the amounts owed as part of the closing of those schools. According to a memo from Nevada State Public Charter School Authority Executive Director Melissa Mackedon to the Charter School Board, NV Prep and Equipo Academy are on PERS contribution repayment plans approved by the Nevada Retirement Board. PERS staffer Teresa Chalmers told lawmakers that, as of April 12, the two charter schools had a combined outstanding balance of $266,120. The SPCSA memo lists a third charter school, Sage Collegiate, as being delinquent as of mid-April. The school was also identified by the SPCSA as being delinquent in late 2023, though it caught up. At least two other schools were identified by SPCSA as being delinquent but have since caught up. Leiss said that at one point charter schools had a combined $1 million in contributions delinquent. She also said she had no insight into why charter schools might be more prone to falling behind on PERS contributions than other public employers.
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Nevada bill to opt-out of daylight saving time heads to Assembly floor for consideration
The Assembly Government Affairs Committee on Monday passed a bill that would allow Nevada to opt-out of observing Daylight Saving time.
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
As time change nears, Nevada considers opting out of daylight savings
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Don't have a heart attack, but daylight saving time is less than two weeks away. If a Nevada lawmaker has her way, it will be the last time the state 'springs ahead.' Citing a study that suggests cardiac arrest incidents spike on the Monday following the time change, Democratic Assem. Selena La Rue Hatch is sponsoring Assembly Bill 81 (AB81). Heart attacks aren't the only reason it's an issue that's gaining national attention. Representatives hear about it often from constituents who don't see the point, and even President Donald Trump has supported the end of daylight saving time. 'These are not just folks that are upset about losing an hour of sleep or having to change their clocks,' La Rue Hatch said Monday as she presented the 'lock the clock' act to the Assembly Government Affairs Committee. She said Democrats and Republicans alike are on board. 'There are documented negative health effects that come from observing daylight savings time and changing our clocks twice a year. We know that in the weeks following the clock change there are worsened health impacts. Strokes, heart attacks go up, digestive issues increase, medical outcomes are worsened. And in fact, many health organizations endorse permanent standard time as being more natural, more in line with our circadian rhythm and healthier for our bodies,' La Rue Hatch said. The bill wouldn't stop daylight saving time from coming on Sunday, March 9, 2025, but when Nevada 'falls back' to standard time on Nov. 2, the state would remain on permanent standard time. There's national support to go permanently to daylight saving time, but federal law prohibits that. States are only allowed to opt out of daylight saving time. Several states are already fighting that fight. La Rue Hatch cited a Michigan study that found a 24% increase in cardiac events on the Monday following the time change. But there's a separate study by the Mayo Clinic that shows only minimal effects across a sample of more than 36 million people. End to daylight saving time among bills for 2025 Nevada Legislature She also cited mental health impacts — anxiety and depression. And while she sees that as a teacher, La Rue Hatch said it's also a factor on the job and on the roads, where car crashes increase. 'We have measurable productivity decreases when we change the clocks,' she said. Nevada wouldn't be the first state to opt out. Arizona did it in 1968 and Hawaii did it in 1967. There's a growing chorus in support of the change in California, Oregon and Idaho. Utah is one of the states fighting to go to daylight saving time permanently. If a patchwork of states make the change, it could confuse travelers who already have trouble keeping track of time zones. Those time zones don't adhere to straight lines on a map. Nevada is on Pacific Time along with California, Washington, most of Oregon and northern Idaho. Neighboring Utah and Arizona are on Mountain time, one hour earlier, along with Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, portions of five other states — and one county in eastern Oregon. When Arizona remains on standard time and Nevada observes daylight time, the clocks in the two states are the same. La Rue Hatch said old reasoning that the time change helped farmers and ranchers really isn't a factor these days. 'As someone who grew up on a ranch, let me tell you, the cows are getting up at the same time, no matter what the clock says,' she said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
