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Details from the 2019 contribution and expenses reports, due on Jan. 15, detailed how much legislative incumbents and candidates raised over the last calendar year and painted a more hopeful picture for Republicans in several “swing” Assembly races, with a more mixed view in competitive state Senate seats.

The two political action committees — Realtor Champion PAC and Realtor Industry PAC — were each registered with the state on the same day in December and given $1 million each by the REALTORS association. It’s part of an expanded strategy by the association (already a major contributor to legislative candidates of both parties) to play a larger role in recruiting and supporting candidates in both major political parties aligned with the industry after a 2019 legislative session that association President Chris Bishop called “one of the worst legislative sessions we've been through.”

In an order issued Friday, the seven-member court granted a stay blocking implementation of Carson City District Court Judge James Russell’s order preventing the Legislative Counsel Bureau from representing individual lawmakers in a payroll tax lawsuit — filed by Republican state senators challenging a 2019 bill that removed a scheduled decrease in the state’s payroll tax rate without a two-thirds majority usually required for any change in taxes.

Democratic Assemblywoman Heidi Swank announced Wednesday that she plans to leave the Legislature at the end of her term and will not seek re-election in her Las Vegas district.

Legislative Counsel Bureau (LCB) attorney Kevin Powers last week told members of the Legislative Commission — an interim body that typically reviews and approves regulations by state agencies — that Carson City Judge James Russell’s decision in November to disqualify the legal division from representing individual legislators in a court dispute over payroll taxes could have a “significant implication” for the ability of the Legislature's nonpartisan lawyers to continue normal operations.

Today is the beginning of a new year, a new decade and also a new set of laws. More than 70 laws enacted by the Legislature last year take effect either in whole or in part today.

“Right now we have more people sitting in that queue for longer than we want, and that just comes down to affordable units that we can get folks into,” Clark County Administrator of Human Services Tim Burch said.

The ballot question would change the status quo, which is that the Legislature draws electoral maps every 10 years after the census. In Nevada, Democrats have a firm hold on the Legislature, and Democrats including Gov. Steve Sisolak have criticized the proposed policy change.

The caucus announced the endorsement of Lange on Tuesday. The development marks a significant advantage for Lange in the primary election for a safely Democratic state Senate seat sought by at least two incumbent Assembly members — Ellen Spiegel and Richard Carrillo.

During a legislative interim meeting on Friday, state lawmakers voted to proceed with an in-house, outside recruitment process for Comb’s replacement, with a meeting expected in February 2020 to select a replacement director.

Assembly Speaker Jason Frierson will return to the Clark County public defender’s office on Monday after about two and a half years in the county district attorney’s office.

The lawsuit was filed Thursday in Carson City District Court by NevadansCAN, a self-described “non-profit citizens action network” based in Henderson and led by Mary Rooney, a former Republican state Assembly candidate and a conservative activist. Attornies representing the group are Alan Lefebvre and William Schuller of the Kolesar & Leatham law firm.

According to the Nevada Judiciary’s 2019 annual report, which was released Thursday, the state’s two highest courts had 2,042 appealed cases pending at the end of the 2019 fiscal year — a slight decrease from last year’s record-high backlog of 2,201 pending cases.

Southern Nevada, a bastion of artistic attractions, remains one of the largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. without an accredited art museum.

The lawsuit argues that the proposed redistricting commission is not truly independent because legislative leaders could still appoint their preferred members to the group. While it excludes certain politically involved members — such as lawmakers or lobbyists — campaign volunteers might qualify, the plaintiff argued.

The Assembly Democratic Caucus is announcing seven endorsements on Friday, ahead of a major legislative reshuffling in 2020 as lawmakers hit their term limits or seek higher office.

Gov. Steve Sisolak, Assembly Speaker Jason Frierson and Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro did not respond to questions about whether they are open to the idea of convening lawmakers a year before their regularly scheduled 120-day session to work on the matter. But Democratic Sen. Yvanna Cancela, who has introduced legislation on the 287(g) topic in the past, called the push divisive and noted voters “rejected this brand of politics in 2018.”

Comments and suggestions submitted by the Financial Service Centers of America — a trade group for high-interest, short term lenders — caused concern by attorneys with the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada, who warned state officials during a workshop held by the state’s Department of Business and Industry to draft regulations to implement a new law (SB161) that payday lenders should not be allowed to participate once it goes into effect next year.