Latest news with #NicoleCannizzaro
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
It's the last week of the legislative session. Here are 4 things to watch.
Nevada Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro watches as Governor Gov. Lombardo gave his state of the state address in January. (Photo: Richard Bednarski/Nevada Current) The Nevada State Constitution requires the Legislature pass the K-12 education budget bill before other budget bills. But that doesn't seem to stop lawmakers from bickering about education policy until the very end of each session. This year may prove no exception. Legislators must end the 120-day session — sine die, they call it — on Monday, June 2. In this final week, two major education bills backed by two major political players are still in play. Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro, a Democrat from Las Vegas, is pushing Senate Bill 460. Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo is pushing Assembly Bill 584. Both bills span more than 100 pages and cover myriad components of the education system, including oversight of school districts, charter schools, and the quasi-voucher program known as Opportunity Scholarships. Both bills have received hearings — in Senate Education and Assembly Ways and Means, respectively — but no action has been taken. That status isn't surprising given the partisanship of education policy. Amendments can almost be assumed. Meanwhile, as of late Tuesday, the status of the state's K-12 education budget was also unknown. Senate Bill 500 was passed by legislators and has been delivered to the governor. Lombardo had previously threatened to veto the bill over concerns about charter school teacher pay. Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager's Assembly Bill 398, which attempts to address the concerns that prompted the veto threat, passed the full Assembly nearly unanimously last week. Democrat Natha Anderson cast the sole vote in opposition. One of the two bills proposing a massive expansion of the state's film tax credit program is administratively ready for a vote by the full Assembly, though whether the support is there is still unknown. Democratic Assemblymember Sandra Jauregui's Assembly Bill 238 was advanced out of the Assembly Ways and Means Committee over the weekend. Five of the 14 committee members opposed — Democrats Howard Watts, Natha Anderson and Selena Torres-Fossett, and Republicans Jill Dickman and Gregory Hafen. Several others disclosed that they would be voting to advance the bill but were reserving their right to oppose during the floor vote. Two days after that committee vote, The Nevada Independent reported that a study commissioned by the Nevada Governor's Office of Economic Development found that neither film tax credit expansion proposal is financially sustainable. AB 238 would provide $1.8 billion in tax breaks to the film industry over 15 years to support the build out and operation of a 31-acre film hub currently referred to as the Summerlin Production Studios Project. Sony Pictures, Warner Bros, and Howard Hughes Holdings are attached to the project. An economic analysis presented by a firm hired by the Sony Studios project developers acknowledged that the direct return on investment per tax credit is low — for every $1 in tax credits the state gives, the state would receive 20 cents in tax revenue. However, their analyses included much rosier projections about the indirect and induced impacts. Indirect financial impact includes things like the drycleaners and caterers used by productions, and induced impact includes things like the assumed household spending based on employee's labor income. Lombardo vetoed a record 75 bills during the 2023 session, including some bills that had received bipartisan support in the Legislature. How this year's session will compare remains to be seen. As of late Tuesday, the legislative website showed the governor as having vetoed only one bill: Assembly Bill 306. The bill would have expanded the number of ballot dropboxes in the state. In his veto message, Lombardo called the bill 'well intentioned' but said it fails 'to guarantee appropriate oversight of the proposed ballot boxes or the ballots cast.' He added that he believes election reforms should be considered 'as part of a larger effort to improve election security, integrity and allow Nevada to declare winners more quickly.' Nearly 200 bills are now listed as in the governor's office awaiting a signature or a veto. The governor has five days to sign or veto a bill, meaning some vetos may happen after the session ends. Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager over the weekend introduced Assembly Bill 597, which would allow nonpartisan voters to participate in either a Democratic or a Republican primary without having to register to that political party. To do so, the voter would have to request from their county clerk a mail ballot for one of the major political parties. Or they would have to vote in person. Nevada voters last year rejected a proposal to open the state's closed political primaries and create a ranked choice voting system instead. Question 3 was approved by voters in 2022 but defeated in 2024. It needed to pass on the ballot twice because it involved amending the state constitution. Both major political parties opposed that ballot measure. Several party leaders suggested their problem with that proposal was with the ranked choice component, not the open primary. A third of all registered voters in the state are nonpartisan — if they were a political party they would be the state's largest — and those wanting election reform have long argued those voters are being disenfranchised because they cannot participate in the partisan primaries. Yeager's emergency bill is a big policy discussion to have with only a week left, but the Legislature can move quickly when it wants.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Nevada Democrats unveil major education bill targeting CCSD, charter schools
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Nevada Democrats pitched their education bill Monday, which would bring major changes to the state. Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro (D), Clark County – District 6, presented her bill before the Senate Education Committee for its first hearing. The proposal has language that allows local school boards of trustees to block charter schools from opening and gives the state Department of Education the power to remove a superintendent if 30% of schools don't experience 'academic growth.' Cannizzaro's bill takes aim at the Clark County School District. Her proposal would give the four appointed non-voting CCSD trustees voting power. However, her proposed reforms to charter schools have opposition. 'I rise in strong opposition to SB460 because it limits parental rights—the fundamental right of parents to choose the best learning environment for their children—at a time when Nevadans overwhelmingly support school choice,' Jill Douglas wrote in opposition to the bill. Based on enrollment, charter schools are the second-largest school system in Nevada, behind only CCSD. According to Cannizzaro's proposal, all charter school teachers would be required to have a license or an endorsement. As it currently stands, charter schools are only required to have 80% of their teachers with a license or an endorsement. Cannizzaro also seeks to reform the State Public Charter School Authority, which is the agency that oversees charter schools. Her proposal would reduce the agency's members from 11 to nine and change the criteria for appointment. 'I want to stress that I believe charter schools are an important part of our educational system,' Cannizzaro said. 'I do believe that when we talk about accountability, we can actually talk about accountability for all schools that are public schools and publicly funded, and that's why there are provisions in here that addresses some of those changes.' These charter school amendments potentially place her bill in peril as Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo could veto it. 'I've received plenty of emails for and against a bill, and I think there's concerns of the requirements we're putting forward for private and charter schools as to whether or not it's fair,' St. Sen. Fabian Doñate, D-Clark County, said at Monday's hearing. He stated he is a supporter of more accountability for the state's charter schools. Cannizzaro's proposal would also give the governor the authority to declare a state of emergency at a school district if its schools don't improve academically. Lombardo's bill would go in the opposite direction, including transforming nonperforming public schools into charter schools. His bill has its first hearing scheduled for Tuesday. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Nevada Democrats look to enshrine right to IVF in state law
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Nevada Democrats introduced a proposal Wednesday to create a state law protecting the right to in vitro fertilization (IVF). Senate Bill 217 would create a law safeguarding IVF treatment, add protection for fertility treatments and expand coverage requirements, Senate Democrats said in a news release. 'IVF can make successful pregnancies a reality for families who might otherwise be unable to have a baby, and it deserves strong legal protections,' Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro said. 'Congress hasn't done nearly enough to protect IVF or a woman's right to make decisions about infertility treatments. Nevada will stand up for people affected by infertility and their rights to access the medical treatments they may need to start a thriving family.' On Tuesday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to expand access to IVF, though it does not change any existing law at the outset. Last year, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are considered children under their state law. In November, Nevada voters approved a ballot measure to guarantee the right to an abortion up to 24 weeks. The initiative, which amends the state constitution, will go before voters again in 2026. A 1990 Nevada law includes similar language. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Future of federal ARPA funding remains ‘clear as mud,' say Nevada lawmakers
Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro watches as Governor Governor Lombardo addresses the Nevada State Legislation at his state of the state address on January 15, 2025. (Photo: Richard Bednarski/Nevada Current) The State of Nevada should consider the possibility of the Trump administration attempting to clawback millions of dollars in unspent American Rescue Plan Act funds, Democratic leaders warned Wednesday. Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro and Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager made the comments during a meeting of the Interim Finance Committee after Senate Minority Leader Robin Titus suggested there was no reason to be concerned about Nevada's ARPA dollars. Nevada received $2.7 billion from ARPA. Approximately $1.3 billion — 48% — has been obligated but not yet spent. States have until Dec. 31. 2026 to spend the money. Trump on Monday night issued an executive order to immediately freeze federal grants and loans programs, causing widespread confusion and frustration among states and nonprofit organizations that heavily rely on such funding. A federal judge blocked implementation of the freeze and a second judge on Wednesday appeared ready to issue a similar order. 'There's a lot of worry and a lot of panic out there,' said Titus, a Republican from Wellington. 'I'm not sure anyone really knows for sure. But we do know that we have these (ARPA) funds in bank accounts, earning interest for the State of Nevada, and they're there.' Cannizzaro, a Democrat from Las Vegas, pushed back on the assumption of that money being untouchable. 'I don't think we have that much clarity,' she said, adding that she'd spent the previous day speaking to state agencies about possible funding freeze. 'Everybody was about as clear as mud as to what it was would be covered or not covered by the actions in Washington.' Yeager, a Democrat from Las Vegas, echoed those concerns and referenced another Trump executive order instructing agencies to 'immediately pause the disbursement of funds' appropriated by Congress through the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. A memo later limited the scope of the executive order. 'My advice to state agencies and folks would be 'spend as quickly as you can' because the federal government can reach in and do whatever they want with this money,' Yeager said. According to a report presented to IFC, the remaining funds are obligated to a variety of projects, including: $384 million to the Housing Division to fund the Home Means Nevada program; $196 million to support broadband projects; $56 million to support public health infrastructure, including projects at the UNLV and UNR; $40 million to the Department of Education and the State Public Charter School Authority to address learning loss at public K-12 schools; and $10 million to support expansion of childcare providers. Several Trump executive orders, including the one interpreted as a blanket pause on all federal funding, have been widely criticized by legal experts as being illegal and an overstep of presidential power.
