Latest news with #FabianDoñate
USA Today
24-03-2025
- Automotive
- USA Today
DMV wait times are often long. Are appointment resellers making them worse?
DMV wait times are often long. Are appointment resellers making them worse? Show Caption Hide Caption What to do if you lost your license traveling If you lose your license while traveling, contact your DMV to get a printable, temporary copy that will allow you to continue traveling. Problem Solved Ticket resellers have come under fire for profiting off of sky-high prices for major concerts and sporting events. Now, in some parts of the country, officials are investigating whether third-party sellers are making money from free driver's license appointments, too. That's right, it's not just Eras Tour tickets. The tax collector's office in Florida's Miami-Dade County announced last week that it 'uncovered a network of appointment' resellers booking hundreds of Department of Motor Vehicle appointments before turning them around to unsuspecting residents – for a fee. And Florida officials trying to put a stop to the practice aren't alone. State senators in Nevada have also issued warnings about platforms selling DMV slots to people who need to renew their drivers' licenses, register their cars and obtain copies of important documents, such as birth certificates and marriage licenses. More: Real ID deadline 2 months away: 'Your air travel may be delayed' if you're not in compliance Selling public appointments is legal in most places across the U.S., including Nevada and Miami-Dade County. But policymakers are beginning to crack down. $45,000 for DMV slots Nevada State Senator Fabian Doñate, a Democrat who represents the area around the Las Vegas Strip, recently introduced legislation to prohibit third-party sites from posting or selling restaurant reservations and public service appointments without consent from the organization that created the event. Doñate said appointment reselling has made it difficult, and sometimes near impossible, for people in the major Nevada city to find available time slots to go to the DMV to receive essential services. In an analysis conducted in February, his office found that resellers could be generating between $45,406 and $47,488 each year from rebooking DMV appointments, if one out of every 20 people who visited their site bought one. 'When reservations are booked and no one uses them, it makes it harder for everyone else to get appointments,' said Doñate. 'These are things that should be free.' He expects his legislation to pass in the coming weeks and could be signed into law by mid-May. But what about the warning from Florida officials? The Miami-Dade County Commission is also reviewing an ordinance that would criminalize the resale of DMV appointments. The law would make it illegal to sell or post public appointments without written consent from the tax collector's office. Violators would face fines of up to $500 or 60 days in jail. The ordinance passed unanimously on first reading last week and could be approved after its second reading on April 1. More: Did you receive a text about unpaid road toll bills? It could be a scam: What to know Other communities and states have faced similar problems with resellers trying to make money off of people who need to secure appointments for some of their most important documents. The Hillsborough County Tax Collectors office, which oversees the area around Tampa, Florida, changed its appointment scheduling system to enhance verification and only allow for one reservation per email address in 2023 after it found scammers were bulk booking driver's license appointments. And Colorado's Attorney General's Office launched an investigation in 2016 after it found people were booking and reselling DMV appointments for between $50 and $1,000 to undocumented immigrants who the state had allowed to apply for drivers' licenses. Real ID deadline approaches These latest appointment reselling scams come as people across the country scramble to renew their drivers' licenses before Real ID requirements take effect on May 7. By the deadline, all U.S. citizens and permanent residents over age 18 will need to have a government-issued ID with a star in the upper right-hand corner to travel domestically. The symbol shows the ID meets the "minimum-security standards" set by the Real ID Act of 2005. DMV locations from North Carolina to Nevada have experienced long wait times and appointment back-ups in the lead-up to the deadline, which has been pushed back several times over the years. The original deadline was slated for 2008 but state compliance issues and the COVID-19 pandemic delayed implementation. In South Florida, some people have camped on the concrete sidewalks outside DMV offices to ensure they can get an appointment, according to local TV station WSVN. The Miami-Dade Tax Collector's office said in a statement last week that the reselling practices have exacerbated the problem ahead of Real ID deadlines by creating 'false demand' and 'unnecessary barriers,' that have made it difficult for residents to access appointments.
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
It's normal to be a renter in Nevada. But in the state legislature? Not so much.
(Photo courtesy of Nevada Housing Justice Alliance) Housing is often touted as a crucial 'kitchen table' issue, but for the vast majority of state lawmakers 'home' means a single-family residence they own. That's true nationally, according to researchers at Boston University and the University of Georgia, who used property records and voter registration data to estimate that at least 93% of officeholders nationwide either own their homes or likely own their homes. It's also true in the Silver State, according to a Nevada Current review of campaign finance reports and property records. The Current found at least 90% of the 63 members of the Nevada State Legislature are homeowners, and at least 58% own additional real estate, most of them rental units. That lived experience, combined with the lobbying strength of industries focused on realty and landlords, contributes to the difficulty of passing even modest tenant protections, say advocates. Homeowners are also more likely to vote, national election surveys and academic studies have found. Politicians worried about their next election cycle no doubt know that. Before last year's general election, the Nevada Housing Justice Alliance organized a tenant march to the polls. Their message, written on poster boards and running like an undercurrent as they advocated for summary eviction reform and rent stabilization, was clear: 'Your landlord is voting. Are you?' Nevada's rate of homeownership is lower than the national average, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Four out of 10 housing units are occupied by renters. But renters are not evenly distributed across the state. The Current compiled available data from 2023 and found that the percentage of renters in Nevada's 63 state legislative districts ranges from 21% to 79%. Senate District 10, located in the central part of the Las Vegas Valley, has the highest percentage of renters: 70% of occupied units have renters in them and 30% are owner occupied. Not far behind are Senate District 2, covering much of east Las Vegas, and Senate District 13, covering much of central Reno and Sparks. They have renters living in 67% and 63% of their respective occupied housing units. All three districts are represented by Democrats: state Sens. Fabian Doñate, Edgar Flores and Skip Daly, respectively. At the other extreme is Senate District 20, a Henderson district that includes Sun City Anthem and Laughlin. Renters represent only 23% of its occupied units there. Only slightly better for renters: Senate District 14, which includes a large swath of Northern Nevada's rural counties as well as North Valleys in Reno, and Senate District 19, which covers the rural counties of eastern Nevada and parts of Clark and Nye counties. Those districts have renters in 24% and 26% of respective occupied units. All three of the most homeowner-heavy districts are represented by Republicans: state Sens. Jeff Stone, Ira Hansen and John Ellison, respectively. That partisan breakdown of Republicans representing districts with low percentages of renters and Democrats representing districts with high percentages of them is consistent across nearly all state senate districts. The only outlier in the upper chamber is Senate District 5, a competitive Southern Nevada district covering part of Henderson and Paradise. SD5 is currently represented by Republican Carrie Buck. It ranks in the middle of the pack when it comes to its percentage of renters, with 45% of occupied units containing renters and 55% being owner occupied. Because each Nevada State Senate district is composed of two Assembly districts, the partisan breakdown of renters largely holds true for the lower chamber. Assembly District 15, covering part of the center of the Las Vegas Valley, has the highest percentage of its housing units occupied by renters: 79%. Assembly District 36, which covers much of Pahrump and a sliver of Clark County, has the mirror opposite: 79% are owner occupied and 21% are occupied by renters. Pew Research last year released an analysis of national data finding that 'about half of voters who own a home (51%) align with the GOP, while slightly fewer (46%) are Democrats or Democratic leaners.' Meanwhile, voters who rent favor Democrats 2-to-1. State Sen. Jeff Stone, the Henderson Republican whose district has the lowest percentage of renters, has referred to himself as a 'compassionate landlord' while opposing rent stabilization legislation. He and his wife own nearly seven dozen rental units, according to his most recent financial disclosure form. Most of those units are a part of Enclave Apartments in Las Vegas. Nevada requires elected officials and political candidates to submit annual financial disclosure forms that list any real property they or someone in their household owns besides their personal residence, but only in states adjacent to Nevada. Stone is, according to these forms, the most prolific landlord in the Legislature, but he is hardly alone. The Current's review of financial disclosure forms found that one-third of state legislators are rental property owners. That is significantly higher than the population at large where 6.7% of individual tax filers in 2018 reported owning rental properties, according to Pew Research. The Current found that a majority of Nevada state legislators -- 12 of 21 senators and 25 of 42 assemblymembers -- own some kind of property not used as their personal residence. Because elected officials are only required to disclose property in Nevada and adjacent states, this could be an undercount. Most of the properties disclosed by legislators are described by them simply as rentals. Five lawmakers list vacation homes or timeshares. A few list homes occupied by a parent, child or other family member. One assemblymember owns two commercial shopping centers. Another owns several plots of undeveloped land. Being a landlord and supporting pro-tenant legislation are not mutually exclusive. During the 2019 and 2022 Legislative Sessions, then-state Sen. Julia Ratti, a Democrat who represented a renter-heavy district in Reno, championed legislation to give renters more rights and protections. She spoke about being a landlord herself, and her financial disclosure forms from those years list her owning two rental properties. Still, having more lived and current experience could help elevate such issues, say advocates. Assemblymember Cecelia González, a Las Vegas Democrat whose district is 60% rental units, is one of few legislators who doesn't own their own home. She has been outspoken about the impact of rapidly rising rent prices since the covid pandemic -- an issue housing advocates say has gotten worse since temporary protections for renters ended. In 2023, she posted on social media: '3 years ago I first signed my lease for $950. Today it is $1450…. And I truly don't know how I am going to afford rent.' Last year, González, a K-12 educator and doctoral candidate, mused about doing gig work for a food delivery company: 'I can't believe I am door dashing right now to afford rent. Just, wow.' 'I've been very vocal about my lived experience,' she told the Current. 'I'm not from a wealthy family, not from generations of wealth. I talk about DoorDashing to supplement income, or trying to buy a home and being priced out.' She elaborated: 'I was asked, 'How much are your parents gifting you?' Like that was just a normal thing, to give you $50,000 as a downpayment. It was unreal to me.' González said she believes the Legislature is getting more diverse and is welcoming of informed perspectives. She points to the election of Democratic Assemblymember Jovan Jackson, who last year became the first formerly incarcerated person elected to the body. 'Those conversations change' when those voices are included, she added. But whether that will lead to actual policy changes is a far more complicated equation. González points to renter protection bills, such as rent stabilization for seniors, that were vetoed by Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo in 2023. 'The Legislature did their work,' she said. 'He vetoed. He'll have to answer to that in the 2026 election.' Many of those policy proposals are expected to return in this year's session. Tenant advocates know they'll have to compete for attention against housing bills that focus on homeownership and not renters. '(There is) a push for homeownership as the end all, be all, the whole path and the whole expectation,' says Ben Iness, the coalition coordinator for the Nevada Housing Justice Alliance. 'Embedded within that is the perpetuation of the supply narrative. That (struggles are) only happening because there is a shortage and if we can just build then things will level out and be fine.' It is a myopic view, he adds, and pushing for pro-tenant policies can sometimes 'feel like the pariah or black sheep of housing work' because of it. Iness believes that renter protections are important regardless of whether a housing market that centers single-family homes is hot or cold. 'Being a renter or tenant is not fringe,' he says. 'I hope that there's a lot of power in recognizing that.' Nevada Current reporter Michael Lyle contributed to this article.
Associated Press
29-01-2025
- Health
- Associated Press
Nevada taking long-delayed leaps toward serving people who speak limited English
After years of struggling to secure funding, Nevada agencies have begun to take steps to implement language services — known as 'language access plans' — for those with limited English proficiency as required by state and federal law. And the state now faces the opposite issue — agencies haven't requested nearly as much spending to implement the plans as lawmakers approved. State agencies have been required to have language access plans in place since the passage of SB318 in 2021. That bill mainly focused on ensuring that health districts had plans in place to ensure that people with limited English proficiency had access to services to restrain the spread of COVID-19, but also required each agency of the executive branch — boards, commissions, bureaus, councils and departments — to draft language access plans every two years. These plans can range from a few pages to more than a dozen, breaking down demographics of clients, specifics of implementation and budgetary implications. Until now, state agencies have complained that bureaucratic red tape and lack of adequate funding made it difficult to actually implement these plans — even though failing to do so is a violation of state law and the federal Civil Rights Act. To address that problem, lawmakers in 2023 passed AB480, which set aside $25 million from the state's general fund for agencies to develop and publish language access plans. Those funds were made available this past July and agencies have until June 2025 to request money. 'By requesting this funding, we now have the funds to go forward and implement these pieces of the plan,' said Ciara Ressel, the public information officer for Nevada's Department of Agriculture. Thirty percent of Nevadans speak a language other than English at home, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, with most of those being Spanish speakers and those speaking 'Asian and Pacific Island languages' trailing after. Sen. Fabian Doñate (D-Las Vegas), who sponsored the 2021 bill calling for language access plans, said he did so because he realized there was a large need for language access across governmental agencies that wasn't being met. 'I had to translate for my dad when he got diagnosed with diabetes. That has been my North Star for a very long time,' Doñate said. 'There's no doubt in mind that there's also kids that have translated for their parents at the DMV or in other situations.' According to the Office of New Americans (ONA), which is responsible for approving state agencies' language access plans, 97 state agencies and boards have begun to implement their programs. These l anguage access plans include everything from the translation of documents to hiring in-house interpreters and gathering analytics about constituent demographics . The ONA, a new and relatively small department that only has three employees, has faced delays in hiring the language access coordinator responsible for organizing such plans. Elena Guerra, the coordinator, didn't assume her role until early 2024, although funding for the position was made available in October 2023. Meanwhile, the cost of language access programs can be surprisingly high. The Legislature's Interim Finance Committee, for example, allocated Nevada's Division of Welfare and Supportive Services more than $2.4 million for its language access plan, which includes adding American Sign Language interpretation services and providing translations on its website in Haitian Creole, Arabic, Mandarin, Russian and Farsi. The rates for a translator can vary depending on the language or whether they are translating a document or providing live interpretation, but a minimum of 12 cents per word is recommended by the American Translators Association. In Nevada, court interpreters are paid a minimum of $49 per hour. But only about $5 million of the funds designated by AB480 have been appropriated so far, according to the ONA. If agencies don't use those funds by mid-September, that remaining money is set to revert back to the state's general fund. Although no consistent funding has been set aside for language access plans in the future, many state agencies and the ONA say that the funds from the one-shot expenditure are enough to sustain their plans for the foreseeable future. The Department of Business and Industry, for example, which was allocated $200,000 for its language access plan, intends to use the funds to purchase automated translation technology that agency officials said would minimize the need to hire interpreters. The Division of Welfare and Supportive Services expects the translation of documents and its websites to be a one-time thing. Many agencies don't even need to request funding as they have sufficient money in their budgets to implement the plans on their own, said ONA Director Iris Ramos. 'As of now, everything is going smoothly … So it's hard to say if we will have a problem along the way,' said Ramos. Doñate and Ramos say that plans to seek out further funding are uncertain. Doñate, however, said that through the budgetary process, legislators can attempt to make sure that the funding doesn't revert back to the general fund and is used for future language access needs.
