Nevada News Bureau

Broader Measure Of Unemployment Shows Some Improvement In Nevada Through December

Sean Whaley — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:19:03 +0000

CARSON CITY – A broader measure of Nevada’s unemployment picture, including those who have given up looking for work, showed some improvement through the end of 2011, a federal report released this week shows.

The rate in Nevada dropped to 22.7 percent in the 12 months through Dec. 31, down from 23.3 percent in the 12 months through Sept. 30, 2011.

The quarterly report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in part reflects improvement in the state’s official unemployment rate, which declined in both November and December when it hit 12.6 percent.

The national rate for the broader measure of unemployment in the 2011 calendar year was 15.9 percent. The only other state over 20 percent in 2011 was California, with a rate of 21.1 percent.

The report shows a state-by-state unemployment measure that encompasses discouraged workers and those who are working part time even though they would like full-time employment. When these individuals are counted, the unemployment rate is much higher than the official rate released each month nationally and by the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation.

Bankrupt computer store. / Photograph © Andrew Dunn via Wikimedia Commons.

Nevada leads the nation both in the official unemployment rate and this broader measure of joblessness.

Jered McDonald, an economist with the state Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation, said Nevada still has a significant number of discouraged workers who have given up looking for employment.

“It’s going to be, probably, another couple of years or so before that falls into the teens at the rate we’re going,” he said. “So this is a long-term deal. We’re coming out of this recession probably slower than we have any other recession and it’s just going to take some time.”

When the economy does pick up, the gap between the two measures should narrow, McDonald said. During the last economic expansion, the two numbers were within a few percentage points of each other, he said.

The Alternative Measures of Labor Underutilization for States shows six different jobless rates using different measures. The broadest definition, U-6, includes discouraged workers, defined as people who want work but who had not searched for work in the previous four weeks because they believed no jobs were available to them. It also includes “marginally attached” workers, defined as those who had not looked for work in the previous four weeks for any reason.

Finally the measure includes those employed part-time for economic reasons, defined as those working less than 35 hours per week who want to work full time, are available to do so, and gave an economic reason – their hours had been cut back or they were unable to find a full-time job – for working part time. These individuals are sometimes referred to as involuntary part-time workers.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics notes that this broader definition of unemployment is based on relatively small sample sizes at the state level.

Audio clips:

Jered McDonald, an economist with the state Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation, says it will take a couple of more years for the rate to fall into the teens:

020312McDonald1 :16 take some time.”

McDonald says when the economy picks up the gap between the official rate and the broader rate should narrow:

020312McDonald2 :32 to that point.”

National Republican Party Officials Say Obama Vulnerable In Nevada Because Of Tough Economy

Sean Whaley — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:25:55 +0000

CARSON CITY – A national Republican official said today Nevada’s economic landscape has changed dramatically since the state went for President Obama in 2008, and increasing GOP voter registrations in the battleground state are evidence of dissatisfaction with his administration.

Rick Wiley, political director for the Republican National Committee, said in a telephone conference call that Nevada has the highest jobless rate in the nation and has suffered through 60 months of the highest foreclosure rate in the nation.

2008 presidential election by county. / Image courtesy of Robert Horning via Wikimedia Commons.

While Nevada’s economic woes didn’t start with the Obama Administration, the president has said his performance on the economy should be evaluated by voters when considering his bid for a second term, Wiley said.

The comments come the day before as many as 60,000 Nevada Republicans are expected to participate in the state’s First in the West GOP caucus. The four Republican candidates have made numerous appearances across the state in the past few days.

Nevada’s jobless rate has started to improve, however, and declined to 12.6 percent in December. The national unemployment rate for January announced today also declined, to 8.3 percent from 8.5 percent in December.

Nevada was one of nine “battleground” states that went for Obama in 2008 that President Bush had won in 2004.

But Wiley said 53 percent of independent voters in Nevada in a recent poll said they disapprove of his performance, and 17 percent of Democrats feel the same way.

The voter registration numbers are reflecting this disillusionment, he said.

“For months now the Republicans have been gaining on the Democrats there,” Wiley said. “We had an advantage of about 3,200 in the month of January and we continue to make gains to catch the Democrats.

“They had a huge margin after the 2008 Democratic caucus where they invoked some same-day registration,” he said. “And we’ve narrowed that gap down to about 47,000 now which just proves the point that Republicans are getting very enthused about not only voting against Obama but voting and supporting our eventual nominee.”

The Nevada State Democratic Party dismissed the Republican voter registration gains in January. The January numbers were released Thursday by Secretary of State Ross Miller.

“With their voter registration efforts at full throttle in anticipation of their competitive caucus, the Nevada Republicans were only able to register less than 4,500 new voters during the entire month of January – barely making a dent in the nearly 50,000 Democratic voter registration advantage in the state,” said Senior Communications Adviser Zac Petkanas.

“When Nevada Democrats held a similar competitive caucus in 2008, we registered 30,000 new voters in one day alone,” he said. “There’s a word for Republicans bragging to cover up an embarrassing month in voter registration: pathetic.”

RNC Hispanic Outreach Director Bettina Inclán said during the conference call that a majority of Latinos believe the economic downturn has hit them hardest.

“It is especially true for Latinos in Nevada,” she said. “They are facing an unemployment rate of 18.6 percent in the state and 10.5 percent nationally and they are ready to change the direction in Washington.”

Inclán said there are about 224,000 eligible Hispanic voters in Nevada, about 14 percent of the total.

Audio clips:

Rick Wiley, political director for the Republican National Committee, says Republicans are gaining on Democrats in voter registration:

020312Wiley1 :13 catch the Democrats.”

Wiley says the huge margin after the 2008 Democratic caucus is closing:

020212Wiley2 :21 our eventual nominee.”

RNC Hispanic Outreach Director Bettina Inclán says Latinos are ready for a change in Washington:

020212Inclan :16 direction in Washington.”

Republican Presidential Candidates Make Their Pitch In Reno As Saturday Caucus Nears

Sean Whaley — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 07:36:35 +0000

RENO – From a cheering crowd of several hundred at a brief but energetic Mitt Romney rally to a more subdued event for Rick Santorum hosted by the Republican Jewish Coalition to another well-attended rally for Ron Paul, it was a trifecta of presidential candidates in Reno ahead of the Saturday GOP caucus.

Romney got the balling rolling at the Grove, with an estimated 800 supporters packed inside and standing outside the event center in South Reno. Romney spoke briefly to those standing outside before giving a short but enthusiastic speech to those crowded inside.

Mitt Romney speaks at a rally today in Reno. / Photo: Nevada News Bureau.

Santorum spoke to about 250 people attending an event at the Atlantis hosted by the Republican Jewish Coalition. He focused much of his time on the threat from Iran both to Israel and the world.

Paul’s rally at the Grand Sierra Resort attracted more than 1,000 enthusiastic supporters. Paul touched on a number of concerns, including his desire to see the repeal of the Patriot Act, saying American civil liberties have been eroded since 9-11.

All three candidates are vying for support in the First in the West caucus, a binding vote that will ultimately produce delegates to the Republican National Convention. The fourth contender, Newt Gingrich, spoke in Reno on Wednesday.

Hearing all three candidates speak displayed distinct differences on such issues as foreign policy. Romney called for a stronger military, one so strong that it would neutralize the country’s enemies. Santorum focused on the need to deal with Iran and its development of nuclear weapons. Paul said the U.S. foreign policy of intervention around the world has been a failure.

Romney focuses on Obama

Romney spent the first few minutes of his 18-minute speech criticizing President Obama’s failure to restore the economy, acting like the front-runner he is in Nevada’s First in the West caucus. He did not mention any of the other GOP contenders in his remarks.

The rest of the speech was more to rally the troops to turn out at the caucus to lock in a victory and ensure continued momentum in his quest to win the Republican nomination.

Romney, expected to win the Nevada caucus based on poll results, went on the attack on Obama for the high unemployment rate, reduced median income and high rate of foreclosures.

“And the people in this country are really suffering, in part because of the extraordinary failures of this president,” he said. “This presidency has not worked. And these are not just numbers and statistics. These are real people.”

Romney also focused on his leadership abilities, saying Obama has not been a leader.

“And this president we elected to lead, he chose to follow, and now it is time for him to get out of the way,” he said.

Romney cited his successful business experience, his work in bringing the Olympics to Salt Lake City, and his successes as governor of Massachusetts even while having to deal with a majority of Democrats.

“This election is not just about replacing a president,” he said. “This is also an election about setting a course for America. Because this president and the people with him have a very different view about where America should go than I have, and I believe that you have.

“First of all, he would take us towards a greater and greater level of debt,” Romney said. “He is willing to spend a trillion dollars more a year than we take in, every year.”

Obama is taking the country down the same path to economic disaster as Greece, Italy and Spain, he said.

Romney said he will cut the federal budget’s share of the economy from 25 percent to 20 percent and restore fiscal sanity.

He also criticized Obama for his energy policy’s reliance on alternative energy, and his foreign policy, calling his actions regarding Afghanistan naive.

Santorum talks about the threat from Iran

Santorum earned a lot of applause for his comments regarding the relationship between the U.S. and Israel. He too focused on the need to defeat Obama, citing the president’s reluctance to impose sanctions against Iran for its development of a nuclear weapon.

Rick Santorum speaks at a Reno event today ahead of the Saturday GOP caucus. / Photo: Nevada News Bureau.

“This is the quintessential threat not just to Israel, but is the quintessential threat to the world,” he said. “We need a president who will step forward and define the enemy as to who they are.”

Obama’s approach has been one of appeasement, Santorum said.

“We need to stand firm, define the enemy, and do what we did with the Soviet Union,” he said. “Stand up and define evil as the evil they are.”

Paul talks about civil liberties and personal responsibility

Paul took his message of less government and more personal responsibility to an enthusiastic crowd of supporters.

He said of Nevada: “This is a great state because guess what, there are a lot of people here who really like freedom.”

“In the last hundred years I would say we’ve gone in the wrong directions, we’ve gradually have had our freedoms eroded,” Paul said. “We’ve adopted a foreign policy, really, more recently in the last several decades, of a policy that has given us nothing but grief.

GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul speaks at a rally today in Reno. / Photo: Nevada News Bureau.

“And that is a policy of military intervention in other countries for not very many good reasons at all,” he said. “And I think we need to change our foreign policy and bring our troops home.”

Paul said the country would be stronger with less intervention around the world.

“This idea that the more money you spend in militarism the safer we’ll be is a failed policy; it is a myth,” he said.

Paul also said Congress should abolish the Transportation Security Administration, created after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The effect of this intense round of Nevada appearances by the four remaining GOP candidates should become clear late Saturday.

Audio clips:

Mitt Romney says Americans are suffering due to Obama’s failures:

020212Romney1 :32 are real people.”

Romney says the election is about setting a course for America:

020212Romney2 :33 year, every year.”

Rich Santorum says Iran is a threat to Israel and the world:

020212Santorum1 :26 who they are.”

Santorum says the U.S. needs to stand up to Iran like it did to the Soviet Union:

020212Santorum2 :23 of the world.”

Ron Paul says the U.S. has seen its freedoms eroded:

020212Paul1 :27 our troops home.”

Paul says U.S. militarism is a failed policy:

020212Paul2 :32 that is wrong.”

Rove Predicts GOP Control Of Congress In 2012 General Election, Says Presidential Race Outcome Uncertain

Sean Whaley — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:56:01 +0000

RENO – Former Sparks resident and George W. Bush presidential adviser Karl Rove predicted today the both houses of Congress will go Republican in the November general election, but said the presidential election is up in the air even with President Barack Obama’s low approval ratings.

Rove, speaking at the Reno-Sparks Chamber of Commerce event Directions 2012, predicted that the U.S. Senate will see Republican control with a minimum of 52 seats, but possibly as many as 54.

Karl Rove, former senior adviser to President George W. Bush, speaks at a Reno chamber event today. / Photo: Nevada News Bureau.

Republicans could lose a handful of House seats but will maintain control, he said.

No president has won re-election with poll numbers as low as President Obama has now, but he is a tough competitor with $1 billion to spend, Rove said.

“It’s going to be difficult,” he said, predicting that the U.S. will see “the nastiest, ugliest general election campaign we’ve seen in our lifetime.”

The Obama campaign team will put the Republican candidate on trial and prosecute tough and hard, and with $1 billion in the bank, as often as they can, Rove said.

Winning 51 Senate seats is important if Republicans win the White House as well, because it will mean the immediate repeal of the federal health care law, he said. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act passed in the Senate using a process called reconciliation, which requires only 51 votes to reverse, Rove said.

In his comments to several hundred attendees at the event, Rove noted that the federal Health Care Law is the only major piece of social legislation since polling began in the 1930s that is less popular after it was passed.

“Why?” Rove asked. “Because every single promise made about it is turning out not to be true.”

He declined to pick a winner of the Republican presidential nomination, although he said, Mitt “Romney looks like he could be the guy.”

“You have a big role to play in that,” Rove said of Nevada GOP voters.

Nevada’s Republican presidential caucus, the first in the west, is Saturday. The four remaining contenders for the nomination are visiting Nevada to make their case with GOP voters. Romney is the favorite to win.

Rove, who lived in Sparks from age 9 to 15, served as senior adviser to Bush from 2000 to 2007 and deputy chief of staff from 2004 to 2007. At the White House, he oversaw the Offices of Strategic Initiatives, Political Affairs, Public Liaison and Intergovernmental Affairs and was deputy chief of staff for policy, coordinating the White House policy-making process.

Before Rove became known as “The Architect” of President Bush’s 2000 and 2004 campaigns, he was president of Karl Rove + Company, an Austin-based public affairs firm that worked for Republican candidates, non-partisan causes and non-profit groups. His clients included over 75 Republican U.S. Senate, Congressional, and gubernatorial candidates in 24 states. He writes a weekly op-ed for the Wall Street Journal.

Controversy Over State Use Of Outside Legal Counsel Expands To Robo-Signing Lawsuit

Sean Whaley — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:49:18 +0000

CARSON CITY – When state Sen. Greg Brower asked the Attorney General’s office earlier this month about the $6 million in outside legal costs incurred so far in defending the state in a freeway construction dispute, he said his motives were purely fiscal in nature.

“We just don’t have money to waste,” said Brower, R-Reno. “At least this particular situation seems to suggest that maybe we are. Maybe there are good answers to all of these questions I raised in my letter but there is only one way to find out and that is to ask them.”

State Sen. Greg Brower, R-Reno. / Nevada News Bureau file photo.

But the use of outside counsel is being questioned in another case where Brower’s law firm, Snell & Wilmer, is representing a company being sued by Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto, who is also using the services of a private law firm.

The lawsuit was filed on Dec. 16, 2011 in Clark County District Court against Lender Processing Services Inc. (LPS) alleging deceptive practices against Nevada consumers related to the default servicing of residential mortgages in Nevada, specifically loans in foreclosure.

“The robo-signing crisis in Nevada has been fueled by two main problems: Chaos and speed,” Masto said in announcing the filing of the lawsuit in December. “We will protect the integrity of the foreclosure process. This lawsuit is the next, logical step in holding the key players in the foreclosure fraud crisis accountable.”

Masto obtained approval from the state Board of Examiners and the Legislature’s Interim Finance Committee in 2009 to hire the law firm of Cohen, Milstein, Sellers & Toll to investigate and prosecute mortgage lending cases, including the current case against LPS. The firm works on a contingency basis, not getting paid unless the firm obtains settlements or court judgments.

Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto. / Nevada News Bureau file photo.

In a statement in response to the lawsuit issued in December, LPS said the use of the Washington, DC law firm is apparently a violation of Nevada law.

“Unfortunately, the company’s efforts to engage in meaningful discussions with the Nevada Attorney General’s office have been frustrated by the Nevada Attorney General’s decision to outsource its investigation to Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC, a plaintiff’s law firm located in Washington, DC in apparent violation of Nevada law,” the company said in a statement. “The complaint highlights misconceptions about LPS and seeks to sensationalize a variety of false allegations in a misleading manner.”

The firm on Tuesday filed a motion to dismiss the civil complaint.

In an interview Friday, Brower called the two legal matters “apples and oranges.”

Brower said the questions in his Jan. 12 letter to Masto asking about the use of the Washington, DC, firm of Watt, Tieder, Hoffar & Fitzgerald to handle the case filed by Ames Construction against the Nevada Department of Transportation over construction of the first phase of the Carson City bypass are strictly related to the $6 million in legal costs incurred by the state in the matter, which remains unresolved. He also asked why the state hired an out-of-state firm, and whether the Attorney General’s office could have handled the matter itself.

Gov. Brian Sandoval also raised concerns about the legal costs at a January meeting of the Board of Directors of the Transportation Department. So did board member Tom Fransway.

In the LPS dispute, Brower said he arranged a meeting between the Attorney General’s office and the company last year to discuss the matters of concern before the lawsuit was filed, but Brower said he will not be representing LPS in the dispute going forward.

The state has frequently employed outside legal firms for various matters over the years, including the successful pursuit of a settlement agreement by Nevada and other states against the nation’s big tobacco companies in the 1990s. Since the settlement was reached in 1998 under then-Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa, Nevada has collected $505 million for a variety of programs through 2011.

The state Agency for Nuclear Projects has also employed the Washington, DC, law firm of Egan, Fitzpatrick, Malsch & Lawrence since 2001 to represent it in its ongoing dispute over construction of the nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain. The contract was also approved while Del Papa was attorney general and the late Kenny Guinn was governor. Payments through 2012, including expert witnesses, are expected to total $33.4 million, most of which is federal funds.

State Sen. Ben Kieckhefer, R-Reno, said he also has questions about the legality of using Cohen, Milstein, Sellers & Toll to sue on behalf of the state, and has asked Masto in a letter to respond to his concerns. He first raised questions at a meeting of the Legislature’s Interim Finance Committee in December.

The statute is clear that the Attorney General’s office has the authority to hire outside counsel to defend the state or in the case of a conflict of interest, he said.

“But to hire counsel to then go out and prosecute or go after other private entities doesn’t seem legal within our current statutory framework,” Kieckhefer said.

Kieckhefer said he also asked for more information on the use of a contingency fee for the contract.

“When you’re trying to execute justice, you’re suddenly putting a monetary incentive into the execution of justice, and that seems inherently problematic to me so I’ve asked for a little bit more information on that as well,” he said.

There is a difference in the two contracts. The firm representing NDOT is being paid an hourly rate. The state Transportation Board approved an additional payment amount to get the case to an arbitration hearing next month. The legal costs including the new amount will total $6 million.

The contract with Cohen, Milstein is a contingency agreement, meaning Nevada will not have to pay unless the firm is successful against LPS. The firm is eligible to receive up to 15 percent of any settlement.

In yet another wrinkle in the use of outside legal counsel, Brower’s firm was also employed by the Department of Transportation in a construction dispute similar to the one he has raised questions about. Snell & Wilmer was paid nearly $2.9 million to represent the agency in a dispute that was settled with the firm Parsons Brinckerhoff in Feb. 2011.

The litigation involved the design and construction of the Interstate 515/215 interchange in Henderson.

Audio clips:

Sen. Greg Brower last week expressed concerns about the legal fees associated with an NDOT contract dispute:

020212Brower :31 to ask them.”

Sen. Ben Kieckhefer questions if the Attorney General has the legal authority hire a private law firm to sue a private business:

020212Kieckhefer1 :31 current statutory framework.”

Kieckhefer says he also has concerns with the use of contingency fees in such legal actions:

020212Kieckhefer2 :20 that as well.”

Newt Gingrich Tells Nevadans He Is Best Choice For GOP To Reverse Failed Obama Policies

Sean Whaley — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:42:55 +0000

RENO – Republican presidential contender Newt Gingrich told a cheering crowd here today that he is the only GOP candidate with the knowledge and experience to get the U.S. back on track after what will be four years of failed policies by President Barack Obama.

Gingrich, a former speaker of the House, is in Nevada ahead of Saturday’s First in the West Republican caucus.

Newt Gingrich signs a supporter's campaign sign before speaking in Reno today. / Photo: Nevada News Bureau.

The other three GOP candidates still in the race, front-runner Mitt Romney, Ron Paul and Rick Santorum, are also making stops in Nevada.

Gingrich appeared at a crowded Great Basin Brewing Co. restaurant here, speaking for 25 minutes before heading south for an event in Las Vegas later today.

If supporters get the word out about his qualifications, “we will have a remarkably good Saturday,” he said.

He started out by criticizing Romney for his comments today about not needing to concern himself about the “very poor” because they have a safety net in place to protect them.

“I am fed up with politicians in either party dividing Americans against each other,” Gingrich said. “I am running to be the president of all of the American people, and I am concerned about all of the American people.”

Gingrich also took time to criticize the president for bowing to “radical extremists” to prevent the Keystone Pipeline project from going forward at a time when jobs are needed and the Iranians are threatening to close the Strait of Hormuz.

“I’ve already said, on the very first day, I will sign an executive order authorizing the Keystone Pipeline,” he said.

Newt Gingrich makes a point during his 25-minute speech in Reno. / Photo: Nevada News Bureau.

Gingrich also touched on two issues critical to Nevada: high unemployment and a high home foreclosure rate. To reverse these trends Republicans cannot lose U.S. Senate seats and it is important to hold the seat in Nevada, he said.

Gingrich did not mention U.S. Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., by name. He is being challenged by Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev.

“I have a very simple proposition for the American people” Gingrich said. “Think how much better your Christmas will be when Obama is leaving and you have a new jobs oriented president.”

Gingrich said he will ask Congress, if Republicans win majorities in both the House and Senate in November, to stay in session on Jan. 3 so it can repeal the federal Health Care Law, the Dodd-Frank Act, which is “killing housing” in Nevada, and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which he called “all red tape weighing down business and making us less competitive.”

As president, Gingrich said he would eliminate the capital gains tax to encourage more investment and also modernize unemployment compensation by requiring beneficiaries to get training so that “we will never again pay someone for 99 weeks for doing nothing.”

Gingrich said he would also permanently abolish the death tax and establish a 12.5 percent corporate tax rate. He would also give Americans the opportunity to use the current tax code or alternatively pay a 15 percent flat tax.

Gingrich also said he would seek to replace the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency with an “Environmental Solutions Agency” that uses common sense and that “collaborates with local communities instead of dictates to them.”

Audio clips:

Newt Gingrich says he will approve the Keystone Pipeline project on his first day in office:

020112Gingrich1 :21 the Keystone Pipeline.”

Gingrich says Americans will be better off with Obama being replaced with a jobs oriented president:

020112Gingrich2 :13 jobs oriented president.”

Gingrich says if his supporters get the word out, Saturday’s caucus will be good for his campaign:

020112Gingrich3 :32 remarkably good Saturday.”

Nevada Group Files Initiative Petition To Allow Legislature, Governor To Raise Mining Taxes

Nevada News Bureau Staff — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 01:50:35 +0000

CARSON CITY – A group called Nevadans United for Fair Mining Taxes filed a constitutional amendment initiative today with the Nevada Secretary of State’s office that would allow the cap on mining taxes to increase from 5 percent to 9 percent.

“This initiative is not a tax increase,” said Las Vegas businessman Monte Miller, who heads up the group. “It simply raises the cap on mining taxes and leaves the issue on whether to raise the tax in the hands of the Nevada Legislature and governor.”

Courtesy of Newmont.

Miller said the constitutional amendment would give the Nevada Legislature and governor the tools they need to enact fair tax reform in Nevada.

“It is our hope that the Nevada Legislature will utilize this constitutional amendment to make mining companies pay their fair share and enact tax reform that will lower the burden on small businesses and homeowners,” Miller said. “By fairly taxing out-of-state mining companies, we can lower taxes on the people of Nevada.”

Tim Crowley, president of the Nevada Mining Association, said he has not reviewed the proposal with his membership and so has no official position on the proposal. But he said it was “interesting” that a highly visible, anti-tax businessman is working to “pave the way for a tax increase.”

Groups seeking to place a constitutional amendment on the 2012 ballot would need to collect 72,352 valid signatures by June 19. The measure would have to be approved by voters twice, in 2012 and again in 2014, to take effect.

The group said in its announcement that the largest gold mining company in Nevada is based in Canada and the second largest is based in Colorado, the group said in an announcement of the filing. The price of gold is currently more than $1,700 per ounce and many experts predict that it could reach more than $2,000 per ounce this year.

In 2010, mining companies in Nevada extracted more than $6.6 billion worth of gold, which netted them almost $2.8 billion in revenue. The same year, mining companies paid only $149.5 million in state and county taxes in Nevada

Taxes in other gold producing jurisdictions are much higher, the group said. For example, provinces in Canada tax net revenue up to 16 percent.

“Nevadans should benefit more from Nevada gold and foreign and out-of-state companies should benefit less,” Miller said. “Once the gold is gone, these companies will leave Nevada and take their billions with them. The mining companies can afford to pay their fair share.”

Miller said he formed Nevadans United for Fair Mining Taxes to give voters more options on tax policy in a year when the Nevada AFL-CIO has promised to put Nevada’s first business income tax on the ballot.

The Nevada News Bureau reported in November that several Nevada groups were considering a ballot measure to increase taxes for public education.

“If the Texas-style business margins income tax is going to be on the ballot, voters are going to need an alternative,” said Miller. “We are providing voters with a reasonable approach to tax reform.”

Nevada Gets Failing Grade For Science Standards In National Report

Sean Whaley — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 23:18:06 +0000

CARSON CITY – As Gov. Brian Sandoval and the Board of Education move ahead with the selection of a new state schools chief to push forward with education reform, a new report gives another reason for urgency: Nevada has received a D grade for its science standards from a national group.

The Thomas B. Fordham Institute today released its report, “The State of State Science Standards 2012“, and if there is any good news, it is that Nevada is not alone in its poor marks.

DNA / Photo courtesy of Mike & Amanda Knowles via Wikimedia Commons.

“American science performance is lagging as the economy becomes increasingly high tech, but our current science standards are doing little to solve the problem,” the report says. “Reviewers evaluated science standards for every state for this report and their findings were deeply troubling: The majority of states earned Ds or Fs for their standards in this crucial subject, with only six jurisdictions receiving As.

The District of Columbia and five states: California, Indiana, Massachusetts, South Carolina and Virginia received As. Seventeen states received Ds. Another 10 received Fs.

Nevada received two of seven points for content and rigor, and one of three points for clarity and specificity for its science standards.

The report said: “The Nevada science standards are lamentably brief. Complicating matters, educators must piece together information from two separate and confusing documents to form a complete picture of what students must know and be able to do. Altogether, the materials furnish a very shaky foundation in the sciences.”

Ray Bacon, executive director of the Nevada Manufacturers Association and a long-time advocate for education reform, said the report isn’t all bad news for Nevada.

“The good news is, that this is a test, if you take a look at the last time this thing was scored, which I think was either three or four years ago, Nevada was pretty much down at the bottom of the pole,” he said. “So we’ve done something in our science programs to move up substantially. I think that is wonderful. We have a long way to go, obviously.”

Bacon said Nevada still has inequities in its science programs statewide because of the difficulty some districts have, particularly rural districts, in recruiting qualified chemistry, biology and physics teachers. A teacher shortage problem in the past in the Clark County School District also led to the use of long-term substitutes to teach math and science, he said.

Bacon said the recent adoption by the state Board of Education of the Common Core State Standards could make further improvement in science a challenge because the focus will be on English and math.

“I hate the thought but I suspect that we probably are not going to make as much progress in the next couple of years as we have made in the last few years because the common core standards are going to shift the focus back to the two primaries,” he said.

But getting the math standards in place will make it easier in the future to address the science standards, Bacon said.

Clark County School District Superintendent Dwight Jones recently commented that the score is not surprising because science is a subject where students struggle. Because of this, the district is implementing before- and after-school tutoring programs and increasing professional development for teachers.

The report identified four areas in particular where science standards are flawed: In the handling of evolution in the face of anti-evolutionary pressures; standards that are so vague as to be meaningless; attempting to teach science through discovery instead of direct instruction of specific content; and failing to link math to science.

In commenting on the findings, Fordham President Chester Finn Jr. said: “If America is to remain a prosperous, scientifically-advanced and economically competitive nation, then we must ensure that every school is teaching science to a very high standard. In this subject as in others reviewed by Fordham experts, the states set the bar, prescribing what schools should teach and students need to learn. They then develop assessments keyed to those standards. If our expectations are low and unclear, we’re guaranteeing the failure of our students and the weakening of our nation.”

Sandoval pushed hard for education reform in the 2011 legislative session, and has said the appointment of a new schools chief will be one of his most important as governor.

The Nevada Board of Education is set to interview five finalists next month for the position of state superintendent of public instruction. Three names will be forwarded to Sandoval for his final selection.

Education reform is also viewed by policy makers as a key element of Nevada’s efforts to grow and diversify its economy by producing an educated and well-trained workforce.

Audio clips:

Ray Bacon, executive director of the Nevada Manufacturers Association, says the report contains some good news because Nevada has moved up since the last ranking:

013112Bacon1 :22 to go, obviously.”

Bacon says further improvement may be slowed, however, due to a renewed focus on English and math standards in Nevada:

013112Bacon2 :13 the two primaries.”

Nevada Taxable Sales Up 9.6 Percent In November, Reflects Increased Consumer Confidence

Nevada News Bureau Staff — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 18:03:00 +0000

CARSON CITY – Nevada’s taxable sales rose 9.6 percent in November over the same month a year ago, driven in large part by car sales and improved business at bars and restaurants, the state Department of Taxation reported today. Taxable sales totaled nearly $3.4 billion for the month.

For the fiscal year that began July 1, 2011, taxable sales are up 8.5 percent through November.

Clark County sales were up 8.6 percent. Washoe County sales were up 5.3 percent.

Fourteen of Nevada’s seventeen counties recorded an increase in taxable sales for November 2011 compared to November 2010: Carson City, Humboldt and White Pine Counties recorded a decrease.

The Motor Vehicle and Parts Dealers saw a 9.1 percent gain in November 2011 over November 2010, and the Food Services and Drinking Places were up 7.5 percent over the same period.

Bryan Wachter, director of government affairs for the Retail Association of Nevada, said the report is great news for the state economy.

“This validates that we saw a healthy Black Friday leading into holiday spending,” he said. “We’ll look for December taxable sales to kind of confirm that it was an ongoing kind of Christmas spending pattern as opposed to a one-time event, which we don’t think it was.”

The big jump in auto sales is good news as well because it shows increased consumer confidence in making large purchases, Wachter said.

Increased consumer spending, increased confidence and increased discretionary spending will generate more jobs and ultimately help turn the construction industry around as well, he said.

“It’s very encouraging to see other parts of the economy showing improvement,” Wachter said.

Photo by Chris "Mojo" Denbow via Wikimedia Commons.

The report showed that a number of other taxable sales categories saw strong growth as well: Clothing and Accessories Stores were up 14.8 percent; Utilities, up 197.3 percent; and Merchant Wholesalers – Durable Goods, up 19.6 percent.

The Construction Industry Classification was down again however, off 15.9 percent over November 2010. Nevada was hard hit by the housing market collapse.

But all other major taxable sales categories saw increases in the report, with Home Furniture and Furnishings up 15 percent, and Accommodations up 12.3 percent.

Gross revenue collections from sales and use taxes amounted to $266.3 million in November 2011, which represents an 8.8 percent increase compared to November 2010 and a 7.4 percent increase through the first five months of fiscal year 2012.

The general fund portion of the sales and use taxes collected amounted to $67.3 million, which represents an 8.5 percent increase compared to November 2010.

Compared to the May 2011 Economic Forum projections and based on department analysis, the general fund portion of the sales and use taxes is approximately 2.7 percent or $8.9 million above their forecast for fiscal year 2012 through November.

Audio clips:

Bryan Wachter of the Retail Association of Nevada says the report points to strong consumer spending through the holidays:

013012Wachter1 :24 think it was.”

Wachter says the big jump in motor vehicle purchases reflects stronger consumer confidence:

013012Wachter2 :26 of long-term purchases.”

Nevada Republican Party To Use Social Media To Report Feb. 4 Caucus Results

Sean Whaley — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 23:04:59 +0000

CARSON CITY – Nevada state Republican Party officials today announced they expect all the major GOP candidates will visit the state ahead of the Feb. 4 first in the West caucus.

The Nevada GOP is also introducing social media into the process, using the Google and Twitter platforms to report the caucus results beginning about 5 p.m. that day from 16 of the state’s 17 counties.

Final results won’t be known until sometime after 7 p.m. however, because of the Clark County GOP decision to hold one at-large caucus to accommodate religious concerns by some in the Jewish and 7^th Day Adventist faiths who cannot participate until after sundown.

Clark County results won’t be complete until that late caucus concludes.

“I’m so excited about Feb. 4,” said Nevada GOP Chairwoman Amy Tarkanian in a telephone conference announcing details of the event. “We are first in the West, which is vital, and as we’re watching everything take off across the country it looks like we may be the tipping point.”

Nevada State Republican Party Chairwoman Amy Tarkanian.

The Republican presidential contest is expected to remain undecided through the Florida primary on Tuesday. Nevada is the next state in the process with its caucus. As many as 60,000 Republicans could participate.

Tarkanian said Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum are all expected to campaign in Nevada in coming days. Romney won the caucus in 2008.

“And I am just so thrilled that we have the top four willing and able to come and participate here in our state,” she said.

The caucus events for most participants will occur in each county from between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Clark County is the only county to have the evening at-large caucus.

Jim Anderson with CAP Public Affairs, hired by the Nevada GOP to help win Nevada for Republicans in November, said the use of Twitter and Google is a new wrinkle in presidential politics.

“One of the really cool things that we’re doing with this caucus that I believe has never been done before is utilizing both Twitter and Google to get the results out in what we think is the most efficient way to date,” he said.

The Nevada GOP Titter account, NVGOP, will be used to tweet the results, Anderson said. The Google election results map will be used as well and be available on the state GOP website, he said.

It should be the fastest results coming out of a caucus in history, Anderson said.

“We think we’ve got a tool for this caucus that could be a model tool moving forward for primaries and caucuses for states all around the country,” he said. “We’re extremely excited about launching it in Nevada.”

State GOP officials said they do not believe holding the late at-large caucus in Clark County will hamper or skew the reporting of the results. The results will be checked to make sure no one voted twice.

Audio clips:

State GOP Chairwoman Amy Tarkanian says all four major GOP contenders will be in Nevada for the caucus:

012712Tarkanian1 :26 here in Nevada.”

Tarkanian says she is thrilled that the four candidates will be participating:

012712Tarkanian2 :14 of last December.”

Jim Anderson with CAP Public Affairs says the Nevada GOP will be using Twitter and Google to get the results out:

012712Anderson1 :15 way to date.”

Anderson says the results will be released more quickly than ever before:

012712Anderson2 :20 and efficient way.”

Five Educators, Three From Nevada, Picked As Finalists For Nevada Public Education Chief

Sean Whaley — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 01:29:36 +0000

CARSON CITY – Five finalists for Nevada’s top public education job were submitted today to the state Board of Education.

The names of three finalists will be forwarded to Gov. Brian Sandoval for his final selection after interviews are conducted by the Board of Education next month.

The five finalists, picked from 15 applicants who sought the position of state superintendent of public instruction, are:

- René Cantú Jr., currently the executive director of the Latin Chamber of Commerce Community Foundation and former vice president of multicultural affairs at Nevada State College;

René Cantú Jr.

- James Guthrie, senior fellow and director of education policy studies at the George W. Bush Institute in Dallas, Texas, and a former member of the Board of Directors of the Berkeley Unified School District in California.

- Magdalena Martinez, assistant vice chancellor for academic and student affairs with the Nevada System of Higher Education;

- Caroline McIntosh, superintendent of schools for the Lyon County School District;

James Guthrie.

- Sylvia McMullen, co-founder of the Education Data Collaborative and executive director of the Texas Education Reform Foundation, of College Park, Texas;

Keith Rheault, Nevada’s current superintendent who will be retiring in early April, said the state board is scheduled to interview the finalists on Feb. 22 and 23, voting on Feb. 24 on three finalists to forward to Sandoval for his consideration for a March appointment.

Sandoval wants a new schools chief on board well ahead of the 2013 legislative session.

As a result of education reform legislation approved by the 2011 Legislature, Sandoval now has the authority to appoint the new schools chief. In the past the 10-member Board of Education had the authority to select the superintendent.

Magdalena Martinez.

The job pays about $121,785 a year plus benefits.

Sandoval has called the appointment one of the most important he will make as governor.

Dale Erquiaga, senior adviser to Sandoval, helped pick the five finalists.

The reform legislation in Senate Bill 197 also changes the makeup of the state Board of Education following the 2012 general election. The board will have four elected members, one from each of the state’s congressional districts, one member appointed by Sandoval and one member each selected by the Senate majority leader and Assembly speaker. There will also be four non-voting members appointed by the governor representing different public education interests.

Sandoval and lawmakers also agreed to a number of education reforms in the 2011 session, including a new teacher evaluation process to ensure the best educators remain in the classroom.

President Obama Talks Up Natural Gas Development In Remarks Today In Las Vegas

Nevada News Bureau Staff — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 19:41:18 +0000

President Barack Obama visited Las Vegas today on a swing through the West, talking up energy development to create jobs and reduce the country’s dependence on foreign oil.

In comments delivered at the United Parcel Service hub on East Arby Lane, President Obama said development of natural gas reserves would serve both these purposes.

The president jogged out to loud, enthused cheers from a clearly friendly crowd.

President Barack Obama.

“We have a supply of natural gas that can last America nearly a hundred years,” he said in his prepared remarks. “Developing it could power our cars, our homes, and our factories in a cleaner and cheaper way. And experts believe it could support more than 600,000 jobs by the end of the decade.”

The president’s visit, coming after stops in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and Chandler, Arizona, was meant to reinforce comments made Tuesday in his State of the Union address. His next stops are in Colorado and Michigan.

“Part of my blueprint for an economy built to last is American energy” the president said.

In his remarks, Obama touted the fact that oil production in the U.S. is the highest it has been in eight years, and dependence on foreign oil was less last year than at any time in the past 16 years.

He also announced that his administration will soon open up around 38 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico for exploration and development, which could result in a lot more production of domestic energy.

“Here’s the thing, though,” he said. “Even with all this oil production, we only have 2 percent of the world’s reserves. So we need an all-out, all-in, all-of-the-above strategy that develops every available source of American energy – a strategy that’s cleaner, cheaper, and full of new jobs.”

Any natural gas development will come only with assurances that the environment and public health will be protected, the president said.

“That’s why I’m requiring – for the first time ever – that all companies drilling for gas on public lands disclose the chemicals they use. America will develop this resource without putting the health and safety of our citizens at risk.”

The president used the UPS site because of the company’s use of natural gas to power its vehicles.

The president arrived at the facility at 10 a.m. after an uneventful motorcade. A crowd of a few hundred gathered in a parking lot behind the facility to hear the speech.

“We started out with five companies that accepted the challenge, and UPS was one of the first. Less than a year later, we’ve got fourteen companies on board, and together, they represent one million vehicles on the road.”

To encourage even more use of natural gas, the president proposed new tax incentives to help companies buy more clean trucks.

He also said his administration will continue to work with the private sector to ensure the vehicles have places to refuel, developing five natural gas corridors along the nation’s highways.

“These are highways that have natural gas fueling stations between cities – just like the one the folks at UPS, South Coast Air, and Clean Energy Fuels are opening today between Los Angeles and Salt Lake City,” the president said.

UPS, along with local government and Clean Energy Fuels, a natural gas station deployment company, received a $5.6 million cost-share investment through the Recovery Act to purchase liquefied natural gas (LNG ) vehicles and construct a public LNG refueling station in Las Vegas.

This refueling station has created the first multi-state publicly accessible LNG refueling corridor in the country, enabling LNG vehicles to drive from the Port of Long Beach to Salt Lake City.

The president also said he will ask Energy Secretary Steven Chu to launch a new competition to encourage the country’s scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs to discover new breakthroughs for natural gas vehicles.

“So we’re going to keep moving on American energy,” the president said.

The Nevada Republican Party criticized the visit, calling it an expensive, taxpayer-subsidized campaign stop.

“Barack Obama’s taxpayer-funded trip to Nevada today isn’t to promote new ideas or solutions to improve our state, but instead to promote his fledgling reelection campaign,” said party Chairwoman Amy Tarkanian in a statement.

“When Obama talks about green jobs today, he hopes we forget about the 20,000 new jobs prevented from blocking the Keystone Pipeline and his green job debacle, Solyndra, that cost the taxpayers $500,000 and another 1,100 jobs lost,” she said.

State Treasurer’s Office Moves Forward With New Nevada Capital Investment Program

Nevada News Bureau Staff — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 22:04:09 +0000

CARSON CITY – Treasurer Kate Marshall announced today that a request for proposals for a manger to oversee a new investment program using up to $50 million from the state Permanent School Fund has been issued by the Nevada Capital Investment Corporation (NCIC) Board of Directors.

Submissions for the Request for Proposal must be received by the state Treasurer’s Office by March 9. A committee will then review the submissions and provide the NCIC board its recommendations as to the top candidates. The NCIC will select the top vendor.

Nevada State Treasurer Kate Marshall.

The fund manager will be responsible for the development of an investment plan for approval by the board, selection of private equity funds that will invest in Nevada businesses, for providing mentoring and networking opportunities for Nevada entrepreneurs, and for developing a collaborative partnership between Nevada System of Higher Education institutions, investors, and private industry.

“Based on the tremendous interest we have received from the private sector, we expect to receive dozens of submissions to our RFP, which will provide the board with the opportunity and the ability to select a professional firm that will seek investments in businesses located in Nevada, looking to expand in Nevada, or in businesses wishing to relocate in Nevada,” Marshall said. “In accordance with SB 75, the fund manager’s primary and fiduciary investment responsibility is to generate a positive return; however, because of its statutory-mandated focus on Nevada, an ancillary benefit will be increased economic development and employment in Nevada.”

Sponsored by Marshall during the 2011 legislative session, Senate Bill 75 created the state’s first in-state private equity investment fund. The goal of this fund is to capitalize on investment opportunities in Nevada in order to increase funding for Nevada’s K-12 schools.

SB 75 created the NCIC, a nonprofit corporation overseen by a seven member board, including appointees by the governor and the Legislature. Under SB 75, up to $50 million from the state’s Permanent School Fund may be invested in private equity. The Permanent School Fund is comprised of non-tax dollars. Earnings from the fund go to Nevada’s K-12 schools.

State Lawmaker Asks AG To Respond To Query About $6 Million In Outside Legal Fees In Freeway Dispute

Sean Whaley — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:08:54 +0000

CARSON CITY – State Sen. Greg Brower, R-Reno, has asked Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto why an outside legal firm was retained to defend the state against a freeway construction dispute. Legal costs charged to the state will total $6 million by the end of an arbitration hearing set for next month.

The Jan. 12 letter asked Masto why her office retained, or advised the Nevada Department of Transportation to retain, an outside law firm to defend the state against a $40 million claim filed by Utah-based Ames Construction, which built the first phase of the 395 bypass in the capital that opened in February of 2006.

Carson City bypass. / Photo courtesy of NDOT.

Brower also asked about the process that led to the retention of the firm of Watt, Tieder, Hoffar & Fitzgerald to handle the case beginning in 2008. He also asks why a Nevada firm was not retained, and what controls are in place to monitor the fees being incurred.

Brower asked for a response within 30 days.

The attorney general’s office has not yet responded to Brower’s letter.

In a telephone interview, Brower said several constituents asked about the amount of fees incurred so far and why a Virginia law firm was retained to represent the state.

“Those two issues raised red flags with me, and so I thought it made sense to just ask a few questions of the attorney general’s office and ask her to clarify exactly, as I set forth in the letter, why the state has hired this out-of-state firm as opposed to an in-state firm or doing the litigation in the AG’s office,” he said.

“I think that some questions need to be answered, and I am frankly, concerned with the general management of litigation matters by the attorney general’s office,” Brower said. “And so here is another example that seems to raise some red flags.”

The concerns are strictly fiscal in nature, he said.

“We just don’t have money to waste,” Brower said. “At least this particular situation seems to suggest that maybe we are. Maybe there are good answers to all of these questions I raised in my letter but there is only one way to find out and that is to ask them.”

Scott Magruder, a spokesman for NDOT, said today the agency actually retained the firm, which is one of the leading construction litigation firms in the nation. The firm has an office in Las Vegas. The agency wanted quality representation because of the size of the claim, he said.

The $70 million contract for the first 3.5-miles of freeway bypass was awarded to Ames in 2003.

Gov. Brian Sandoval first raised concerns about the amount of legal fees at a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Department of Transportation earlier this month. He said he had not seen such costs for a legal challenge before.

“Because even at those rates, $6 million, I haven’t seen that before,” Sandoval said at the Jan. 9 meeting. “I mean this just gets us to the mediation, as you say, and then we don’t know what the outcome of the mediation is going to be after that.”

State Sen. Greg Brower, R-Reno. / Nevada News Bureau file photo.

The rates charged by the legal firm’s attorneys are as high as $340 an hour for the senior partner, but members of the board were told the rates are not excessive and have not changed since the dispute first began.

“That’s not an unreasonable fee,” Masto said at the meeting. Masto also serves as a member of the Transportation Board.

Dennis Gallagher, NDOT’s chief legal counsel with the attorney general’s office, told the board at the meeting that the legal fees also cover the experts hired to defend the state. He said the case is extremely complex and that Ames has not backed down from its $40 million claim.

“The state vigorously disputes this claim; has been defending it in court since 2008; we finally got it to a point where it will go to mediation the end of February and this latest amendment is to bring the fees current through the mediation, Gallagher said.

Audio clips:

Sen. Greg Brower says the legal costs have raised red flags:

012512Brower1 :23 the AG’s office.”

Brower says he is concerned with the general management of litigation matters by the attorney general’s office:

012512Brower2 :23 go from there.”

Brower says the state does not have money to waste:

012512Brower3 :31 to ask them.”

Lawmaker Review Of 45-Year-Old Nevada Public Education Funding Plan Hits Financial Roadblock

Sean Whaley — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 22:23:45 +0000

CARSON CITY – A panel of lawmakers today began a review of the state’s 45-year-old formula for funding public education with an eye towards addressing the needs of the state’s urban districts as they work to educate special education students, English-language learners and children in poverty.

The panel is still searching for funding for a study to help in the review, however. The failure to find private funding for a study could jeopardize any meaningful review in this interim, lawmakers were told.

Nevada public education funding formula study hits financial roadblock.

The panel decided to give the Clark County School District, which advocated for the review in the 2011 legislative session, until Feb. 21 to identify a minimum of $125,000 in private funding to perform the necessary study. The panel would then meet again on Feb. 28 if the funding is secured.

The New Method for Funding Public Schools interim study was authorized by the 2011 Legislature to look at the “Nevada Plan” the current funding formula adopted in 1967.

“As we know over the past several decades since the Nevada Plan was developed and adopted, our state has grown and changed significantly,” said Assemblyman Marcus Conklin, D-Las Vegas, the chairman of the panel. “A periodic review of the state’s funding methodology for public schools is necessary to ensure that the funding methodology accomplishes what it was originally designed to do - which was to ensure an adequate educational opportunity for all Nevada students regardless of individual school district wealth.”

Following a review of the Nevada Plan, the panel can then determine if inadequacies or inequities exist, he said.

“Then we can develop any recommendations for improvement, if necessary, to ensure that the state’s public school funding methodology equitably considers the individual needs and characteristics of Nevada’s public school student population,” Conklin said.

Joyce Haldeman, associate superintendent of community and government relations with the Clark County School District, said there is no intention with the review to take away funding from other school districts.

Instead, the state’s largest school district would like to see additional factors given weight in the formula, including English language learners, special education students, gifted and talented and students receiving free- and reduced lunches, she said.

The study is the result of Senate Bill 11 sought by the Clark County School District to consider a weighted enrollment formula to take into account the different educational needs of children in the larger districts.

Craig Stevens, director of government relations for the Nevada State Education Association, spoke in support of the study.

“Our state is simply too diverse and the needs are too specialized to have a flat rate just for every single child,” he said. “It really not only hurts those that need the specialization but those that do not as well. We fully support making sure that funds are differentiated so that the student gets the services that they need in order to be fully successful.”

Several parents from Clark County also expressed support for the study, saying the funding formula needs revision because it shortchanges the district.

But Assemblyman Ira Hansen, R-Sparks, a member of the panel, asked for justification for the review, noting a 2007 study by lawmakers identified no inequities in the Nevada Plan.

After spending nearly $250,000, the conclusion was that the Nevada Plan was highly equitable, he said.

“Now what’s changed between 2007 and today?” Hansen asked.

The committee debated how overarching any funding formula review should be, given that no money was allocated for a study. The consensus was that a narrow review, focusing on several key student populations, would be the most practical approach if funding is secured.

The Clark County School District had anticipated $125,000 in funding from a foundation to pay for a study, but the district learned the money will not be forthcoming, Haldeman told the panel. The district is looking for other funding sources, she said.

The Nevada Policy Research Institute, a conservative think tank, weighed in on the Nevada Plan in September 2011, noting that many people, including policy makers, are either confused or deliberately misleading on the issue of per pupil funding in the public schools.

The analysis suggested that when all sources of funding are included in per pupil expenditures, the dollars spent are much higher than are reported by the districts.

Audio clips:

Assemblyman Marcus Conklin, D-Las Vegas, says the study is needed to ensure an adequate educational opportunity for all students:

012412Conklin1 :23 school district wealth.”

Conklin says once there is an understanding of the Nevada Plan, the panel can consider the need for any changes:

012412Conklin2 :27 school student population.”

Craig Stevens, director of government relations for the Nevada State Education Association, says the study is much needed:

012412Stevens :23 be fully successful.”

Assemblyman Ira Hansen, R-Sparks, says the issue was studied in 2007 and no inequities were found:

012412Hansen :25 2007 and today.”