Lawsuit challenges Legislature’s ban on dual lobbyist, press accreditation
In today’s edition:
- Legal challenge to legislative rule that press cannot register as lobbyists
- Protecting communities from debt burdens
- Turnover in state’s central payroll team
From the Capital Bureau Chief:
In response to Gov. Joe Lombardo saying at IndyTalks that there’s been minimal communication between his office and the Legislature, Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager (D-Las Vegas) said during a press availability Thursday that he had a “productive” hourlong meeting with Lombardo Chief of Staff Ryan Cherry on Monday.
- He said they discussed housing as a shared priority, addressing potential federal Medicaid cuts, the need to work together, various bills making their way through the legislative process and Lombardo’s five priority bills.
If the House GOP moves forward on a plan to strip away enhanced federal matching funds for the state’s Medicaid expansion population, Yeager said he doesn’t think there’s money in the state budget to ensure that population is still covered. The health care policy organization KFF indicates that Nevada’s Medicaid expansion population includes about 368,000 individuals.
“We’d have to pull funding from education. We’d have to pull funding from every other state agency. We don't have a printing press in the basement where we can print money,” Yeager said. “I think we would be in a very untenable situation of having to cut services, and I don't know how we would do that.”
We’re also wishing a speedy recovery to Sen. Dina Neal (D-North Las Vegas) and best wishes to her family. We look forward to seeing her in the halls of the Legislature but hope she takes the time needed to recover.
As always, please send us your questions and suggestions. You can reach me at [email protected]. See you next Tuesday!
Can press register as lobbyists?
Reporters covering the Legislature received a curious email from the Legislative Counsel Bureau (LCB) on Feb. 4 informing them that based on the passage of Assembly Concurrent Resolution 1, they needed to register as a journalist with the LCB in order to “be granted the privilege of accessing areas designated for such persons on the floor or in the chambers of the Senate or Assembly.”
The registration process isn’t new — but codifying the previous rules on the accreditation of journalists at the Legislature is. Why?
The answer appears to stem from a federal lawsuit filed by unsuccessful Assembly candidate and businessman Drew Ribar, who last Friday sought a court order to force the Legislature to allow him to register as both a lobbyist and press corps member. The rules adopted in ACR1 prohibit a person from being accredited as a reporter if they apply to become a lobbyist or engage in lobbying activities.
Here’s what we know about the lawsuit and Ribar:
- Ribar, who describes himself as a “staunch conservative,” unsuccessfully ran against Assm. P.K. O’Neill (R-Carson City) in a GOP primary. He was also temporarily suspended from Washoe County libraries after being accused of disrespectful conduct and harassment of library staff at drag queen story hour protests.
- Ribar told The Nevada Independent he’s bringing the lawsuit because the denial of press credentials prevents him from covering the legislative session and hinders his lobbying efforts, thereby silencing his free speech.
- “Historical precedent is obviously there,” Ribar said when asked if he thinks it’s not a conflict of interest to be a member of the press and a lobbyist. “If you’re lobbying and pushing a bill and you’re recording and documenting what you’re doing, and then putting it out there for the public to see so the public can judge you, how could there be a conflict of interest?”
- Emails shared by Ribar show the general counsel for the Nevada Legislative Counsel Bureau’s (LCB) legal division, Kevin Powers, writing that under the state’s Lobbying Act, Ribar cannot register as an unpaid lobbyist and obtain media credentials.
- Powers declined to comment on the litigation, but a letter from LCB Legal to Ribar outlines the reasons for not issuing credentials for both positions.
- It would be “unreasonable and absurd,” the letter says, for a person to be both a registered lobbyist and exempt from its provisions as an employee for a news medium.
— Tabitha Mueller
What we’re reading and writing
Nevada state Sen. Dina Neal recovering after undergoing emergency heart surgery by Eric Neugeboren
The longtime North Las Vegas legislator is spending time with family as she recovers.
Congressional GOP’s proposed Medicaid cut could cost Nevada $1.9 billion by Tabitha Mueller
One analysis shows that if the federal match for the expansion is stripped and the state can’t meet the gap, more than 300,000 people could be booted from Medicaid.
New bill seeks to protect more wages from debt collection
After her wages were seized by collectors, a 59-year old client of the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada was evicted from her home and died shortly after a stage-four cancer diagnosis.
This case wasn’t singular, representatives from the Legal Aid Center told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday during testimony in favor of a new bill (SB142) from Sen. Fabian Doñate (D-Las Vegas) that would raise the amount of wages protected from garnishment from about $400 to $850. Wage garnishment is the court order requiring an employer to send a percentage of a person’s wages to pay creditors such as for child support, alimony or unpaid bills.
As inflation rises and Nevada faces an affordable housing crisis, proponents say the bill could prove to be a crucial protection for working class people.
Here’s some more info:
- Nevada has three formulas for determining garnishment with the lowest amount used to determine the maximum weekly wage garnishment.
- The bill would fully exempt $850 in weekly disposable income from garnishment
- Larger weekly income totals would have a higher exemption percentage than what is currently in state law.
- Monetary exemption amounts would be adjusted based on the Consumer Price Index every three years.
- Currently, Nevada has the third highest debt collection in the states and, as of 2021, nearly 40 percent of civil filings in the state were for debt collection.
- At the national level, in areas where data is available, more than 70 percent of these lawsuits end in default judgments for the plaintiff, meaning that they are rarely heard in court.
- Nevada lawmakers did pass a bill last session requiring debt collectors to provide letters detailing a breakdown of outstanding balance upon request, but Lombardo vetoed the bill in spite of bipartisan support.
- A representative for the Nevada Credit Union League, which has some 400,000 members, said that Doñate’s 2025 bill could reduce the capital the union had to lend out.
- During the hearing, Doñate said that he is working on an amendment to the bill and will work with “all stakeholders.”
— Isabella Aldrete
Keeping Tabs
🔃 Turnover in state’s central payroll team — The Division of Human Resources’ Central Payroll team, which process biweekly payroll for almost all executive and judicial branch employees, has experienced significant turnover in the past several months. There were six departures from September through January on the team, which is authorized to have 12 positions, according to records provided by the Department of Administration. Since Lombardo entered office two years ago, there have been 15 departures from the office.
- Context: The state has experienced payroll issues in recent weeks, including dozens of rejected timesheets, which state officials said will likely continue until a new human resources system goes live this summer.
🩺 Ex-Senate candidate named lobbyist for cancer advocacy group — Jennifer Atlas, the Democratic candidate last year for Senate District 5, was named the Nevada government regulations director for the advocacy arm of the American Cancer Society. In the 2023 session, Atlas lobbied on behalf of dozens of clients, including the Oakland Athletics Investment Group and Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce.
🏋️ Two lobbyists represent WWE — World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) has two paid lobbyists in Carson City this session: Bill Gregory and Lesley Pittman. Last year, the group merged with the Dana White-led UFC, which is also being represented by the two WWE lobbyists. WrestleMania is being held in Las Vegas this year.
🗳️ Hearing held on fake electors bill — Sen. Skip Daly (D-Reno) on Tuesday presented two election-related bills, including his renewed effort to criminalize so-called fake elector schemes in Nevada. Read our thread here on the hearing.
☀️Addressing heat waves — State lawmakers are considering a measure to require Clark and Washoe counties to add heat mitigation efforts into their master plans. Those efforts could include access to public cooling spaces, drinking water and shade.
- To learn more, check out KNPR’s Paul Boger’s story breaking down the bill.
— Eric Neugeboren and Tabitha Mueller
Looking Ahead
- Wednesday, Feb. 26, 4 p.m.: State lawmakers are holding a joint Health and Human Services meeting to discuss the effects of proposed federal Medicaid cuts as outlined by state officials.
Days until:
- Last day for bill introductions: 31
- First house passage deadline: 60
- Sine die: 101
And to ease you into the weekend, a few social media posts that caught our eye:
- BSky: An unpaid endorsement by Speaker Steve Yeager (D-Las Vegas) is always nice to see.
- X: There’s a Nguyen-ing Wendesday video series from Assm. Duy Nguyen (D-Las Vegas).
- X: Stay safe out there.
- X: Lastly, a happy belated Valentine’s
We’ll see you next week.