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March 29, 2024

Special Session:

Assembly adjourns without stadium vote after surprise NDOT report tangles talks

Assembly

Jackie Valley

The Nevada Assembly listens to testimony from Rudy Malfabon, director of NDOT, and Mike Willden, the governor’s chief of staff, in the early morning hours of Friday, Oct. 14, 2016.

Updated Friday, Oct. 14, 2016 | 1:30 a.m.

1:08 a.m.

The Assembly has recessed until 9 a.m. today after an intense, hourlong discussion on a transportation report made public late Thursday night.

The report detailed road improvements that the Nevada Department of Transportation would need to make as part of the stadium project. Though it was dated Oct. 4, the report was not made public until Thursday and outlined $889 million worth of already-planned projects that NDOT would need to fast track.

Many legislators were frustrated that they found out about the report only through a Review-Journal article published online late Thursday evening. The legislators said that the information would have been helpful as they deliberated over the stadium project over the last several days.

“I think everyone in this room was researching this topic on Oct. 4,” Democratic Assemblywoman Amber Joiner said. “I think we all really wish this would’ve been available.”

NDOT Director Rudy Malfabon ran through some of the details of the report with Assembly members after the Assembly came back from its recess around midnight. Malfabon explained that the report had not been released previously because he hadn’t yet shared the report with his own board members.

He also explained that the road improvements around whichever of the two final stadium sites is ultimately chosen would not cost the department any extra money.

A so-called “fiscal note” attached to the legislation says that the proposed stadium would not financially impact NDOT. The agency would simply reprioritize the projects already in the pipeline and wouldn’t need to secure any extra funding.

“What NDOT was saying is these projects were planned and, coincidentally, they support this region in the Las Vegas Valley,” Malfabon said. "They have just been in our queue, so we anticipated doing that.”

Many legislators also complained about the late hour of the proceedings, saying it was difficult to think clearly about such a complex matter. The Assembly received the amendments they requested be made to Senate Bill 1 early Friday morning but decided to take up those amendments first thing in the morning instead of deliberating them overnight.

6:15 p.m.

The Nevada Assembly has spent the day today vetting a bill that includes a public financing plan for an expansion of the Las Vegas Convention Center and to construct a 65,000-seat NFL stadium in Las Vegas.

Some of the Assembly’s most progressive and most conservative members emerged as key stadium skeptics throughout the proceedings.

One key issue that emerged early this evening, brought to light by Democratic Assemblywoman Maggie Carlton, was that those staying in weekly room rentals and RV parks will be subject to the room tax. Many of those who stay in weekly rentals tend to be some of Nevada’s lowest-income residents who can’t afford the deposit on a monthly rental.

Jeremy Aguero of the economic analysis firm Applied Analysis confirmed that such Nevadans would be subject to the room tax as currently written in the legislation and noted that it is a concern that is being looked into and will be addressed.

Republican Assemblyman Ira Hansen, meanwhile, raised a concern over a clause that exempts the National Football League stadium project from laws requiring competitive bidding when securing goods and services for a public works project.

Hansen said that he’s concerned about “the potential for some sweetheart deals” without a competitive bidding procedure. Sean Stewart, the CEO of the Nevada Contractors Association, testified that he wasn’t concerned about contractors getting the short end of the deal with these jobs.

Democratic Assemblywoman Amber Joiner also expressed concern over a clause in the legislation that would allow the public body overseeing the stadium, called the Stadium Authority Board, to keep some information confidential from the public. A lawyer with the nonpartisan Legislative Counsel Bureau clarified that the language is only in place to allow the authority to keep trade secrets or other proprietary information confidential.

Another issue arose over how Las Vegas will remain competitive with other cities seeking to attract large conventions, like Orlando. Democratic Assemblywoman Heidi Swank noted that Las Vegas’ room tax would exceed Orlando’s if the new taxes to fund the stadium and convention center are approved. Las Vegas’ room tax is currently 12 percent but would increase to 13.38 percent, while Orlando’s is 12.5 percent.

The Assembly has paused lawmaker questioning to take a couple of hours of public comment starting at 6 p.m. this evening.

4:35 p.m.

Both houses of the Nevada Legislature have approved a bill that would allow the Clark County Commission to raise the sales tax to pay for more police officers.

The Senate unanimously voted this afternoon in favor of the measure following two and a half hours of presentation and discussion. Earlier today, the Assembly approved the bill in a 35-7 vote.

The bill — known as the Clark County Crime Prevention Act of 2016 — is enabling legislation. That means a majority of county commissioners would need to approve the 0.1 percentage point sales tax increase in order for it to be enacted.

2 p.m.

Nevada Assembly members spent two hours this morning lobbing money-related questions about the proposed NFL stadium project at the state’s top economic development official.

The question-and-answer session followed a run-through of the bill that would raise the Clark County hotel room tax to fund the expansion of the Las Vegas Convention Center and the public’s $750 million contribution toward a 65,000-seat stadium that could bring the Oakland Raiders to Las Vegas. The Senate passed the bill in a 16-5 vote Tuesday.

This morning marked the Assembly’s first chance to dive into the proposed legislation, and many of the 42 members wasted no time grilling the three men and one woman seated on the chamber floor: Steve Hill, executive director of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development; Jeremy Aguero of the Las Vegas-based research firm Applied Analysis, which has been working with state leaders; Guy Hobbs, a financial analyst who works with Clark County; and Yolanda King, the incoming Clark County manager.

Among lawmakers’ initial questions about the bill:

Will the stadium project negatively impact Clark County’s bond rating?

King said she couldn’t offer any absolute assurance that the county’s bond rating wouldn’t be downgraded after issuing the stadium bonds. But based on plugging bond assumptions into a system that provides scorecard projections, King said she thought the county would be OK.

What’s the actual cost of the public’s $750 million contribution with interest?

Hobbs said Clark County likely would issue $560 million to $575 million in bonds for the stadium project. Factoring in interest over the bonds’ 30-year lifetime, the actual cost — the amount the county would pay through the room tax revenue — would be closer to $1.2 billion, he said.

Can the county pay off the stadium debt sooner than 30 years?

Assemblyman Lynn Stewart posed the question. Hobbs said it’s a possibility, however remote it may be. The legislation dictates how any revenue “waterfall” would be spent, which includes the potential early redemption of the bonds.

What happens if the stadium project ends up being cheaper than projected?

Assemblyman Ira Hansen asked whether the public would still contribute $750 million if the total project cost comes in less than the expected $1.9 billion.

“Technically, that’s correct,” Hill responded.

The development agreement, however, dictates the stadium must be able to compete with other new, flashy stadiums. In other words, the agreement is a safeguard of sorts, making the private developers commit to a high-buck stadium.

The Assembly recessed for lunch at 2 p.m. Discussions will resume this afternoon.

10 a.m.

The Nevada Assembly, in a 35-7 vote, approved a bill this morning to increase the Clark County sales tax rate to hire more police officers in Southern Nevada.

The bill — the Clark County Crime Prevention Act of 2016 — now heads to the Senate for consideration. It would allow the Clark County Commission to raise the sales tax rate by a 0.1 percent.

Law enforcement authorities say the increase would generate an additional $39.2 million in tax revenue. That money would go toward hiring 66 police officers for the Las Vegas Strip and downtown, as well as 245 officers in other parts of the county.

The seven Assembly members who voted against the bill were Democrats Maggie Carlton, Olivia Diaz, Stephanie Smith and Heidi Swank and Republicans Ira Hansen, Shelly Shelton and Robin Titus. They questioned the urgency of addressing police funding now instead of during a regular legislative session.

“This needs to be addressed comprehensively and not rushed through a special session,” said Smith, who was appointed to fill a vacant seat for the special session.

Diaz, who said she’s not against hiring more officers, said she disagreed with what she termed a regressive tax that could harm lower-income residents.

“I can’t continue to kick this down the road,” she said.

On the other end of the spectrum, supporters voiced a need for more officers to curb crime and protect residents and visitors from possible terrorist acts.

•••

CARSON CITY — The Nevada Legislature returns today from its daylong recess in observance of the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur.

The Assembly kicked off at 8 a.m. to finish up deliberations and vote on the so-called “More Cops” bill, which would enact a 0.1 percent sales tax increase to pay for more police officers in Southern Nevada.

It will then take up a bill to raise the hotel room tax in Clark County to provide $750 million to help pay for a proposed NFL stadium in Las Vegas and expand the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Though members of the Assembly were present for three hours of testimony by stadium proponents on Monday, today will be their first chance to ask questions and dive deeper into the legislation.

The Senate will convene at 2 p.m. to consider the police funding bill.

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