After winning re-election in 2020, Assefa resigned the following January — just weeks before the start of the 2021 legislative session — alleging he was "mistaken" about the state's residency requirements to run for legislative office.

Now, more than a year later, Assefa will be given the opportunity to counter those claims in court, after pleading not guilty on Thursday to charges stemming from his alleged theft of thousands of dollars from his campaign and repeated lies about his residency on government forms.

Following the indictment, Assefa is set to be arraigned in Clark County District Court on April 14.

Democrats controlled both houses of the Legislature during the 2021 session, and hundreds of high-profile Democratic measures sailed through the Assembly and Senate while a vast majority of Republican-backed measures failed to make much headway in the legislative process.

Amid a pandemic year that stalled the Las Vegas economy and severely tested the bottom lines of businesses small and large, chambers of commerce and other business interests gave 61 of 63 Nevada lawmakers more than $840,000 in the 2020 election cycle.

In this edition: Is this the session lawmakers find a funding solution for the Millennium Scholarship? (No). Plus, it's another deadline day, the future of Read by 3, building trades back Innovation Zones, major changes to a mental health hotline bill for first responders and details on an affordable housing campaign backed by the home builders.

Of more than $10.6 million spent on Nevada legislative races in the 2020 cycle, no single group of donors, corporate or otherwise, spent more money than candidates, politicians and political PACs, which combined for more than $1.7 million spread across 61 of the state's 63 lawmakers.

The charges, made Wednesday in Las Vegas Justice Court by the attorney general's office, formalize allegations of theft and false residency statements made by Assefa — an Ethiopian-born immigrant who resigned from the Legislature in January, citing a "mistaken" understanding of residency requirements for holding legislative office.

Even amid a crushing global pandemic and the worst economic crisis to hit the state since the Great Recession, more than $10.6 million in big-money campaign contributions flowed to 61 Nevada lawmakers through the two-year 2020 campaign cycle. Of that money, nearly half — roughly $5.1 million — came from just five industries

Pursuing elected office was never in her plans. She wanted to continue being an advocate, until her Assembly representative, Alexander Assefa, resigned in January amid an investigation about whether he actually lived in the district.

The commission unanimously appointed Doñate during its meeting on Tuesday to take over the vacant state Senate seat for District 10, after the Senate Democratic Caucus recommended him for the position. He replaces Yvanna Cancela, who was elected to a four-year term in 2018 but resigned in early January to take a position in the Biden administration.

Six people have applied to fill a Las Vegas area Assembly seat left vacant when Democrat Alexander Assefa resigned his post amid a criminal investigation.

With just one week to go before the start of the 2021 legislative session, a Nevada Independent analysis of campaign finance reports filed with the secretary of state show the state's 61 sitting lawmakers raised more than $10.6 million in big-money donations (those greater than $200) in the 2019-2020 campaign cycle.

Alexander Assefa, who was re-elected to a second term in November, submitted his resignation to Gov. Steve Sisolak on Tuesday citing a "mistaken" understanding of residency requirements for holding legislative office.

Joe Biden maintains a narrow lead in Nevada over President Donald Trump, but the state's six electoral votes and the results of many other major congressional, statewide and local races remain up in the air after initial returns on Election Night.

The Esperanza Fund will provide financial relief for Nevada's struggling immigrant communities after they were left out of earlier federal economic stimulus aid packages because of their immigration status.

Candidates must appear in person, pay a filing fee, show identification and sign paperwork to complete the transaction. For seats within a single county, candidates file at that county clerk's office; for multi-county seats, they file with the Nevada Secretary of State.

Trump said his executive order in September was to ensure that only communities that are eager and equipped to welcome refugees, and can usher them toward self-sufficiency, receive refugees.

Good morning, and welcome to Indy 2020, a biweekly newsletter focused on the 2020 presidential election in Nevada. A reminder: Email subscribers get early access to this newsletter — and all the gifs contained therein — so be sure to subscribe here and tell your friends. It'll be peachy.