Mercifully, the legislative session is over — but don’t expect much reprieve from political madness on the state level.  

Same as always, this year’s session was a mess of last-minute panic, horse trading, partisan shenanigans and constant “behind the bar” tug of wars over contentious issues. It was so hectic, in fact, that even the much-anticipated bill to expand film tax credits failed to limp its way to the governor’s desk. And while all five constitutionally mandated budget bills managed to get over the finish line, the bulk of Gov. Joe Lombardo’s priorities did not. 

In a word, it was chaotic. Of course, no one should have expected anything different. 

Such frenzy in the closing days has become something of a biennial tradition in the Silver State, and it is always accompanied by a thick fog of confusion and a complete dearth of legislative transparency. 

In the final 15 minutes of this year’s session, for example, a resolution to reorganize the partisan balance of the state’s Legislative Commission caused controversy. The resolution so incensed the minority party that Sen. Ira Hansen (R-Sparks) protested on the Senate floor using a series of parliamentary motions. 

That procedural protest, however, likely cost the governor one of his priority bills.

When asked whether Hansen’s motions left the Legislature with too little time to consider the governor’s crime bill, Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro (D-Las Vegas) said simply, “Taking a lot of time to do antics on the floor makes it tough to get business done.” 

However, Cannizzaro’s criticism misses the mark in a couple of ways. To begin with, Republicans would probably describe the Democrat’s attempt to introduce the last-minute resolution as a similarly disruptive “antic.” More importantly, however, is the fact that as a member of Senate leadership, Cannizzaro is among those responsible for so many consequential issues needing to be addressed in the final minutes of the session. After all, it’s leadership that largely determines the pace of the session — the “antics” of either party notwithstanding.  

Then again, expecting proper time management skills from the Nevada Legislature is a fool’s errand.  

Indeed, as I’ve argued before, the biennial tradition of frantic last-minute legislating tends to shield lawmakers from the sort of transparency, responsibility and pragmatism otherwise expected of them — making such chaos useful for legislators dealing with contentious issues. In much the same way our federal lawmakers wait until the nation is about to fall off a “fiscal cliff” before presenting a (bloated and pork-filled) budget, state lawmakers tend to wait until sine die is imminent before madly making amendments and cramming critical bills through the legislative sausage grinder. 

Since it’s finally over, one might think we’d get a break from the incessant noise of partisan bickering on the state level — but, again, don’t count on it. 

Instead, expect at least a few more days of finger pointing to consume the social media feeds of Nevada political junkies. As the dust settles and Lombardo sifts through the avalanche of bills that just arrived at his desk, there will be plenty of chronically online party-first cheerleaders eager to tally up their scorecards and take aim at their ideological “others.”  

And those scorecards are going to come in handy, because both major party’s electoral machines are more than ready to lumber back to life now that the legislative session is over. 

Strategists, political action committees and politicians will arm themselves with new fodder from the happenings of the last 120 days, and they won’t wait long before going on the offensive. Soon, we will be mired in the arduous and nonstop tomfoolery of primary battles, campaign mailers and populist attempts to convince ordinary voters that all the woes faced by our state are the fault of the “other” party.  

It’s the cycle that never ends, and for those of us who concern ourselves with what government is up to at any given moment, it gets exhausting. 

Thankfully, however, politics don’t have to define our lives — nor should it define our state. Partisan outrage and cultural tensions might very well appear to be omnipresent in our current era, but it only truly feels that way when we allow ourselves to be consumed by our social media feeds. 

So, while politicos transition from the legislative session to the beginning of the next electoral cycle, the rest of us can (and should) take a little while to explore the nonpolitical side of life in this incredible state. Go visit some ghost town along a lonely Nevada roadway, explore the nearly infinite expanse of mountain ranges winding their way through our backyard or simply step out under the neon lights and enjoy the entertainment options that have made our state famous. 

In other words, take a break from the nonstop pattern of online outrage and enjoy what makes Nevada an incredible place to live regardless of our political dysfunction. After all, none of that dysfunction is going away — it will still be here whenever you decide to log back online.

Michael Schaus is a communications and branding expert based in Las Vegas, Nevada, and founder of Schaus Creative LLC — an agency dedicated to helping organizations, businesses and activists tell their story and motivate change. He has more than a decade of experience in public affairs commentary, having worked as a news director, columnist, political humorist, and most recently as the director of communications for a public policy think tank. Follow him on Twitter @schausmichael or on Substack @creativediscourse.