When you use your web browser and type in “leg.state.nv.us” you will be taken to the Nevada Legislature’s website. You will notice, near the top of the page, this announcement – “The 81st (2021) Session of the Nevada Legislature will begin on February, 1, 2021.” What isn’t said, because at this point we don’t know, … is how the 81st Session of the Nevada Legislature will be carried out.
Yes, the webpage for the Nevada Legislature makes the rather bold statement that the Nevada Legislature is “The People’s Branch of Government.” On the other hand, having made that statement, you will recall from the experiences of the 2020 special legislative sessions (Special Session # 31 and # 32) that they were conducted without any citizen being allowed into the Legislative Building.
Elected representatives (who wanted to attend in person) were permitted into the building. Certain staff members of the legislature were allowed in the building. Selected members of the media were permitted to be in the building. Beyond those limited qualifications, Nevada citizens were not allowed to enter the building and participate in person in the discussions of proposed legislation.
Committees of the Whole meetings would be scheduled to be broadcast on the Nevada Legislature’s YouTube feed. Frequently these meetings were scheduled to meet at 10 a.m or even sooner and then they actually would start in the evening and go into the early hours of the next morning. “Citizen participation” came in the form of being told to call a phone number and wait for the assigned time of being in favor of the legislation, opposed to the legislation or neutral. When allowed to speak, based on whether the devoted timeframe wasn’t already exceeded by others who might have been called on before you did, you would be granted two minutes to make your statement.
Will the 2021 Legislative Session be the same? Do those who are in charge of the operations of Legislative process really want for citizens to be engaged? The isolated, non-interaction with those being represented seemed to favor an agenda geared to having government be in charge without limitations…
Based on the videos that came out of one of the special sessions, when members of the Nevada Assembly as well as staff members who were necessary for the process to operate, the video on Facebook showed how busy they were piling beach footwear (“flip-flops”) in front of one of the Senator’s office and then trailed the footwear down the hall and down the stairs. Nevada citizens being allowed in the Legislative Building might have cramped the legislative process from being as meaningful as it was during those serious times.
Beyond the question of how the 81st session’s business will be conducted, there are also a few other things that will be necessary to work through. A destroyed state economy, because of the forced closures of a number of businesses, record levels of people being thrown of out work have also brought about less revenue being sent to pay for the amount of government than some believe is necessary. The gap between what government would like to spend and what is available to spend is going to require attention.
The boundaries of legislative districts (re-apportionment) is another rather significant agenda item for the 2021 Nevada Legislature. As you continue to sift through the elements to be talked about (whether citizens are allowed in the Legislative Building or limited to only a virtual experience of watching it on computer or tablet screen), there is a growing stack of legislative proposals which will be dealt with in some fashion.
From what we have been able to determine so far, water will be at a high level of priority for 2021 with many critical details that need to be worked out. Over the past several months there have been regular interactions with the Nevada Division of Water Resources and through these discussions there may at least be a better understanding, if not agreement. The willingness of the State Engineer and staff of the Division of Water Resources to engage in open discussion is a definite plus which we have appreciated being able to be part of.
On the other hand, those conversations, at least as far as we know, have not included members of the Nevada Legislature, and ultimately it comes down to working with legislators rather than just getting to have a group of stakeholders interacting with the agency representatives.
Beyond water, there are other legislative proposals of interest (several dealing with important agricultural matters) surfacing in pre-filed legislative bills and more to come as we get to the introduction process when legislators have an opportunity to make formal introductions.
There are many reasons for initiating contact with the members of the Assembly and Nevada Senate who will be representing you in the 81st Legislature, but maybe the primary reason should be to stress with them is the need for an open 2021 legislative process with meaningful ability for public engagement and full participation in the deliberations ahead.
Locking the doors to “The People’s Branch of Government” is not an acceptable approach for the 2021 Nevada Legislature. Pretending that the 31st and 32nd Special Sessions were okay, given the circumstances of how state government required that people should not interact with other people, does not constitute a legitimate work-around.
We need to be firm in the conviction that we are a government of the people and not just in the revamped fashion of mailing in election ballots.
By Doug Busselman, Executive Vice President, Nevada Farm Bureau