The G3Wire

February 28, 2024

Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo and Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford gave a potential preview of the 2026 gubernatorial election, sparring over Ford’s recommendations for how agencies deal with immigration enforcement issues.  The film tax bill is making headlines, two film industry giants, along with one of Las Vegas’s most prolific developers, are asking Nevada lawmakers for what would be the state’s largest ever public subsidy: $1.8 billion over 15 years. The joint venture means two of the biggest names in the film industry have aligned behind one of two competing film tax credit bills.  And a wildly successful water conservation program piloted in rural Nevada may soon be the basis for a statewide effort.  Assembly Bill 104 would extend the Nevada Voluntary Water Rights Retirement Program, which launched in 2023 and in two years has retired more than 25,000 acre-feet of groundwater. The buybacks were funded through $15 million from the American Rescue Plan. These news links and lots more below!

Legislative Updates

Important Dates:

March 17^th     Last day for legislator bill introductions

March 24        Last day for committee bill introductions

April 11^th        First house passage deadline

June 2^nd          Sine die

Indy Explains: How do two film tax credit expansion measures differ?

Both proposed expansion measures would be more than an eightfold increase from the annual $10 million in transferable tax credits Nevada law currently allows. (The Nevada Independent)

It’s normal to be a renter in Nevada. But in the state legislature? Not so much.

Nevada’s rate of homeownership is lower than the national average, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Four out of 10 housing units are occupied by renters. But renters are not evenly distributed across the state. (The Nevada Independent)

Rent-related bills target fees, price fixing–Dems, advocates seek bipartisan reform after governor’s ’23 vetoes

A slate of renter- and tenant-related bills introduced in the Nevada Legislature could address “resort-style fees” in leases, price fixing and more through a mix of new measures and legislation attempted in previous sessions. (Las Vegas Review Journal)

Daylight saving time begins in Nevada on March 9. But is this our last ‘spring forward’?

Democratic Assemblywoman Selena La Rue Hatch and Republican Senator Robin Titus both have introduced bills to shift the state to permanent standard time later this year. (Reno Gazette Journal)

Studios put out the red carpet for Nevada lawmakers ahead of tax credit expansion debate

Nearly two years after a planned expansion of film tax credits in Nevada failed, two more film tax bills are officially here!  Sen. Roberta Lange (D-Las Vegas) and Assemblymember Sandra Jauregui (D-Las Vegas) have each indicated they’ll need to merge their separate bills if they hope to get one across the finish line. (The Nevada Independent)

Nevada bill would keep water rights buybacks going through 2035

Assembly Bill 104 would extend the Nevada Voluntary Water Rights Retirement Program, which launched in 2023 and in two years has retired more than 25,000 acre-feet of groundwater. The buybacks were funded through $15 million from the American Rescue Plan. (Las Vegas Sun)

Youth defender advocates for court discretion in juvenile cases

Katherine Maher, a youth defender with the Washoe County public defender’s office, on Tuesday presented two hypothetical cases to the Assembly Committee on Judiciary. (Las Vegas Sun)

Warner Brothers, Sony partner in effort to expand Nevada’s film tax credits

The joint venture means two of the biggest names in the film industry have aligned behind one of two competing film tax credit bills. (The Nevada Independent)

Apple to expand in Nevada as company plans to invest $500 billion across U.S.

The $500 billion investment in Nevada and other states across U.S. was initially teased by President Donald Trump after a meeting with CEO Tim Cook. (Reno Gazette Journal)

RPD to set up traffic cameras on McCarran to send warnings and, possibly, tickets

Police Chief Kathryn Nance told the Reno City Council on Wednesday that she wants to place speed trailers — which display drivers’ real-time speeds and identify the vehicle — along McCarran Boulevard. Cars spotted going 20 mph or more over the limit would trigger a notice to the registered owner. (Reno Gazette Journal)

HOA bills in Nevada range from displaying religious items to charging EVs

State lawmakers in Carson City are proposing a number of changes to laws governing the rights of homeowners in common-interest communities. Unlike the 2023 session, which featured measures designed to limit the rights of homeowners, the majority of bills this session seek to expand homeowners’ rights.  (Reno Gazette Journal)

Bill targets water conservation–Would start program to buy back user rights

A wildly successful water conservation program piloted in rural Nevada may soon be the basis for a statewide effort.  Assembly Bill 104, discussed in an Assembly Committee on Natural Resources hearing Monday, would create the Nevada Voluntary Water Rights Retirement Program, which would use state funds to compensate water rights holders to turn over to the state their power to pump. (Las Vegas Review Journal)

Lawmaker seeks independent commission to tackle elected official salary decisions

Assemblymember Howard Watts (D-Las Vegas) is proposing a constitutional amendment to create a seven-member commission that would determine the pay for legislators and the state’s six statewide officers. (The Nevada Independent)

IVF coverage could be codified in Nevada law under new bill

In the late addition of Behind the Bar, more information on proposed Medicaid cuts, legislators want age verification for adult websites and a lawmaker withdraws a controversial school board bill. (The Nevada Independent)

Bill would deter school staff from aiding ICE–Immigration officials would need warrants

Assembly Bill 217 received its first hearing in the Assembly Committee on Education on Tuesday. The bill would codify existing policies in the state’s largest school districts, Washoe and Clark County school districts, according to bill sponsor Assembly member Cecilia González. (Las Vegas Review Journal)

Top Nevada Democrat calls for adding drop boxes to speed up ballot counting

The bill would require the addition of at least 10 drop boxes in Clark County and five in Washoe County. (The Nevada Independent)

Largest public subsidy in state history makes legislative debut

Two film industry giants, along with one of Las Vegas’s most prolific developers, are asking Nevada lawmakers for what would be the state’s largest ever public subsidy: $1.8 billion over 15 years. (newsfromthestates.com)

Updates from the Governor’s Office

Governor Lombardo Appoints Judge Adriana Rincon White to the Eighth Judicial District Court, Department Y

Today, Governor Joe Lombardo appointed Adriana Rincon White to the Eighth Judicial District Court, Department Y. White currently serves as the Domestic Violence Protection Order Hearing Master in the Eighth Judicial District Court in Clark County, where she presides over applications for protection orders, conducts initial hearings, and determines whether to issue protective orders. (gov.nv.gov)

State and Local Government Updates

Lombardo Promise Tracker: What pledges has the governor kept in his first two years?

We are tracking more than 60 promises the Nevada governor has made from his time on the campaign trail in 2022 to the start of the 2025 legislative session. (The Nevada Independent)

Las Vegas isn’t a sanctuary city but legislation in Congress could treat it as one

The Las Vegas City Council hasn’t designated the city as a sanctuary either, unlike Los Angeles and New York City’s legislative bodies. (Las Vegas Review Journal)

CCSD braces for effects of Trump tariffs in repair, construction of school facilities

Tariffs on imported goods are the known unknown in the Clark County School District’s offices of construction and facilities management. (Las Vegas Review Journal)

Clark County upgrades ethics–Commissioners changed ways after probe

Last year, Clark County commissioners did without the free tickets to Formula One racing, Las Vegas Raiders games and National Finals Rodeo that they had accepted in previous years, according to their annual financial disclosure statements filed in January. (Las Vegas Review Journal)

312,000 Nevadans would lose health care if Medicaid cuts are enacted for Trump budget

A U.S. House budget plan puts Medicaid in the crosshairs for cuts to pay for President Donald Trump’s agenda.  If that happens, Nevada would have to come up with $6.7 billion or else throw hundreds of thousands of Silver State residents off their health insurance, according to an analysis by KFF, a nonpartisan health policy organization. (Reno Gazette Journal)

Sparks’ Mayor Lawson outlines budget deficit, warns of layoffs ahead

Sparks is projecting an approximate $12 million deficit starting in fiscal year 2026, which begins July 1 and runs through June 2026, according to Mayor Ed Lawson.  In Lawson’s state of the city address Monday, he said the city will need to begin laying off personnel and cutting expenses to prevent the projected deficit in the coming year. (Reno Gazette Journal)

Refugees, sponsors feel stuck after halt to programs letting communities resettle newcomers

Agencies in Nevada have been moving staffers and funds to compensate for a federal pause, and seeking answers on the future of refugee resettlement. (The Nevada Independent)

Metro sheriff announces commitment to reducing officer-involved shootings, traffic fatalities in Las Vegas

Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill is pledging to cut the number of officer-involved shootings in half this year, focusing on training and de-escalation, after seeing an uptick in Metro shootings in 2024. There were 17 officer-involved shootings in 2024, compared with 10 in 2023 and 14 in 2022. (Las Vegas Sun)

Clark County school board narrows superintendent search to 3 candidates

The board selected Jhone Ebert, Ben Shuldiner and Jesse Welsh tonight from the four semifinalists that it interviewed over the last two nights. (Las Vegas Sun)

Nevada governor, AG spar over policies for dealing with immigration enforcement

Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo and Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford gave a potential preview of the 2026 gubernatorial election, sparring over Ford’s recommendations for how agencies deal with immigration enforcement issues. (Las Vegas Sun)

Ex-Sparks City Manager Neil Krutz sues over his firing in ‘scheme riddled with malice’

Former Sparks City Manager Neil Krutz unleashed a lawsuit Tuesday against the mayor and City Council saying they’d conspired to fire him in a “scheme riddled with malice, deceit and disinformation.”

The legal filing claims he was subject to retaliation and age discrimination. (Reno Gazette Journal)

When will no tax on tips start in Nevada? Was the bill passed? What to know

Former President Donald Trump’s tax proposal aims to exempt overtime pay, tips and Social Security benefits from federal income tax.  The proposal, if passed, could potentially increase take-home pay for workers and boost economic growth but may also complicate the tax code and increase administrative costs for employers.

Currently, tips over $20 per month from a single employer are considered wages and are subject to federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare taxes. (Reno Gazette Journal)

Nevada Republican Gov. Lombardo speaks out against GOP’s possible Medicaid cuts

It’s Lombardo’s strongest stance yet against his party’s plans, which have already drawn the ire of Democrats in a state that has expanded Medicaid eligibility. (The Nevada Independent)

10 Cyber trucks gifted to Metro–Vehicles ‘stop bullets’ and are ‘a tremendous recruitment tool’

A gifted fleet of Tesla Cyber trucks, a new training model to reduce officer-involved shootings and the recently established “Wellness Bureau” were presented at Metro’s State of the Department address Tuesday morning. (Las Vegas Review Journal)

As wildfires worsen, Nevada seeks to join compacts as another ‘tool in the toolbox’

The Nevada Division of Forestry is looking to join two interstate wildfire compacts — agreements that let states more easily transfer resources across state lines during emergencies. (The Nevada Independent)

Federal Updates

Federal workers in Nevada recount their sudden firings amid Trump government-cutting blitz

Federal agencies have not released data on firings by state. But in a state where the federal government owns more than 80 percent of the land, job cuts coupled with the federal hiring freeze implemented by President Donald Trump could lead to a slowdown of services everywhere from wildfire management to veterans’ hospitals to nuclear research. (The Nevada Independent)

Sending DOGE dividend checks directly to Americans a ‘great idea’, Trump says

President Trump says he’s a fan of Elon Musk’s idea to send Department of Government Efficiency savings directly to the American people. (Las Vegas Review Journal)

Could Trump really return DOGE savings to taxpayers?

If Musk’s target of $2 trillion in spending cuts is achieved by next year, supporters of the idea say that about one-fifth of those funds could be distributed to taxpaying households in checks of about $5,000. (Las Vegas Review Journal)

One month into his presidency, Trump and Musk still colleagues; will it last?

WASHINGTON — It’s been a burning political question for weeks: How long will President Donald Trump — who doesn’t like sharing the spotlight — be able to do just that with Elon Musk, a billionaire also overly fond of attention? In a joint Fox News Channel interview that aired Tuesday, both insisted they like each other a lot and would stick with their arrangement despite what Trump said were attempts by the media to “drive us apart.” (Las Vegas Review Journal)

Poll: Nevadans back public lands–Opposition to Trump’s stance on monuments

The 15th annual Colorado College Conservation in the West Poll explored how voters feel about environmental issues. As the Trump administration takes aim at national monument protections and seeks to increase oil production, researchers found that more than half of voters in Western states don’t support such policies — regardless of party affiliation. (Las Vegas Review Journal)

How Trump’s mass layoffs raise the risk of wildfires in the US West, according to fired workers

The Forest Services oversees more than 6 million acres in Nevada, including in Lake Tahoe and the Ruby Mountains. (The Nevada Independent)

‘Stop making cents’ may be easier said than done

The push to put pennies out of circulation that was kicked off during the Super Bowl by President Donald Trump ultimately depends on Congress, which has shown reluctance to cancel the 232-yearold coin since one of the first serious proposals to do so during the administration of President Gerald Ford. (Las Vegas Review Journal)

Judge blocks Trump-ordered transfer of transgender women inmates to male prisons

WASHINGTON – A federal judge on Monday blocked the Justice Department from transferring 12 transgender female inmates to male prisons, in a setback for President Donald Trump’s executive orders denying recognition of transgender people. (Reno Gazette Journal)

Economic blackout Feb. 28: What Nevadans need to know about retail boycott

The People’s Union USA has organized three, 24-hour spending blackout days and a 40-day boycott on Target, dubbed as the Target fast. It will coincide with Lent, which starts on March 5. (Reno Gazette Journal)

Trump froze out Project 2025 in his campaign. Now its blueprint is his health care playbook

But funding cuts to the National Institutes of Health were presaged in Project 2025’s “Mandate for Leadership,” a conservative plan for governing that Trump said he knew nothing about during his campaign. Now, his administration has embraced it. (Reno Gazette Journal)

More than a dozen NPS workers fired from Lake Mead as part of mass federal workforce purge

Park rangers, engineers, ecologists, maintenance workers, and cultural resource staff were among at least 13 federal workers terminated from the Lake Mead National Recreation Area during the three-day Presidents’ Day weekend. (Nevada Current)

Already lagging broadband program faces more uncertainty under Trump

A massive federal program meant to expand broadband access to underserved areas across the country is falling behind schedule, state broadband officials and experts say, even as Trump administration actions create further uncertainty about its funding and rules. (Nevada Current)

ICE lets local officials stop immigrants on the streets as task force program is back

As the Trump administration pushes for more deportations, the government has revived a long-abandoned program that lets local and state law enforcement challenge people on the street about immigration status — and possibly arrest them for deportation. (Nevada Current)

Titus seeks new allies in decade-long quest to kill federal sports betting tax

The Nevada Democrat has been trying to end levy on all wagers since 2014. Also, a Strip real estate owner will help fund Bally’s project. (The Nevada Independent)

Air traffic control understaffed at Nevada airports, FAA report says

Several air traffic control facilities, including in Nevada, are understaffed, a decades-old trend that could be getting worse after the Trump administration laid off hundreds of Federal Aviation Administration employees earlier this month. The FAA is the federal agency that regulates civil and commercial space transportation. (Reno Gazette Journal)

Egg prices to increase by more than 40% in 2025, according to USDA report

The U.S. Department of Agriculture released a report Tuesday saying the agency predicts egg prices will increase 41.1% this year, and a 3.4% increase for the prices of all food is also forecast. (Reno Gazette Journal)

What does DOGE stand for? What to know about the agency and its ties to Nevada

Forget zodiacs — 2025 is seemingly the year of “Doge.”  Since its establishment last month, Tesla CEO and SpaceX founder Elon Musk‘s Department of Government Efficiency has shaken up the federal workforce in a matter of weeks. (Reno Gazette Journal)

Age for full Social Security benefits goes up this year. How old do you have to be?

The full retirement age for Social Security benefits increased to 67 for those born in 1960 or later.

Individuals can start receiving reduced benefits at age 62, but waiting until full retirement age yields a larger monthly payment.  Waiting beyond the full retirement age to claim Social Security can further increase benefits by 8% annually until age 70. (Reno Gazette Journal)

Trump administration shifts to next phase of large-scale cuts to federal workforce

WASHINGTON – The Trump administration Wednesday ordered heads of federal departments and agencies to prepare to initiate “large-scale reductions in force” by March 13 as President Donald Trump shifts to a more aggressive phase of cutting the federal workforce. (Reno Gazette Journal)

As federal funding dries up, Nevada among states eyeing opioid settlement money

At a recent Nevada legislative committee hearing, lawmakers faced off with members of the governor’s administration over how to fill gaping holes in the state’s upcoming budget. (Reno Gazette Journal)

Administration’s cuts hit SSA office in Vegas–DOGE doesn’t specify which facility affected

A Las Vegas Social Security Administration office is being affected by a series of cuts by the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency. (Las Vegas Review Journal)

Articles of Interest

Amazon holds grand opening for its new Fallon delivery station east of Reno

Amazon’s new Fallon facility adds more than 50 jobs but does not replace the projected losses from the closure of its Reno facility. (Reno Gazette Journal)

Reno among least affordable US cities for owning a home. Where does it rank?

Reno ranked as one of the top cities in the nation for housing-cost burdened residents who spend a large share of their incomes on housing. (Reno Gazette Journal)

From perch as Resorts World chairman, Jim Murren hopes to help revamp the north Strip

The former MGM CEO aims to steady the property after three years of turmoil and bring new life to a sleepier stretch of the Las Vegas tourist corridor. (The Nevada Independent) 

$2B water pipeline could disrupt Henderson or Sloan Canyon

A Southern Nevada Water Authority pipeline that could cost the agency up to $2 billion is on the way, ensuring that growing parts of Henderson and western Las Vegas don’t experience water service disruptions. (Las Vegas Review Journal)

NV Energy seeks 9% rate increase in Southern Nevada

NV Energy is asking state regulators to approve a revenue increase of $215.7 million that could hike residential electricity rates by 9% in Southern Nevada. (Nevada Current)

Vagabond A’s enter their Sacramento era with improved roster, playoff expectations

MESA, Ariz. — The Athletics have moved about an hour east from Oakland to the Sacramento area, where they will be based in a minor league ballpark for the next three seasons while hoping a more permanent home in Las Vegas will be ready in 2028. (Las Vegas Sun)

Plan for moving VA hospital to UNR campus still a go, although with smaller footprint

The University of Nevada, Reno says it is still hopeful a new Veterans Administration Medical Center will be built on campus, even if the scope of the project is now smaller. (Reno Gazette Journal)

Rents fall in valley, study says–Redfin official says demand for rentals softens

Rents have dropped year over year in Las Vegas through the end of January, according to a new study from Redfin.  The median asking rent for all bedroom types in the valley sits at $1,470, a 1.3 percent drop from January 2024. Rents did rise in January of this year (1.7 percent) from December. (Las Vegas Review Journal)

4 Nevada companies make Forbes’ best employers list for 2025

Two gaming technology and hospitality companies ranked among the best large employers in the business magazine’s 10th annual list. Two Reno-based resorts made the list of top midsize employers. (Reno Gazette Journal)

Athletics hyped for their Sacramento era, finally able to ‘focus on baseball’

MESA, Ariz. — They no longer are the pawns in a war involving Oakland government officials, failed stadium developments, Major League Baseball and Athletics owner John Fisher. (usatoday.com)