Latest news with #NathaAnderson
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
A moment of silence for property tax reform (and other bills killed by the Nevada Legislature)
Assemblymember Natha Anderson sponsored the property tax reform measure. (Photo: Jeniffer Solis/Nevada Current) A proposal to let Nevada voters decide whether the taxable value of a property should be reset when a home is sold has died, one of nine victims of a legislative deadline last week. Assembly Joint Resolution 1, sponsored by Democratic Assemblymember Natha Anderson of Sparks, would essentially have established a reset button on property taxes whenever a property was sold. Currently, the benefits of a depreciation factor and abatements used when calculating property tax stays with a home after it is sold to a new owner. Legislature resurrects proposal to reset property tax valuation when home is sold Because it proposed a constitutional amendment, AJR1 would have to pass in two consecutive sessions and then be approved by voters. The change would have resulted in significantly more money for local governments and school districts, who rely on property tax for funding, without changing the state's tax rate or the beloved tax cap that limits the increase of homeowners' tax bills to no more than 3% a year regardless of how large the increase in property valuation. It would also have created tax parity between a new build and a resold home. Supporters saw it as a reasonable reform to Nevada's complex and cumbersome property tax structure, which has led to underfunding of education and municipal services. Other notable bills that died included: Senate Bill 395, sponsored by Democratic state Sen. James Ohrenschall, would have required a human operator to be present in autonomous commercial vehicles weighing over 26,000 pounds, such as semi-trucks. The bill was being pushed by Teamsters, who raised concerns about autonomous vehicles eliminating middle-class jobs and creating unsafe roads. Assembly Joint Resolution 10, sponsored by Democratic Assemblymember Sandra Jauregui, which urged the federal government to release federally managed land in Nevada for housing. Assembly Bill 391, sponsored by Democratic Assemblymember Brittney Miller, would have required schools to compile a report on the academic achievement of chronically absent students. The complete list of the nine bills that died Friday is available here.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
For legislation to retire water rights, political support is ample. Funding, not so much.
More than 22,500 acre-feet of groundwater were retired under the water rights retirement pilot program — enough to cover annual water usage for about 45,000 homes. After years of setbacks, a program that would authorize the sale and permanent retirement of water rights over the next decade in order to reduce groundwater overuse in the driest state in the union is moving forward. But a sketchy economic outlook and accompanying reduced state revenue estimates means a funding source to implement the program might have to wait. Assembly Bill 104 would establish the Nevada Voluntary Water Rights Retirement Program, which would allow willing landowners to sell their water rights back to the state through the year 2035. The bill would direct the state engineer to permanently retire those rights from future allocation to address Nevada's dwindling groundwater supply. Last week, the Senate Committee on Natural Resources heard the bill, which will need to pass through the committee by Friday to move forward. The bill passed the Assembly unanimously last month. Legislation to create a voluntary water rights retirement program was first introduced in 2023 by former Republican Sen. Pete Goicoechea, but stalled in the Legislature. For more than a year, lawmakers, conservation groups, mining interests and local water managers worked together to craft the bill's language and ensure its passage, an effort reflected by the bill's bipartisan passage in the Assembly and wide support. 'Establishing a water rights retirement program in statute would be simply a step forward in our state in addressing over-appropriation and over pumping,' said Democratic Assemblymember. Natha Anderson of Sparks, who chairs the Assembly Natural Resources Committee and presented the bill to the Senate panel last week. During the hearing, representatives from several rural counties spoke in support of the measure, including officials in Washoe, Humboldt, Eureka, and Churchill counties. 'It's a really, very well thought out bill that has lots of support, and we just appreciate that this bill is before your committee,' said Jeff Fontaine, representing the Central Nevada Regional Water Authority and Humboldt River Basin Water Authority. Several conservation groups also spoke in support of the legislation, including the Great Basin Water Network, the Walker Basin Conservancy, the Nevada Conservation League, and the Nevada Environmental Justice Coalition. Assembly Bill 104 builds on a pilot program launched in 2023 that used a one-time allocation of $25 million in federal funds to purchase groundwater rights from private Nevada landowners in over-pumped and over-appropriated basins. More than 22,500 acre-feet of groundwater were retired under the pilot program — enough to cover annual water usage for about 45,000 homes — at an average cost of just over $1,000 per acre-foot. The pilot program proved more successful than anticipated, attracting offers from water rights holders to sell a total of $65.5 million in rights in a matter of months — about $40 million more than available funding. Despite wide support, the establishment of the voluntary water rights retirement program has faced some difficulties during this year's legislative session. One drawback discussed during the hearing was the lack of any funding to implement the Nevada Voluntary Water Rights Retirement Program, if passed. A bill with similar language was introduced in the Assembly, but faced challenges due to the addition of a fiscal note as lawmakers face challenging budget cuts. 'While we don't have any money to fill the coffers right now, if we build it, they will come,' said Kyle Roerink, the executive director of the Great Basin Water Network, which was part of the working group that shaped the bill. 'What we are asking you all to do is, let's build this statutorily. Let's figure out ways to get the money,' he continued. The bill authorizes the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to apply for and accept any gift, donation, grant, federal money, or other source of money for the Nevada Voluntary Water Rights Retirement Program. If established, the program would be administered by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Groundwater is vital in Nevada, where it supplies about 30% of the state's total water use, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. In fact, in many rural communities, it's the primary or sole water source for homes, farms, and ecosystems. Prior to the 1960s, Nevada experienced relatively minimal development of groundwater sources. Now significantly more groundwater is extracted than is returned to Nevada's aquifers each year. As a result, more than half of Nevada's 256 groundwater basins are over-appropriated, meaning the volume of water listed in the rights exceeds the amount of actual available water. A little more than half the groundwater withdrawn is used for agriculture with another 30% used for mining operations. Mining and farming representatives agreed Nevada's dwindling groundwater supply is an issue that must be addressed. During the hearing, Doug Busselman, the executive vice president of the Nevada Farm Bureau, spoke in support of the bill. The Nevada Farm Bureau was part of the working group that helped develop the bill. 'Nevada Farm Bureau also has a policy which supports a voluntary purchase of water and retirement to bring basins back into balance,' Busselman said. The Nevada Mining Association was also heavily involved in the creation of the bill, and helped present the bill during the Senate hearing. 'We all know groundwater is a critical resource in Nevada, and it's facing pressures like none before, including an increasing population base in Nevada, climate change and the need for reliable and up to date resource information,' said Alan Biaggi, a representative for the Nevada Mining Association.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Bill would expand ban on retail pet sales statewide
Cindy Lou, a Havenese puppy kept in an employees' bathroom at Puppy Heaven in Las Vegas while ill. (Photo provided by Humane Society of the United States) Efforts by local governments to put a kink in the pipeline between midwest puppy mills and Nevada are being derailed by neighboring municipalities that permit retail sales of dogs and cats, say advocates of legislation that would expand the bans statewide. The bill is sponsored by Assemblywoman Natha Anderson and was heard Tuesday by the Assembly Committee on Natural Resources. 'Eight states, including the entire West Coast and nearly 500 localities, including Clark County, Reno, North Las Vegas, and Mesquite have prohibited the sale of puppies in pet stores,' testified Rebecca Goff of Humane World for Animals, formerly the Humane Society of the U.S. 'Assembly Bill 487 can bridge that divide and allow us to bring our nation one big step closer to that day when puppy mills must no longer exist.' The City of Henderson allows pet sales at existing stores, while the City of Las Vegas has refused to ban sales, prompting retailers affected by the ban to move across city limits and into pet store-friendly territory. Regulations imposed by Las Vegas in lieu of a ban have increased transparency and 'exposed just how awful the puppy mill pipeline is,' Goff told lawmakers. 'It's crucial that this should be tackled statewide, rather than a patchwork of ordinances.' An undercover investigation by the Humane Society released in January alleges pet stores in Southern Nevada are keeping sick puppies without seeking veterinary treatment, and in at least one case, failing to obey a law requiring regular veterinarian visits for animals for sale. The legislative measure is named for Cindy Lou, a sick Havenese puppy kept in a pen in the employee bathroom at Puppy Heaven and allegedly denied medical care until animal officials who were tipped off the illness required the store to take her to a veterinarian, where she died, according to the investigation. 'Her story is a heartbreaking example of what happens when profit is placed above animal welfare,' testified Christy Stevens, executive director of Hearts Alive Village, who described horrific incidents of animal cruelty and neglect that were allegedly known to a Las Vegas pet store that continued to sell animals to the alleged perpetrator. 'These are not isolated incidents. They are part of a systemic problem.' Clark County's largest shelter, the Animal Foundation, as well as the Nevada Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals support the measure. The legislation would permit pet stores to hold adoption events for shelters and rescues. It prohibits the sale of pets on street corners, parking lots, and other public places. A violation of the proposed law would be a misdemeanor. The legislation would give the 15 retail stores that sell pets in Nevada a year to adjust their business model. The Retailers Association of Nevada is neutral on the legislation, testified executive director Bryan Wachter. 'The vast majority of pet stores in Nevada already do not sell puppies, but rather thrive as part of the $147 billion pet products and service industry,' Goff testified. Pet store puppies are likely to be sick or have behavioral issues, making them more likely to land in local shelters, supporters of the measure said. Amy Jesse of Humane World for Animals noted a report from the Centers for Disease Control that traced a drug-resistant, multistate human infection outbreak to 'puppies from breeders and distributors sold through pet stores as the outbreak source.' Of 149 retail store puppies, 95% received one or more courses of antibiotics. The bill is opposed by pet stores, some of which are named in the Humane Society investigation, including the owner of Petland in Henderson. Ken Kirkpatrick, owner of Petland in Boca Park, testified he and his staff have provided pets and peace of mind to Las Vegans since 2001 in a highly regulated environment. He predicted backyard breeding will expand. thanks to demand from families 'who can't adopt from shelters or rescues because they want a specific breed, or they need a hypoallergenic dog.' Kirkpatrick noted a review of the Animal Foundation's adoption list revealed 200 dogs for adoption. For a population of 2.5 million people, 'it's really not that many dogs.' On Tuesday, the Animal Foundation listed 370 dogs for adoption. Last year, the shelter euthanized more than 3,300 dogs, down from just under 3,900 the previous year. Assemblywoman Heidi Kasama, a Republican from Clark County, said her family visited a shelter recently while looking for an addition to the family 'and for some reason it was just not a right fit. I wanted a smaller dog, and we ended up at a pet store.'
