fbpx
Nevada Policy

Press

Press Releases

NPRI to US Supreme Court: Restore Workers’ Rights!

Today, the Nevada Policy Research Institute, alongside 12 other public policy organizations from across the nation, have formally requested that the United States Supreme Court grant Certiorari in the Reisman v. Associated Faculties of the University of Maine case.

Maine university professor Jonathan Reisman is challenging the state’s exclusive bargaining law, which requires Reisman to accept the union’s advocacy as his own, even though he objects to union representation and opposes its advocacy on his behalf.

Nevada law similarly denies public workers their basic First Amendment rights — including the 50 percent of state educators who have rejected membership with their workplace union but are nonetheless forced to accept the union’s advocacy and representation during labor negotiations.

While a plain reading of the United States Constitution makes clear that free speech rights prohibit such compelled representation, the Supreme Court sanctioned such First Amendment infringements nearly 50 years ago on the grounds that doing so was necessary to promote the compelling state interest of “labor peace” — a term the Court never even attempted to define, let alone justify.

In 2018, the Court took an important first step towards correcting this profound error when they held in Janus that it is a clear violation of an employee’s First Amendment rights to be forced to pay dues to a union they do not support. However, lower courts nationwide continue to deny many workers their fundamental right to speak and advocate on their own behalf, which is why the Supreme Court must take up the Reisman case and clarify that compelled representation is also an unjustifiable violation of the First Amendment.

“Nevada Policy believes that unions, or any organization for that matter, should earn their support through the free choices of those people they wish to represent, rather than through government coercion,” said NPRI Vice President and Director of Policy Robert Fellner.

Additional resources:

For more information, please contact Robert Fellner at Robert@NevadaPolicy.org.

###

[sgmb id=”1″]

Learn More
Teacher strike threat highlights need for PERS reform

Clark County teachers are understandably upset over rising PERS costs, which have gone up nearly 45 percent since 2007 and now cost the average teacher over $17,000 a year.

Given the teachers union is now threatening to strike, in part over last month’s PERS rate increase, it is worth remembering what teachers can expect to receive in exchange for paying more into the state Public Employees’ Retirement System:

Absolutely nothing.

Every PERS rate hike since 2007 has gone entirely towards paying down the system’s multi-billion dollar deficit, an added cost which provides no benefit of any kind to teachers. Making matters worse is the fact that teachers hired after 2015 are receiving reduced PERS benefits, meaning they are now being forced to pay the nation’s highest PERS rates in order to subsidize the much-richer benefits of their veteran counterparts.

“Rising PERS costs means less money for teacher salaries,” NPRI Policy Director Robert Fellner said. “It would be one thing if those costs translated to richer retirement benefits, but that’s not happening.”

“Instead,” Fellner continued, “today’s teachers are seeing their paychecks docked in order to make up for the system’s past funding failures.”

In addition to eliciting complaints from PERS members themselves, such a profoundly unfair and inefficient system has been sharply criticized by experts across the ideological spectrum, including those with Bellwether Education Partners, the Brookings Institution, the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the left-leaning Urban Institute.

Unfortunately, this is not a problem that can be solved locally, according to Fellner.

“Rising PERS costs burden the school district just as much as the teachers,” Fellner said. “The Legislature must reform PERS so that teachers receive the full benefit of their contributions, instead of requiring them to pay a 45 percent tax to fund the much richer benefits received by the previous generation of workers.”

For more information, please email NPRI Policy Director Robert Fellner at Robert@NevadaPolicy.org

[sgmb id=”1″]

Learn More
ACLU and NPRI ask Senator Cannizzaro to allow a vote on Assembly Bill 420

The ACLU of Nevada and the Nevada Policy Research Institute are calling on Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro to allow the Senate to vote on Assembly Bill 420, which has yet to be heard despite having passed the Assembly by a 34-6 margin.

The bipartisan, supermajority of lawmakers who voted for AB420 in the Assembly include Assembly Majority Leader Jason Frierson and Minority Leader Jim Wheeler.

AB420 would reform Nevada’s civil asset forfeiture process, which allows police to seize — and directly profit from — personal property based on the mere suspicion of criminal wrongdoing. In certain instances, neither a criminal charge nor conviction is required for forfeiture to apply. Such laws upend due process and are known to be rife with abuse. Further, NPRI’s own research has illustrated that forfeiture has a disparate impact on marginalized communities.

“Protecting Nevadans’ civil rights is not a partisan issue,” ACLU of Nevada Executive Director Tod Story said. “We commend Majority Leader Frierson and Minority Leader Wheeler for voting in favor of AB420 and ask that Senate Majority Leader Cannizzaro act swiftly to ensure her colleagues have a chance to vote for AB420 as well.”

The current, amended version of AB420 reflects a compromise between proponents of forfeiture reform and law enforcement, and would likely pass the Senate with bipartisan support. However, the bill has yet to advance in the Senate, creating questions about Majority Leader Cannizzaro’s reluctance to hold a vote before the Legislature adjourns this Monday.

“AB420 would ensure all Nevadans have the full protection of due process, as is their fundamental right,” NPRI Policy Director Robert Fellner said. “We would like to thank Assemblyman Steve Yeager for advancing AB420 and ask that Majority Leader Cannizzaro ensure the bill receives a vote in the Senate immediately.”

 

[sgmb id=”1″]

Learn More
Legal complaint: lobbyist submitted false testimony to aid in bill’s passage

The Legislature cannot effectively serve the public if policy is being shaped based on outright falsehoods and misinformation, which is why it is illegal to knowingly submit false testimony before a legislative committee.

Nevada Policy has alerted Legislative Counsel Bureau Director Rick Combs and the attorney general’s office to what appears to be a clear violation of NRS 218E.085(2) — the state law that makes it a crime to knowingly misrepresent any fact when testifying before a legislative committee.

The false statements were made by lobbyist Marlene Lockard during the March 1, 2019 Senate Government Affairs Committee hearing on SB224 — the PERS secrecy bill.

Ms. Lockard appeared on behalf of the Retired Public Employees of Nevada (RPEN), and was featured as part of Senator Julia Ratti’s formal presentation for Senate Bill 224.

As part of this formal presentation, Ms. Lockard relied almost entirely on known falsehoods when explaining why the secrecy proposed by SB224 is ostensibly necessary.

Specifically, Lockard told the committee that passing SB224 was necessary because of a recent court order that allegedly requires PERS to disclose its members’ passports, addresses of ex-spouses, birth certificates and other similarly invasive information. In reality, no such court order exists and none of that information is, nor has it ever been, public under Nevada law.

Given the status bestowed upon her by Senator Ratti, Ms. Lockard’s demonstrably false comments were accorded extra weight. Indeed, the first time a member of the committee had a question about SB224, that question was posed to, and answered by, Ms. Lockard rather than the bill’s sponsor, Senator Ratti.

More information about that hearing can be found here.

Because the knowingly false statements were made specifically to justify the secrecy proposed by SB224, and were made by a paid lobbyist invited by the bill’s sponsor to help present the bill, they represent precisely the type of deception NRS 218E.085(2) was designed to prevent, according to NPRI Policy Director Robert Fellner.

“It is fine to have different policy views and argue those differences vigorously,” Fellner said. “But I think we all would agree that enacting law based on falsehoods and misinformation is wrong, and erodes confidence in our public institutions.”

“It is hard enough for ordinary Nevadans to be engaged with the legislative process thanks to the proliferation of tax-funded government lobbyists and other special-interest groups,” Fellner continued. “Requiring that citizens fact-check all of the claims made by those who help introduce bills is an impossible task, which is precisely why Nevada state law prohibits the making of knowingly false testimony before the Legislature.”

“NPRI has long fought for transparency in government,” Fellner added. “Nowhere is transparency more important than in the legislative process. We hope that legislators remember their duty to serve the public and ensure any bills brought on behalf of lobbyists are done so in an open and honest manner.”

A copy of the complaint can be viewed by clicking here.

For more information, please contact NPRI Policy Director Robert Fellner at Robert@NevadaPolicy.org.

[sgmb id=”1″]

Learn More
Nevada Policy applauds the introduction of forfeiture-reform legislation

Nevada is one step closer to ending the perverse “policing for profit” program, thanks to yesterday’s introduction of Assembly Bill 420.

Existing law allows police to seize property from those never convicted, or even charged, with a crime. Making matters worse, the seizing agency is entitled to a sizeable portion of the proceeds generated by forfeited property.

AB420 proposes two critical reforms. First, it requires a conviction (or similar plea agreement) before forfeiture proceedings can be initiated. Second, it eliminates the “policing for profit” incentive by directing the bulk of forfeiture proceeds towards the State Permanent School Fund, rather than law enforcement.

“For decades, forfeiture laws have upended the due-process rights of ordinary Nevadans,” said Nevada Policy Senior Policy Analyst Daniel Honchariw. “It’s well past time for legislation of this type.”

AB420 is being spearheaded by Asm. Steve Yeager, who has firsthand experience of how forfeiture is abused under the current system, thanks to his experience as a public defender.

Forfeiture has been shown to have a disparate impact on communities of color and the impoverished within Clark County, meaning the people most often impacted by current forfeiture policies are those least capable of defending themselves in court.

“Nevada Policy applauds Asm. Yeager for bringing AB420 forward and for all his efforts to end the unjust practice of civil asset forfeiture,” said Honchariw.

“The Legislature should join the broad, bipartisan reform movement sweeping the nation and restore the due process rights of all Nevadans by passing AB420.”

To learn more about this issue, be sure to visit the “civil asset forfeiture” section of NPRI’s Solutions 2019 policy sourcebook.

Learn More
Bill to save scholarships for low income students deserves support

This week, a bill was proposed to preserve scholarships for low-income students, by continuing a $20 million increase made to the Opportunity Scholarship program during the last legislative session.

Senator Heidi Gansert’s bill to continue the higher level of funding offers hope to the low-income students who would see their scholarships taken away should funding not continue.

“This program is about making sure low income, at risk, students have access to the classrooms that give them the best opportunity to succeed in life,” said Nevada Policy Communications Director Michael Schaus. “We are thrilled that Senator Gansert has taken the lead in making sure these children continue to have access to quality educational options.”

The bill also expands the program, by waiving the income restriction for special needs students, giving even more students access to the kind of educational options that can make a fundamental difference in their lives.

“This bill focuses on giving opportunities and options to the very students who are most in need,” said Schaus.

Introduction of the bill, however, is just the first step in a long process. Schaus says it’s unclear if Democrat majorities will entertain Gansert’s proposal without significant pressure from parents, citizens and voters.

“If Gansert’s bill isn’t passed, and signed into law, nearly 1,000 kids will have a life changing opportunity taken away from them, and they’ll be forced back into the very schools where they struggled to succeed in the first place,” says Schaus.

“Parents need to let their lawmakers know that this program deserves their support. It’s up to citizens, parents and voters to make sure lawmakers understand their vote will directly decide the educational future of countless low-income and special needs students,” said Schaus.

 

Media inquiries should be directed to Michael Schaus, Nevada Policy’s Communications Director.
michael@nevadapolicy.org

*          *          *

Read more about how Opportunity Scholarships benefit students and taxpayers alike, while also reducing overcrowding and increasing available per-pupil funding for public schools: Nevada’s Opportunity Scholarships: A Win for Students and Taxpayers

 

Learn More

Media Mentions

All Media Mentions

Nevada families hungry for lower food costs

Opinion piece by Nevada Policy president, John Tsarpalas

A Brighter Tomorrow through Business Regulations

Nevada Policy article on business regulations in the state of Nevada

The Government Took Their Home. Now, a Family’s Lawsuit May Change Nevada’s Forfeiture System

Quote from Outreach and Coalition Director, Marcos Lopez.

Nevada Policy

Media Inquiries

Please put “Media” in the subject line and include your questions, deadline, and contact information, and we will respond as soon as possible.

Email: communications@nevadapolicy.org

Phone: (702) 222-0642
Contact
Download Media Kit

Join the fight to save Nevada.

Sign up for Nevada Policy’s weekly emails to stay up to date on the most pressing issues facing Nevada today.

Media Inquiries

Name(Required)
Search
Facebook Linkedin X-twitter Instagram Youtube