This is one in a series of profiles of legislative newcomers. 

ASSEMBLYWOMAN MELISSA HARDY

• Freshman Republican who succeeds Republican Assemblyman Keith Pickard, who ran for state Senate.
• Represents District 22, which includes part of Henderson.
• District 22 leans Republican (39 percent Republican, 33 percent Democratic and 28 percent nonpartisan or other in the 2018 election).
• Hardy defeated Richard Bunce in the Republican primary by 14.2 percentage points, a margin of about 619 votes.
• She defeated Democrat Kristee Watson by 8.6 points, or 2,728 votes, in the general election.
• She will sit on the committees for Commerce and Labor, Education and Government Affairs.

FAMILY AND EDUCATION:

Hardy was born in Las Vegas in 1969. A fourth-generation Nevadan, her family settled in the Las Vegas Valley in the 1800s, living near what is now the Old Mormon Fort and the Grant Sawyer Building. She hails from a political family; Her father, Melvin Close, served 18 years as a Nevada state legislator, including stints as Speaker of the Assembly and President Pro Tempore of the Senate; her uncle, Jack Close, spent four years in the Assembly, and her mother had worked for the district office of U.S. Sen. Paul Laxalt.

She would eventually receive her bachelor's in hotel and business administration before becoming co-owner of a Henderson Port of Subs franchise alongside her husband, Damon, in 2005.

CAREER:

In addition to opening a Port of Subs franchise, Hardy worked for the Justice and District Courts in Clark County, several Las Vegas law firms and as the membership coordinator at the Las Vegas Country Club.

ON NEVADA AND THE ISSUES:

What are your top three priorities for the 2019 legislative session?

Education, workforce development/jobs/economy and health care

What programs/parts of the state government could be cut? What programs/areas need more funding in 2019?

This is a hard question as Nevada has many programs. Rather than list programs arbitrarily, I think we need to look at this in a comprehensive manner. As a freshman, I understand I do not know what I do not know. I would like to look at past studies and see where we can improve, merge or altogether cut.

One particular area I am interested in is understanding our current education programs. We put massive amounts of money into our education system from state and federal coffers that I think it warrants a look at the viability of current programs. There is always room for improvement and we ought to look at our programs in a responsible manner if we are to keep moving Nevada forward.

What specifically should Nevada do to improve health care this session? How about education?

These are two topics that will no doubt be top priorities during this session.  As a freshman legislator I want to be as informed and educated as possible about policies in both health care and education and how various changes to law will impact Nevadans.  

I intend to work with all interested shareholders, whether doctors, hospitals, patients, insurance companies, teachers, administrators, or parents in order to come up with workable and beneficial solutions.

Should Nevada raise its Renewable Portfolio Standard to 100 percent by 2050? If not, what should the state's RPS compliance standard be?

I have always believed that to be competitive and have a sustainable economy, we need to move away from fossil fuels and towards renewable energy. As new technologies continue to emerge, we need to understand them and make sure they meet the needs of our state. Our Renewable Portfolio Standard should reflect existing technologies and I look forward to talking with stakeholders more about this important issue.

Do you support modifying or eliminating current property tax caps in state law?

We need to look at property taxes in a responsible and realistic manner. It’s time to explore how we calculate property taxes and the current 3/8% tax caps that are in place. We need to protect homeowners for the ebbs-and-flows of the housing market, and we also need to ensure that we have the needed resources to provide essential services.

Are there any particular issues on which you see yourself working across party lines? If so, which ones? If not, why not?

I like to adhere to the 80/20 rule. For the most part, folks agree with each other 80 percent of time on most issues and disagree with each other the other 20 percent. I will strive to work with interested parties on the areas we agree on rather than to argue over the areas that we don’t see eye-to-eye on. In the end we are there to make the best decisions that we can for our constituents and our state as a whole. That is what I intend to focus on during this session.

This interview was lightly edited for clarity.