Monday, June 5, 2017 | 2 a.m.
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Assembly Bill 407, a bill we co-sponsored, aims to reform cooperative extension service in Nevada. The bipartisan bill empowers the Legislative Council Bureau to audit current CES practices between now and the start of the next legislative session. The results of the LCB’s analysis will inform potential policy changes to CES and guarantee the valuable program works for all Nevadans.
We understand how important CES and its core services — such as 4-H Club and the master gardener program — are to Nevada’s urban and rural communities. At the same time, concerns raised about CES’ performance by rural and urban interests throughout the 2017 session motivated the need to explore ways to significantly increase CES’ outreach to every locality in the state. CES is so critical to Nevada that we want it run as efficiently and comprehensively as possible, and AB 407 puts us on the path toward that goal.
We are pleased with the passion, cooperation and engagement we experienced as AB 407 progressed through the legislative process. The modifications made to the bill based on the feedback we received reflect the interests of all key CES stakeholders — from north and south, and from farming communities to big cities. We believe in bipartisanship and good government, and the consensus crafted in the final version of AB 407 reflects both those values.
AB 407 also embraces Gov. Brian Sandoval’s “One Nevada” vision by codifying in statute a nearly 50-year-old precedent that our land-grant institution, the University of Nevada, is a unified institution that has co-equal branches in Reno and Las Vegas. Just as in states like California, where all branches of the University of California have land grant status, our state land grant institution also has branches.
The bipartisan compromise of this bill directs legislative staff to examine how to best administer CES by considering which part of the system is most effective at managing local interests. For example, LCB’s analysis might show that there is greater efficiency and greater community connectivity in states where the local branch of the land grant institution administers CES by region, as is the case in neighboring California.
In a Legislature that is all too often divided by partisanship or region, AB 407 stands out as an example where diverse interests came together for the good of the state. We are confident a thorough audit will provide the information needed to craft future policies relevant to the administration of CES and help increase resources to expand the valuable programs it provides to Nevadans.
All Nevadans deserve a land grant university and a CES that is deeply engaged with its constituents. AB 407 will help to ensure that this mission is realized.
Olivia Diaz, a Democrat, represents Assembly District 11, in North Las Vegas. Scott Hammond, a Republican, represents Senate District 18, in Las Vegas.
