Updated: to clarify there is not a supermajority in the Senate.
The 2023 Nevada Legislative Session will begin on Monday, February 6 at the State Capitol in Carson, Nevada. Regular sessions of the Nevada Legislature meet every odd-numbered year starting on the first Monday of February. There are 42 members of the Nevada Assembly. The Democratic Party holds 28 seats while the Republican Party holds 14. In the State Senate, there are 21 members with 13 from the Democratic Party and 8 from the Republican Party.
The Democratic Party holds a “super majority” in the Assembly, meaning that tax or revenue-raising bills can be passed with a 2/3rds majority vote. The Legislature is made up of “citizen legislators” who leave their regular jobs, businesses, and practices to create and pass legislation. As such, Nevada residents should be very much involved in the legislative process. That can be done as a “citizen lobbyist.”
There are, of course, many professional lobbyists from all over Nevada. Businesses, unions, special interests, and more pay individual lobbyists to help persuade legislators to create and/or pass legislation that benefits their cause or entity. Citizens have just as much right and opportunity to lobby their legislators as any professional lobbyist.
In Churchill County, the citizens are represented by former County Commissioner Greg Koenig who is now Assemblyman for Assembly District 38. He can be reached by phone, email, or in person at the capitol. His state legislative website is www.leg.state.nv.us/App/Legislator/A/Assembly/Current/38.
The State Senator for this area is former Assemblywoman Robin Titus from Senate District 17. She can be contacted at her website: www.leg.state.nv.us/App/Legislator/A/Senate/Current/17.
There is a very helpful tool for knowing what bills are being considered, to see committee meetings, floor sessions and more. It is the Nevada Electronic Legislative Information System and can be accessed at www.leg.state.nv.us/App/NELIS/REL/82nd2023.
Another good site to bookmark is www.leg.state.nv.us/Session/82nd2023/. There you will find links to tracking bills yourself, a bill text search, legislator information for all members, committee information, the calendar, and much more.
To lobby your legislator, it’s as simple as making a phone call to the legislator’s office and arranging a meeting. Another tactic is to simply spend a day at the Capitol and roam the halls of the offices. Try to see your legislator and other legislators and urge them to work on, vote for, or against any bills. Utilize NELIS as a tool to find what bills are being sponsored by which legislator. Find out what committee that bill is in and when it’s scheduled for a hearing and then a vote. Emails are also a good way to lobby legislators. And of course, writing a letter to your legislator or another legislator is always a good way to express your concerns.
For those on the more “right” side of the political aisle, you can learn more by visiting www.nevadafamilies.org which is offering several citizen lobbyist workshops across the state in the upcoming weeks. For those on the more “left” side of the political aisle, you can learn more at www.aclunv.org/en/become-effective-citizen-lobbyist and scrolling through the informative information found there. Both organizations offer useful information no matter where a person falls on the political spectrum.
As the 82nd Legislative Assembly approaches, The Fallon Post will keep readers apprised of important legislation that is moving forward throughout the session.
Comment
Comments