FACT BRIEFDid Nicole Cannizzaro give $26 million in taxpayer dollars to her husband's client?
No.
Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro (D-Las Vegas), the Democratic nominee for attorney general, did not give her husband's client $26 million.
It's an inaccurate claim featured in a new website linked to the Republican Attorneys General Association.
It refers to a bill Cannizzaro sponsored in 2023 to give about $25 million in raises to state worker unions, including the Nevada Police Union and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 4041 (AFSCME). Cannizzaro's husband, Nathan Ring, is a lawyer who has represented AFSCME.
But Gov. Joe Lombardo (R) vetoed the bill, so it never took effect.
The bill was meant to fund an earlier arbitration agreement negotiated between the unions and the state. However, the Legislature never appropriated money to fund that deal because it came after the legislative session had ended. AFSCME, represented by Ring, sued to force the funding, but the suit failed.
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Sources
- Nevada Legislature: SB440
- Governor's Office Veto message
- The Nevada Independent State worker union sues Lombardo over vetoed arbitration bill
- The Nevada Independent Judge rules against state worker union challenging Lombardo veto of retroactive pay raise
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