Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

After ‘very productive’ legislative session, Sisolak bullish on Nevada’s future

Gov. Sisolak Covid-19 Presser

AP

Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak updates the state’s COVID-19 response efforts and lifting of restrictions on youth and adult recreation sports during a news conference at the Sawyer Building in Las Vegas, Friday, Oct. 2, 2020. (K.M. Cannon / AP)

CARSON CITY — Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak can’t help feeling optimistic about the position the state is in heading out of the recently completed legislative session.

After a year in which his office worried the state would run out of body bags during the health crisis of the pandemic, rosy economic outlooks coupled with federal funding influxes have flipped the narrative.

“I think we made it through and we’re coming out on the other side better and stronger,” Sisolak said Tuesday. “Did we suffer along the way? Yeah. There’s over 5,000 Nevada families that lost their loved ones, and that weighs on my mind every day.”

The session produced legislation to help those impacted by the pandemic, including lawmakers on Monday approving a proposal to give jobless hospitality workers the first right to return to the position they lost during the pandemic-forced business closures. 

They also approved a bill that requires that all registered voters receive a mail-in ballot, mirroring policy that was implemented to keep voters safe during the pandemic. Additionally, the final day rush saw the legalization of cannabis consumption lounges and the passage of a mining tax to bring millions to K-12 education.

“I am damn proud of what this Legislature did and some of the good stuff that we got passed, and I think it was a very productive session,” Sisolak said.

A lot can happen during a 120-day session, and fortunately for lawmakers, the impact of the mass distribution of the COVID vaccine changed Nevada’s fortunes as visitors returned to the tourism areas that drive the state’s economy. And congressional Democrats passed the American Rescue Plan, which will bring $2.7 billion directly to the state budget, meaning a session that was expected to be dominated by figuring out how to balance the budget didn’t require as much number-crunching.

Like every session, there were plenty of hiccups along the way.

Not every legislative priority passed, including the governor’s “innovation zone” concept, which would have let private companies run their own county governments on blockchain technology. That idea was first mentioned in the governor’s State of the State address, though final bill language never materialized.

In the end, the idea passed as only a study.

“That was a big lift, I knew it. I’m still a believer in the concept,” Sisolak said. “I think we need to start looking at the way we do things in Nevada, diversifying the economy a little bit.”

An attempt to ban the death penalty — for the third consecutive session — also fell apart, although the legislation did make it through the Assembly. Backroom discussions on a potential carveout allowing capital punishment for certain crimes fell through, ultimately dooming the legislation and irking progressives.

Sisolak said that the nature of the session, in which much of the public comment was given over phone because of the pandemic, did not lend itself well to deep discussions of the issue.

“Just because we’ve talked about it for a couple of sessions doesn’t change the fact that everybody should have their opportunity (to speak), and I don’t think under the system we had, the structure of limited attendance and limited comment, (they could),” he said.

Lawmakers will be back in Carson City at least one more time this year for a special session that must be called once census redistricting data is released. It’s an open question, however, if they’ll need to convene once more to further allocate federal money from the American Rescue Plan.

Assembly Speaker Jason Frierson, D-Las Vegas, was noncommittal on a special session date coming off the floor for the last time early Tuesday morning.

“The most immediate special session I’m going to have is with my pillow and my family and we’ll figure out the rest of this when the dust settles,” Frierson said.

Sisolak was similarly noncommittal, stating his office is still working through the guidance on how to spend the federal aid money.

For now, Sisolak is looking back to the session and forward to 2022. He’s “110%” sure he’s running for reelection, he said.