Is Lombardo staying true to his no taxes pledge? A bill signing raises questions
In today’s edition:
- Assm. Heidi Kasama (R-Las Vegas) is considering running for Treasurer
- Conservative political pundit accuses Gov. Joe Lombardo of raising taxes
- State union contracts receive approval despite Lombardo opposition
From the Capital Bureau Chief:
Welcome to a special edition of Behind the Bar. So much is happening that we decided to bring this to your inbox a little early.
There’s officially one week until the end of the legislative session or, as The Boss likes to joke, the start of the special session. But what does he care? He’s heading on a three-week vacation …
Though a lot is happening in the legislative realm, the 2026 campaign season is (unfortunately) here.
Sources tell me that Assm. Heidi Kasama (R-Las Vegas) is strongly considering running for state treasurer — an open seat.
Kasama has held meetings with top political Republican officials about running, but official news is likely coming after the legislative session ends.
Last week, Republican tax analyst Drew Johnson announced his candidacy for treasurer, saying that the campaign is building on his “strong showing in Nevada’s highly competitive 3rd District in 2024,” which he lost to Rep. Susie Lee (D-NV) by 2.8 percentage points.
The state treasurer is in charge of managing state funds, college funds, maintaining state and property records, investing and other financial responsibilities. Treasurer Zach Conine, a Democrat, recently announced plans to run for attorney general.
Quick scheduling note: A lot is happening, so we’ll have an extra edition of Behind the Bar this week.
As always, please send us your questions, thoughts and suggestions. You can reach me at [email protected].
Lombardo approves tax extensions. Does it violate his pledge?
By some definitions, Gov. Joe Lombardo has abided by his promise to “never” raise taxes, but some critics suggested he might have compromised that pledge after he approved two bills extending taxes that were set to expire last week.
On Thursday, Lombardo signed SB451, which will renew an expiring 0.2 percent property tax used to fund the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, and AB530, which will allow Clark County to adjust fuel taxes to ensure transportation funding keeps pace with rising costs. Both bills passed with all Democrats and a few Republicans in support.
For context, The Nevada Supreme Court ruled in 2021 that extending a sunsetting tax is essentially the same thing as raising tax revenue — at least for purposes of triggering a requirement of constitutionally mandated two-thirds support of lawmakers.
Lombardo appeared to preempt criticism that he was raising taxes (a potentially important issue before his 2026 re-election campaign) in a press release from his office.
“SB451 is not a new tax or a tax increase,” Lombardo, who previously presided over Metro as sheriff, said in a statement. “The extension of this voter-approved measure is critical for ongoing public safety efforts in Southern Nevada.”
Lombardo said that if SB451 failed, property costs would likely have stayed the same because of pre-existing abatements. Property taxes are currently capped at 3 percent annually and at no more than 8 percent for commercial properties.
Because many of these properties are already “taxed well below the value,” Lombardo contended that discontinuing the expiring property tax would not reduce the amount of taxes that property owners actually pay, at least for most people.
Assm. Jill Dickman (R-Sparks), who voted against the bill, suggested on X that the measure should go back to a vote of the people. Her colleague Assm. Danielle Gallant (R-Las Vegas) posted her own message on Substack, saying Lombardo and other GOP lawmakers who supported the bill are being “crucified for voting in favor of this legislation because of a myopic, and frankly, juvenile understanding of the tax pledge and the current statutes.”
But economic uncertainty might have pushed Lombardo to sign the bills. In 2023, he vetoed a similar bill that would have continued fuel revenue indexing, saying that voters should be able to weigh in on the issue. Now, in 2025, he called both measures essential to maintaining funding.
Lombardo said in a statement that he is exploring introducing a statutory amendment to require all expiring taxes to automatically go back to the ballot before the sunset expires. This, he said, would “return the vote to the people,” rather than leaving it up to politicians.
— Isabella Aldrete
Doubts cast over Lombardo’s economic development bill
Legislators expressed doubts last week about a sweeping economic development proposal from Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo that would give out $12 million in tax credits to child care facilities and provide abatements to high-tech businesses.
SB461 is estimated to cost upwards of $100 million over the next two-year budget cycle and arrives as the state faces economic headwinds. Legislators took issue with nearly every part of the bill.
“Can you explain a little bit more how this assists everyday Nevadans and not only in attracting the job creators, but the people that are here now and the businesses that are already here now that are not getting the tax incentive?” Sen. John Steinbeck (R-Las Vegas) asked during a hearing in the Senate Committee on Revenue and Economic Development hearing on Thursday.
More on the hearing below:
- Tax abatements:
- The bill would carve out tax abatements to clean energy businesses, aerospace or defense technology companies, and health care technology groups and manufacturing businesses, such as those related to electric batteries and robotics.
- Deductions would be capped at 60 percent of taxes owed in a single year, and could not exceed 90 percent when combined with other abatements.
- Dorian Stonebarger, deputy director of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED), said that they anticipate the tax abatements will incentivize about 23 companies, but didn’t elaborate from what industries or the extent of their operations.
- Legislators expressed doubts about the economic benefits of the bill and contended that the way that the abatements were structured could incentivize bad actors.
- “It appears you can stack them and then also have another abatement where you're not paying,” Sen. Dina Neal (D- North Las Vegas) said.
- Stonebarger said that companies will be eligible for expansion abatements if they meet certain investment criteria.
- The bill would carve out tax abatements to clean energy businesses, aerospace or defense technology companies, and health care technology groups and manufacturing businesses, such as those related to electric batteries and robotics.
- Child tax credit:
- The bill would allocate $12 million in annual transferable tax credits for the creation or expansion of child care facilities.
- GOED said it would bring 10,000 mothers back into the workforce.
- The bill would allocate $12 million in annual transferable tax credits for the creation or expansion of child care facilities.
- Diversity Requirement: Lombardo’s bill would eliminate a requirement for businesses to have a diversity plan for certain grants from GOED.
- GOED Director of Strategy and Public Policy Stephen Wood said that part of the reason the workforce diversity plans were scrapped was because of federal policy changes.
- Many of GOED’s grants, Wood said, are partially federally funded.
- Wood further contended that the language scrapping diversity wasn't included in the original bill, but the LCB drafted it that way.
- Community Infrastructure Program: The original version of Lombardo’s bill also left out a $25 million appropriation towards the Community Infrastructure Grant Program, dedicated to rural housing initiatives and infrastructure projects ranging from a wastewater treatment facility to utility projects. A proposed amendment would restore that funding.
— Isabella Aldrete
What we’re reading and writing
Massive Nevada film tax credit expansion moving forward with new earmarks for pre-K by Isabella Aldrete and Eric Neugeboren
Will this be enough to get a film tax credit expansion measure across the finish line?
Meet the 7 people who keep Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo in the know on legislation by Eric Neugeboren and Tabitha Mueller
A peek behind the curtain.
2025 Lombardo Veto Tracker: Bipartisan ballot drop box bill rejected by Isabella Aldrete and Tabitha Mueller
What’s the over-under on the number of vetoes this session?
State worker union contracts approved, despite Lombardo voting no
Several Nevada worker union contracts ( including raises) are one step closer to taking effect even though Gov. Joe Lombardo voted against many of them on Friday, citing the state’s budget situation and raises provided two years ago.
Lombardo, a Republican, voted against approving six of the eight contracts, including those negotiated by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Nevada Police Union and Fraternal Order of Police, all of which would include a 3 percent pay raise for each year of the two-year contract.
In a statement, Latasha Hill-Burrell, an AFSCME member, commended the board’s approval and said the “raises are the bare minimum to keep up with rising costs of living in this state and are critical to treating state workers with the dignity and respect that we deserve for the work we do."
But the contacts will still move forward to the Legislature — which must decide on funding the raises in the final week of the legislative session — after Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar and Attorney General Aaron Ford, both Democrats, voted to approve them.
Here’s what else to know.
- The contracts were voted on during Friday’s meeting of the Nevada Board of Examiners, a panel composed of the governor, attorney general and secretary of state. The body must approve contracts recently approved by a third-party arbitrator before passing them to the Legislature.
- Lombardo said he voted in opposition because of the state’s economic outlook and the Legislature’s approval of the largest pay raises in decades for state workers two years ago.
- “In some of the arbitrator awards, there was a narrative that the state can reduce services in order to accommodate collective bargaining agreements,” Lombardo said. “I am in absolute conflict with that statement.”
- The total cost of the contracts approved Friday was about $320 million across the next two-year budget cycle. One more contract, worth more than $120,000, is set for approval during the board’s meeting next week.
- In a statement, Nevada Police Union President Dan Gordon did not mention Lombardo’s no vote, but said it is "working with the legislative leaders to help figure out ways to get our contracts funded.”
- Nothing new: It’s the second straight time that Lombardo has voted against state worker union contracts after doing so in 2023.
— Eric Neugeboren
Keeping Tabs
🌭Cities move to implement street vending policies — Clark County passed a measure on Tuesday so vendors only need one license to operate in cities within the county, such as Las Vegas and Henderson. The move comes after the death of AB180, sponsored by Assm. Reuben D’Silva (D-North Las Vegas), which sought to streamline the licensing process but faced pushback from jurisdictions throughout Southern Nevada.
— Isabella Aldrete
Looking Ahead
- Tuesday, May 27, at 5 p.m.: The legislative press corps is performing its Third House show satirizing the Legislature — a tradition that dates back to Mark Twain.
Days until:
- Sine die: 8
And to get you going into the week, a few social media posts that caught our eye:
- Instagram: There’s a world outside the Legislature.
- Instagram: Truly a historic moment.
- Bsky: Just bad news all around.
We’ll see you later this week.
Updated on 5/26/25 at 1:37 p.m. to include a statement from AFSCME.