Officials with the Department of Business and Industry (B&I), the state agency that oversees the boards, have criticized board use of lobbyists and argued it stymied communication between agency and board leaders. 

SB78, a bill to consolidate many occupational licensing boards and increase oversight and transparency of the bodies, eked its way through the Legislature’s first committee passage deadline last week.

As it stands, only one active Amtrak line runs through Nevada, connecting Sacramento to Reno, which then goes on to connect to Winnemucca, Elko and, eventually, Salt Lake City. Las Vegas has no passenger rail service. But a new group is looking to change rail in the state as a whole, and state leaders are eyeing the possibilities as well. 

Brown’s vision for the agency matched public comments made by Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak, a skeptic of the incentive-heavy approach to economic development pioneered by his predecessor, Republican former Gov. Brian Sandoval, and who has promised major changes in the state’s approach to diversifying its economy.

Brown's appointment comes after the position was vacant and filled by an interim director for nearly seven months. The agency had paused new and pending applications from businesses for tax incentives — the corporate perk the office is perhaps best known for — and Sisolak has expressed interest in rethinking the incentives the state offers to attract companies.