No new taxes. Expand school choice. Repeal “soft-on-crime” legislation passed by Democrats.

These were just a few of the promises and pledges Gov. Joe Lombardo made in the nearly 19 months between announcing his bid to become the state’s chief executive and his first month on the job.

Ahead of the 2023 legislative session, Lombardo will seek to deliver on many of those promises, including a proposed one-year suspension of the state’s motor vehicle fuel tax, an expansion of school choice through increased funding for K-12 Opportunity Scholarships and an end to universal mail-in voting.

Some of those ideas were introduced for the first time last month during Lombardo’s first State of the State address — a biennial speech used by the governor to lay out legislative and budget priorities — while other promises hailed from the campaign trail or emerged at an IndyTalks event in January.

Others from early in his bid for governor have gone largely unmentioned during Lombardo’s first month in office — including a pledge to expand access to Education Savings Accounts, a voucher-style program that would give parents state money to pay for private school education, and a repeal of the state’s red flag law, which permits temporary confiscation of firearms from a person believed to be a danger to others or themselves.

To provide accountability for dozens of the governor’s most significant promises, The Nevada Independent is launching the “Lombardo Promise Tracker.” 

Each tracked promise will indicate whether the statement came during the campaign or after being elected and a link to the source, and we will indicate when a reporter last updated the tracker. Promises are sortable by topic area, and statuses include “Not yet addressed,” “In progress,” “Compromised,” “Completed” and “Failed.”

Though many items listed in the tracker may not have involved Lombardo saying the words, “I promise,” each item reflects a policy or budgetary goal Lombardo expressed. The tracker will serve as a tool to hold Lombardo accountable for achieving those goals, or it may reflect when he has changed positions on a policy or when a promise is impractical to fulfill.

Many of Lombardo’s promises require legislative action and likely won’t be accomplished until the end of the 120-day legislative session in early June or beyond. The Nevada Independent will regularly update the promise tracker, and occasionally publish stories during the legislative session highlighting major progress or changes in the governor’s stated goals.

As Lombardo works with a Democrat-led Legislature and lawmakers who may harbor opposing political views, the tracker will include explanations for how a given promise is graded and whether the balance of power in state government contributed to the failure or compromise of a certain goal. But it puts the ultimate responsibility on the governor for the success of his promises and proposals.

Ahead of the start of the legislative session on Feb. 6, all promises have been graded as “Not yet addressed” — primarily for those that will be addressed by not-yet-introduced legislation — or “In progress” to reflect those that may have already been proposed through the governor’s recommended budget or are in effect already for another reason, such as a prior executive order.

If you have questions, see something that doesn’t look right or want to know more about why a promise is graded a certain way, feel free to reach out by emailing reporter Sean Golonka ([email protected]).

To view the promise tracker, click here.