On Tuesday, December 15, Gov. Brian Sandoval signed a proclamation calling a special session of the Legislature to meet on Wednesday, December 16 at 5:00 pm. The session is being called to consider tax abatements and other incentives to lure the electric car company known as Faraday Future to North Las Vegas, according to the Las Vegas Sun.

Photo of the Nevada Legislative Building by Ryan Jerz on Wikimedia Commons.

The 2015 78th Regular Session of the Nevada Legislature adjourned sine die on June 1, 2015. Once the governor receives any remaining bills passed by the Legislature, he has 10 days to veto or sign the legislation.

Photo of the Nevada Legislative Building by Ryan Jerz on Wikimedia Commons.

On May 20, Assembly Bill 273, which would require a cooling-off period before Nevada state legislators can act as paid lobbyists, passed the Senate. The Assembly passed this bill on April 15.

If signed into law, a former legislator could not work as a paid lobbyist for the period beginning on the date the former Legislator leaves office as a member of the Legislature and ending on the date of final adjournment of the next regular session during which the former legislator is not a member of the Legislature.

The bill allows a former legislator to immediately register as a paid lobbyist if the former lawmaker is required to act as a lobbyist as part of his or her full time employment, does not act as a lobbyist for others, and has primary responsibilities of employment including significant duties other than acting as a lobbyist. If signed, the law becomes effective on November 8, 2016.

Photo of the Nevada Legislature courtesy of Dave Parker on Wikimedia Commons.

The Nevada Legislature adjourned its special session on September 11, 2014, after sending four bills to the governor.

The four bills were a tax incentive package designed to bring a Tesla Motors battery factory to the state.

Photo of the Nevada Legislature courtesy of Dave Parker on Wikimedia Commons.

Gov. Brian Sandoval ordered the Nevada Legislature into special session beginning Wednesday, September 10, 2014.

The purpose of the special session is to consider tax breaks offered to Tesla Motors in exchange for locating a battery plant in Nevada.

Photo of the Nevada Legislature courtesy of Dave Parker on Wikimedia Commons.

Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval may call the Legislature into a special session as soon as Wednesday to approve a plan for the $5 billion Tesla plant in the state.

According the Los Angeles Times, the electric car company and the state have reached an agreement to have Tesla manufacture batteries in Nevada. The Office of the Governor predicts the proposed lithium-ion battery plant would create 6,500 factory jobs and 16,000 other jobs, including 3,000 in construction.

The Los Angeles Times reports the Legislature is required to enact parts of the agreement in order for the deal to go through. This includes allowing Tesla to “receive up to a 100% tax abatement for the next 20 years for all sales tax, and up to a 100% tax abatement for the next 10 years for all real property tax, personal property tax and modified business tax,” according the Los Angeles Times.

Effective today, Nevada Senate Bill 246 revises the definition of “committee for political action” to include new threshold levels.

Entities in Nevada whose primary purpose is to affect outcomes of elections are now defined as those with more than $1,500 in contributions or expenditures in a calendar year. Entities whose primary purpose is not to affect outcomes of elections have a $5,000 calendar year threshold. Committees must register with the Nevada secretary of state no later than seven days after qualifying under the revised definition.

The changes in the bill were modeled on similar statutes previously enacted by the state of Maine.

Yesterday a bill was introduced into the Nevada Assembly establishing for lobbyists both a mandatory code of ethics and voluntary rules of conduct. The code of ethics addresses inaccurate information given to members of the Legislature and conflicts of interests with clients.

In addition, the code of ethics in Assembly Bill 0314 specifically addresses lobbyist contracts, including requiring compensated lobbyists to enter into a written contract with clients spelling out the amount of compensation, and requiring the contract to include provisions concerning whether and how, if applicable, expenses of the lobbyist will be reimbursed.

The bill creates a “Rules of Conduct” statement to be given to a lobbyist upon registration. The lobbyist may voluntarily sign the statement if he or she wishes. Additionally, the legislation requires the Director of the Legislative Counsel Bureau to provide training on the Nevada Ethics in Lobbying Act before each regular and special session of the Nevada Legislature.

AB 0314 would also require the suspension of a lobbyist’s registration for certain violations and sets forth the periods for which a lobbyist’s registration must be suspended.

Nevada lobbyists must now complete training before they can lobby the Legislature.

The Legislative Commission issued amended regulations on lobbying on December 20, 2012. The training will be provided by the Legislative Counsel Bureau.

Lobbyists can either attend a training session in person or arrange to obtain a video of the training and then certify having watched the video.

Additionally, the photo identification badges for lobbyists have been assigned different colors based on a category, such as whether a lobbyist is paid or not paid.

Nevada Secretary of State Ross Miller has proposed a bill draft resolution for the 2013 legislature to increase the accountability of candidates and public officials.

Secretary Miller advocates changes to the current campaign finance laws to clarify who is required to disclose contributions and expenditures when making independent expenditures or electioneering communications. Other changes put forth include requiring reporting within 72 hours for contributions received in excess of $1000, allowing the Secretary of State’s office to seek greater authority and greater penalties for campaign finance violations, and requiring every expense made from a candidate’s campaign account to be report.

Additionally, the Secretary is proposing an overhaul of the law regarding gifts given to public officials in order to “significantly restrict the ability of candidates and public officials to receive ‘gifts’ from donors who may pose a conflict of interest”, according to a press release from the Secretary’s office.

Assemblymen Marcus Conklin and Pat Hickey, and senate candidate Sheila Leslie, have expressed interest in the ideas. The Nevada Legislature is scheduled to begin its next session on February 4, 2013.

The Henderson Nevada City Council has passed a new ethics ordinance. City employees will be limited to accept no more than $50 in meals or gifts per year from entities doing business with the city.

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the ordinance additionally prohibits city employees from soliciting gifts and provides for penalties.

The ordinance does allow employees to accept tickets or admissions to charitable events or fundraisers if given prior approval.

Nevada Assemblyman Pat Hickey has called for campaign finance, lobbying, and ethic reforms.

Assemblyman Hickey’s recommendations include expanding the reporting of lobbyists’ expenditures to include those made when the legislature is not in session, limiting political contributions to PACs, and creating a ‘cooling off’ period before an ex-legislator may become a lobbyist.

As reported in the Las Vegas Sun, the Assemblyman is also suggesting there be ‘real time’ reporting of political contributions.

Assemblyman Hickey made these recommendations at a news conference and has not yet requested a draft bill for these proposed changes. The Nevada Legislature currently is not in session and not scheduled to meet again until 2013.

More information from the Las Vegas Sun can be found here and here.

Photo of Assemblyman Pat Hickey courtesy of the Nevada Legislature Website.

Nevada Secretary of State Ross Miller has announced the launch of a new searchable online database for the state’s campaign finance data. Named Aurora, the system began at midnight last night.

For more information read “Nevada Secretary Of State Launches Aurora, A Searchable Database For Campaign Finance Information” from the Nevada News Bureau.

According to the news release on the the Secretary of State’s web site:

The Contribution Search and Expenditure Search functions will allow users to search results by the following criteria:
– Individual Candidates
– Political Races
– Groups
– Contributions, including by amount, date range and similar addresses
– Contributors
– Expenditure Recipients

HENDERSON, NEVADA: The Henderson City Council has passed lobbyist and revolving door regulations. Lobbyists must now file a disclosure form after each communication with a city official or employee.

Additionally, elected officials and employees must wait one year after leaving office or employment before they can lobby on behalf of a private person or business.

The new provisions go into effect on Friday January 6, 2012.