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Rep. Joe Heck was one of only 10 House Republicans to vote against the Paul Ryan budget this week, saying the budget hurts Nevada, citing the changing Obamacare landscape and fretting about public lands money. The problem with those explanations is that none really hold up under scrutiny and are dwarfed by the congressman's political concerns in a swing district and bluer and bluer state. Heck's rationale, through his spokesman, is in this story. Let's take a look: ►Heck's statement explaining...
I was watching “The Agenda" today and listening to progressive activist Howard Watts III hype SJR 15 to remove mining taxation from the Constitution, and it spurred me to think of all the ways, some of them dangerous, that this issue is misunderstood. SJR 15 is being seen by the Left as some kind of litmus test for taking on the mining industry. But it is a much smaller part of the picture than you might think. How so? Herewith are 10 musings about misconceptions and history: 1.  SJR 15...
That's the gist of an answer from legislative lawyers to the writ filed by troubled Assemblyman Steven Brooks at the state Supreme Court. The highlights, with page numbers of  the 45-page document, which is attached here: I. Standard of review. .....................................................................................10 II. Because the Assembly seated the Petitioner and did not exclude him from his legislative seat for failing to meet the qualifications of his office, the decision in...
UPDATE: Lest you think the timing was an accident, the Democrats filed this on the eve of a hearing on Hickey and Brower's bill that was inspired by ex-Democratic Speaker Barbara Buckley. Tit for tat? Ya think? A former Democratic Party chairman has filed a complaint alleging former GOP Assemblywoman Heidi Gansert illegally kept campaign funds, then funneled them to a PAC she controlled and then disbursed the money. The complaint, field today by ex-Washoe Democratic Party Chairman Chris Wicker...
This is where lobbyists matter: XPressWest, under attack from Paul Ryan and Jeff Sessions, now has a letter of support (attached here), from Nevada legislative leaders, including two Republicans. The missive reads like a news release from XPressWest's consultants, R&R Partners, which has a strong capital presence and has been aggressively pushing back since the GOP attack on the train. So now the XPressWest has brought together Harry Reid and Dean Heller as well as a bipartisan group of...
  On Tuesday in Nevada's capital, two committees will meet, and the results are freighted with historic significance. At 1 PM, the Senate Revenue and Economic Development Committee will consider SJR 15, which would take mining taxation out of the Constitutio0n, assuming voters, as is likley, approve it next year. At 6 PM, at the Carson City Courthouse, Assemblyman Steven Brooks will face a tribunal of his peers -- one that could put him on the path to expulsion -- inartfully and unimaginatively...
Here’s what we know: The margins tax is dead, but will live on the 2014 ballot. Senate Minority Leader Michael Roberson has a plan, but it’s not drafted yet. The Democrats want more revenue, but their path to get there is unclear. Here’s what we don’t know: Most lawmakers don’t trust Roberson. The mining industry’s scare tactics include threatening to blow a huge hole in the budget and suing to preserve their rights not to pay any more taxes (or less). The Democrats will have a plan that...

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