Democrats look to box in GOP with last-minute bills linking school safety, education funds
Memorial Day maneuvering aims to force a tough vote on GOP lawmakers
Democrats look to box in GOP with last-minute bills linking school safety, education funds Memorial Day maneuvering aims to force a tough vote on GOP lawmakers Check out this story on rgj.com: https://www.rgj.com/story/news/politics/2019/05/28/democrats-raise-stakes-school-funding-vote/1263909001/
James DeHaven, Reno Gazette Journal Published 2:28 p.m. PT May 28, 2019 | Updated 2:31 p.m. PT May 28, 2019
State lawmakers were busier than most Nevadans over Memorial Day weekend, killing a handful of high-profile bills before unveiling a new measure meant to outfox Republicans critical of school safety budget cuts.
Senate Bill 551, introduced on Monday, would tie some $30 million in Republican-sought school security funding to a roughly $100 million tax extension long opposed by those same GOP lawmakers. Language in the measure would void the restoration of school safety funding if Republicans follow through on a threatened lawsuit over the proposed tax extension, which makes up a key part of Gov. Steve Sisolak's budget.
The bill goes on to scratch up $63 million in funding for services aimed at English language learners and students in low-income areas, as well as $4 million in additional funds for pre-kindergarten programs.
More: Education spending: Will Legislature's latest push actually trickle down to teachers?
Related: Legislative lawyers say Democrats don't need GOP votes to pass Sisolak's divisive tax plan
Democrats, who hold majorities in both chambers of the statehouse, said SB 551 presents Republicans with a clear choice between funding Nevada's schools or giving corporations a tax break.
But Republicans were quick to dismiss it as a poison pill — little more than a Democratic attempt to use children as a "human shield" for a tax increase.
Few, if any, appeared willing to support the measure. They've spent more than a week arguing that earlier budget cuts freed up more than enough money — some $250 million — to fortify schools and balance Sisolak's budget.
"What (SB 551) tries to do, sadly, is link children's safety to the extension of a tax," said Senate Minority Leader James Settelmeyer, R-Minden.
This month's Pints and Politics included State Senator Nicole Cannizzaro and Minority Leader Senator James Settelmeyer. The event was moderated by RGJ political reporter James DeHaven at Craft Wine-n-Beer in Midtown on Tuesday Feb. 26, 2019. (Photo: Andy Barron/RGJ)
Settelmeyer said he didn't think the bill would win over any fellow Republicans, but cautioned that "you never know what'll happen" in the course of a legislative session. He said the measure would not prevent conservatives from suing over the proposed tax extension, which Republicans have long argued would be illegal to adopt without a supermajority vote.
SB 551 faces a Tuesday evening hearing in the Senate Finance committee.
Two other, almost equally high-profile bills won't be getting any additional discussion as lawmakers hurtle toward the end of the legislative session.
Assembly Bill 30, a deeply divisive water rights application measure rural critics and conservationists panned as a "water grab," was disappeared ahead of Friday's latest legislative deadline. Supporters and opponents are expected to try to hammer out a consensus measure before the start of the 2021 Legislature.
Senate Bill 398, the most controversial affordable housing measure debuted this session, foundered under a flood of opposition from Republicans and real estate developers.
The bill — which would have given cities and counties the freedom to come up with their own solutions to combat the housing crunch, up to and including rent control — was shelved without explanation a full day ahead of last week's deadline.
Democratic leaders were tight-lipped about its demise.
"We have yet to have a full conversation as a caucus about it," Assembly Speaker Jason Frierson, D-Las Vegas, said hours before the bill died. "We're working through them as we can. … We just haven't gotten around to it."
Bill sponsor and state Sen. Julia Ratti, D-Sparks, said she had no idea why SB 398 was mothballed. She said she was as surprised as anyone to see it placed on the chief clerk's desk, where bills are often sent to wither away ahead of a deadline.
Assembly Bill 291, a sweeping legislative response to the 2017 mass shooting on the Las Vegas Strip, underwent an expected facelift to remove contested language that would've allowed cities and counties to enact tougher gun restrictions than those approved by the state.
That provision has been replaced with a "red flag" law that allows courts greater power to seize guns from people deemed a danger to themselves or others.
Lawmakers are now considering a further tweak that would add provisions from another Senate bill meant to help prevent school shootings.
Lawmakers are scheduled to close the state's latest 120-day legislative session on June 3.
James DeHaven is the politics reporter for the Reno Gazette Journal. He covers campaigns, the Nevada Legislature and everything in between. Support his work by subscribing to RGJ.com right here.
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