Latest news with #Nevadans
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
We can take meaningful action on climate or give handouts to billionaires, but not both
(Photo:) While Nevada's elected leaders have expressed a commitment to addressing the climate crisis, a new proposal under consideration raises questions about our state's priorities. The proposed expansion of Nevada's film tax credit program, which would direct hundreds of millions of dollars in public subsidies to Hollywood studios, risks sidelining urgent environmental and climate needs. At a time when bold action is needed to protect our communities and natural resources, this approach feels out of step. It's abundantly clear that Nevada is in a climate emergency. Wildfires are burning hotter and longer, filling our summers with smokey skies. Land managers warn this summer could bring catastrophic wildfires. The Great Basin is drying, and Lake Mead is sitting at thirty percent full. Communities from Las Vegas to Reno are enduring extreme heat, toxic air, and prolonged drought, and hundreds to thousands of Nevadans are dying each year as a result. We have proposed projects to protect our public lands, prevent extinction, and invest in sustainable transit, but we're told there's 'no money.' The proposal would allocate $95 million in annual transferable film tax credits for 15 years beginning in 2028, expanding our already-existing tax giveaways. The proposal will kick into place in 2028, and yet we have no way to know what our fiscal situation will be at that point in time. Just think of the roller coaster ride the 2020's have been so far, and the looming federal budget that could have sweeping impacts to Nevada's fiscal viability. Meanwhile, extreme heat is only getting worse, the Colorado River and Lake Mead are only getting drier, and our special places are only becoming more threatened. Our organization has spent years fighting for clean air protections, better public transportation, rooftop solar access, and the preservation of special landscapes like Red Rock National Conservation Area and Lake Tahoe. We're constantly met with budgetary constraints, told to be patient, to compromise. And yet the same state that balks at funding protections for pollinators and soil health is ready to roll out a red carpet for corporate film giants. Supporters of the film credit expansion claim it will bring jobs and economic growth, but as the independent economists at Applied Economics reported, the state would have a negative return on investment. States across the country have learned the hard way that film subsidies rarely pay off. Meanwhile, climate investments create durable jobs, foster resilience, and protect our future. Where are the investments for fighting wildfires, restoring wetlands, or public transportation? If Nevada has hundreds of millions of dollars to spend, let's spend it on the people and places that make this state worth living in, and ensure it will be livable in the next several decades, not on fleeting glitz and glamour. Let's fund the transition to a clean energy economy, build transit-to-trails networks, restore our watersheds, and protect the wild lands that make Nevada extraordinary. We have shelled out enough for corporations working against our interests. Why do we give tax handouts to the Boring Tunnel instead of funding mass transit? Why do water intensive data centers get huge tax breaks when we can't get funding for water conservation? Why did we give millions of dollars to build the A's stadium in the Las Vegas core when we can't get funding for urban forestry and mitigating urban heat? This proposed tax credit isn't just a bad policy. It's a missed opportunity to lead. Nevada should act in the best interests of those who live here, instead of enacting Hollywood handouts.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Lombardo's housing attainability plan shrinks, now expected to help 5,000 households
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A scaled-back version of Gov. Joe Lombardo's Nevada Housing Access and Attainability Act will help fewer people, according to state officials. The ambitious plan to use state funds to encourage housing construction and other help for Nevadans who need affordable housing solutions has shrunk. When Lombardo presented the plan in April, it was described as a $250 million plan that would provide homes for 16,000 households. Pressure on state budgets has forced adjustments as spending plans move through the Nevada Legislature. Funding for the affordable housing plan is now set at $133 million, and it's expected to reach about 5,000 households, according to Christine Hess, chief financial officer for the Nevada Housing Division. The lower spending levels didn't seem to dampen support for affordable housing. Kathi Thomas, chief housing officer of the Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority, called in to support Lombardo's plan. 'We are in the midst of a housing crisis, and we understand that this legislative body has a number of competing priorities and challenges with the budget. But we are all committed to building a strong economy, and there is no economic model that does not have housing at its core,' Thomas said. Hess outlined the new spending levels during a Friday hearing before the Senate Government Affairs Committee. The $133 million will fund programs in three ways: $83 million to support the development of attainable housing to serve those at or below 150% of area median income. The help will come in the form of loans, grants or rebates. This category will also support the development of low-income tax credit properties and land acquisition for attainable housing. $25 million for home ownership opportunities in the form of down payment assistance and interest rate buydowns. $25 million for incentives to develop attainable housing, expected to be in the form of matching grants Hess said previous plans to fund supportive housing development, rental assistance and eviction diversion programs will not be implemented initially as Assembly Bill 540 — the Nevada Housing Access and Attainability Act — ramps up. Those will still be eligible uses, but are not expected to be funded initially because they are available elsewhere. The bill didn't receive an immediate vote after it was heard Friday. 'This is not a fund for 3,000-square-foot homes. This is a fund to really catalyze and get the housing built,' Hess said. 'More housing to have people that are living in RV parks not have to live in RV parks.' Democratic Sen. Edgar Flores said he was concerned that the plan didn't specify goals to help people buy a starter home. He said that's the problem that's happening right now. Ryan Cherry, chief of staff for Lombardo, said that was discussed but not written into the language of the housing act because goals will change over time. He said the governor wants the agency to have the ability to adjust its goals to meet current needs. 'For-sale homes was really the impetus of this initiative,' Hess said. She said that will influence the amount of funding that goes toward helping families who can't qualify. The initial plan included $50 million for home ownership initiatives. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Nevada Legislature passes charter school raises, bill goes to Lombardo's desk
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A key piece of legislation received final approval Thursday night in the Nevada Legislature, putting an end to a fight over education funding. Raises for charter school teachers, a missing component in the education budget, were approved as the Nevada Senate passed Assembly Bill 398 (AB398). Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo had threatened to veto the $12.4 billion education bill because it left out charter school teachers. He called those raises 'non-negotiable.' AB398 allocates nearly $38 million — $19.3 million annually — for the raises. The bill also includes $45 million to fund additional compensation for teachers across the state in 'hard-to-fill' positions, including Title I schools. The bill passed 20-0 in the Senate, a bipartisan display of the Legislature's commitment to treat charter school teachers the same as any other teacher employed by a Nevada school district. Education support professionals (ESPs) are included in the charter school plan. State report shows Nevada charter schools outperform public schools in test scores 'This is a major victory for Governor Lombardo, the legislature, and all Nevadans. For more than three sessions, I have worked on education reform and getting permanent teacher pay raises. I am honored that we got it done with bipartisan support,' Republican Assembly Minority Leader Gregory Hafen said in an emailed statement. Hafen and Democratic Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager sponsored the bill. In an interview this week with 8 News Now, Yeager said there's a reason for keeping charter school raises separate from the overall education funding. 'We segregate it out in a different bill because we want to make sure that that money actually goes to increase compensation both for teachers and education support professionals (ESPs) and it's not just supplanting other money,' Yeager said. 'It allows legislators to stay involved in the process over the next two years to make sure that happens. And then going into the next legislative session, we can decide whether we want to put it in the base budget or not,' he said. Charter schools will be required to provide the State Public Charter School Authority with certain basic information, including the number of teachers and ESPs employed as of October 1, 2024, and October 1, 2025. A plan to provide the salary increases is also required. Money for the raises will be allocated by the Legislature's Interim Finance Committee and distributed through the charter authority. Lawmakers have already dipped into the Education Stabilization Account, known as the rainy day account for schools, to meet spending outlined in the $12.4 billion budget. On May 8, lawmakers approved a $115.7 million withdrawal on top of $126.9 million allocated from the same fund on May 7. In total, lawmakers are drawing that account down by about a quarter-million dollars, leaving it with an estimated reserve of $639.6 million. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Nevadans deserve affordable prescriptions, not PBM exploitation
Three pharmacy benefit managers — CVS Health, Optum Rx, and Express Scripts – control 80% of the prescription drug market. Each of them are owned by giant health insurance companies. (Photo: Lynne Terry/Oregon Capital Chronicle) The Nevada legislative session will end in just a few days — and time is running out to pass legislation that'd save Nevadans millions of dollars on their pharmacy bills. Senate Bill 316 would curb the power of pharmacy benefit managers, the secretive middlemen hired by insurers to negotiate prices with drugmakers and process prescription claims. Because PBMs dictate which drugs an insurer covers — and, thus, which medications patients can access — they wield immense power over our health care. And they use that power to line their own pockets at the expense of Nevada patients and small businesses. Here's how it works. Drugmakers offer insurers and their pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) discounts and rebates on medications — in exchange for agreeing to cover a medicine and steer patients toward it. PBMs profit by keeping a share of those discounts and rebates, and also by charging administrative fees based on a percentage of the drug's nominal 'list' price. Since expensive drugs lead to larger discounts, fees, and profits, PBMs have a perverse incentive to steer patients toward higher-priced drugs. The result? PBMs secretly extract billions of dollars from drugmakers annually, while patients pay higher out-of-pocket costs for prescription medications and are denied coverage for cheaper alternatives. This dynamic is devastating for Nevadans, over 80% of whom report worrying about affording future healthcare costs. PBMs' manipulation of drug coverage often strips doctors and patients of the ability to decide which medication is best for an individual's healthcare needs. And PBMs harm patients in other ways as well — most notably by putting trusted, local community pharmacies out of business and forcing Nevadans to travel much further to pick up prescriptions. PBMs often reimburse these independent pharmacies much less than their affiliated pharmacies. A Federal Trade Commission report examined reimbursement for two drugs and found that PBMs paid their affiliated pharmacies 20 to 40 times more than the National Average Drug Acquisition Cost. In some cases, independent pharmacies actually lose money every time a patient fills a prescription due to PBM clawbacks and fees. This has put immense financial strain on our state's independent pharmacies, which filled 5 million prescriptions in 2023. Indeed, over the last decade, about one in ten rural independent pharmacies across the nation have closed. That limits patient choice and makes it harder for Nevadans to fill urgently needed prescriptions. PBMs' exploitative practices also hurt small businesses in Nevada, which are already operating on thin margins. As the costs of prescriptions and employee health plans rise, small companies are forced to cut back on expansion plans, hiring, and employee benefits. SB 316 would put an end to this abuse and enact reforms that Nevadans overwhelmingly support. For starters, the bill would tie a PBM's compensation to the value of the service it provides, instead of the list price of medications. That would eliminate PBMs' incentive to favor more expensive drugs over lower-cost ones. In a recent poll, 85% of state residents supported such a policy. The legislation would also create more transparency and accountability over PBM practices. Today, the middlemen often operate in a black box, with patients and other health plans unaware of the consolidation and conflicts of interest that dictate PBM practices. SB 316 would establish a duty of care, requiring PBMs to put patients' interests ahead of their own. Roughly nine in ten Nevadans are in favor of such a provision, according to the new poll. The bill would further prohibit PBMs from reimbursing any pharmacy less than it reimburses an affiliated pharmacy. That would stop us from losing yet more independent pharmacies that provide critical services to patients across the state. SB 316 would ensure much-needed oversight of PBMs and restore fairness to the marketplace in the state. More than 80% of Nevadans are very or extremely concerned that no such oversight currently exists. Legislators must not let the session expire without easing those concerns — or preventing PBMs from exploiting Nevada businesses and patients for their own financial gain.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
PatientRightsAdvocate.org Calls on Nevada Gov. Lombardo to Support Hospital Price Transparency Bill
A.B. 343 would turn Trump executive order into state law CARSON CITY, Nev., May 29, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- (PRA) is urging Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo to sign A.B. 343, major legislation to deliver hospital price transparency to Nevadans that was passed out of the Nevada Legislature earlier this week. If enacted, the bill would require Nevada hospitals to post all actual prices of available services online, so patients can see upfront prices before care, as well as provide tools for patients to seek recourse when they have been overcharged. It would codify the federal Hospital Price Transparency Rule first enacted in January 2021 under President Donald J. Trump and since expanded in February 2025. "A new era for Nevada patients is on the horizon, and now it's up to Governor Lombardo to make healthcare history for his state," said PRA Founder and Chairman Cynthia Fisher. "This monumental legislation will protect Nevadans from hospital overcharges, surprise bills, and hidden fees with guaranteed access to upfront, actual prices in exact dollars and cents. Complete price transparency will be transformative to lower the costs of care and coverage for families, employers, unions, and Nevada's entire healthcare market." According to a new poll conducted by Echelon Insights, 96% of Americans agree that healthcare consumers should know the upfront price of their care. Meanwhile, according to PRA's Seventh Semi-Annual Hospital Price Transparency Report, only 35% of Nevada hospitals reviewed are fully complying with the federal price transparency rule. Of the 2,000 hospitals reviewed nationwide, just 21% were found to be in full compliance. "We applaud Nevada lawmakers, especially the bill's sponsor, Assembly Speaker Yeager, for responding to not only the urgency but also the popularity of this commonsense issue," added Fisher. "The fight for real prices is a nationwide movement that is growing each day, from the nation's capital to state capitals. Governor Lombardo can help Nevada join states like Ohio and Oklahoma that each enacted similar bills this year codifying President Trump's price transparency rule to put patients first. We strongly encourage Governor Lombardo to seize the opportunity at hand and sign A.B. 343." About PRA (PRA) is a leading national healthcare price transparency organization dedicated to ushering in systemwide transparency through advocacy, testimony, media, legal research, and grassroots campaigns. PRA believes that the availability and visibility of actual, upfront healthcare prices will greatly lower costs for patients and employers through a functional, competitive healthcare marketplace. View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Patient Rights Advocate Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
