Henderson Chamber of Commerce
HCC Government Affairs Newsletter
March 15, 2019 
2019 Legislative Committee

Aviva Gordon
(Chair)

Natalie Buckel
(Vice Chair)
I Want My Two Dollars

Chuck Mohler

Patty Charlton

Chris Caluya

George Garcia

Katie Ryan

Non-Voting

Scott Muelrath
Henderson Chamber

Amber Stidham
Henderson Chamber

Rocky Finseth
(Contract Lobbyist)

Isabelle Beaumont-Frenette
(Contract Lobbyist)
HCC Government Affairs Quick Links
   
Carrara Nevada serves as the Henderson Chamber of Commerce's contract lobbying group for commerce issues discussed during the Nevada Legislative Session.
carraranv.com  
 
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Change in Senate Leadership

Carson City saw some interesting developments last week, when then-Senate Majority Leader Kelvin Atkinson resigned after it was announced there was a pending FBI indictment against him for misappropriation of campaign funds. This led to Assistant Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro taking over as Senate Majority Leader, making her the first woman in the state's history to hold that position. Senator Julia Ratti ascended to become the Assistant Majority Leader.

New Senator to Be Appointed

With Senator Atkinson's seat left vacant, the Clark County Commission will now appoint someone to fill that seat. Eleven candidates have filed, and the Clark County Commission is set to appoint a new senator to Senate District 4 at a special meeting scheduled for Friday, March 15.

Bill Introduction Deadlines

Two big deadlines are upon us: March 18 is the bill introduction by legislators deadline and March 25 is the bill introduction by committees deadline. What this means is that by March 25, we will know most of the issues that will be debated this session. So far this session, we have seen right around 550 bills introduced; in a typical session, we see over 1,000 bills. All that to say, we expect a lot of bills to surface in the next week and a half, including some dealing with minimum wage and paid sick leave.

Bills Tracked by HCC

Tim Brooks, managing partner of Emerald Island Casino, testifies before the Senate Government Affairs Committee regarding an employment law bill

The Henderson Chamber of Commerce (HCC) is currently tracking 32 bills on a variety of topics affecting business. Here are a few of the bills we are watching for you:
  • SB166 intends to provide additional protection for employees being discriminated against unlawfully. While the HCC is in favor of anti-discriminatory measures in general, some language in this bill would leave smaller employers in a precarious situation should an employee make a false discrimination claim. The bill was heard in Senate Government Affairs on March 8. HCC provided a position statement in opposition of the bill.
     
  • SB177 is another bill designed to address discriminatory practices. It would require the Nevada Equal Rights Commission to notify a person who files a complaint alleging unlawful discriminatory practices that the person may request a right-to-sue notice, and that the Commission shall issue a right-to-sue notice upon request. Current law allows the Commission to issue such a notice after a basic investigation finds that there is some merit to the complaint; if this bill passes, the Commission would be required to issue the notice without investigation, again putting businesses at risk if a person makes a false discrimination claim. The bill has not been scheduled for a hearing; it has been referred to the Senate Government Affairs Committee. HCC is monitoring this bill.  
     
  • AB132 is also a bill regarding discriminatory practices and deals specifically with pre-employment discrimination. It would prohibit an employer from denying employment to a prospective employee solely based on a drug test indicating the presence of marijuana. It would not prohibit an employer to have a policy against the use of marijuana once the person is employed and could be cause for termination should an employee be found in violation of that policy. It would also prohibit an employer from conditioning the employment of a prospective employee on his or her submission to a character assessment. The difficulty in AB132 is the definition of "character assessment" to mean any test to evaluate the personality traits or character traits of a person. This could be broadly interpreted and is of concern to the Chamber. It was heard in Assembly Commerce and Labor on February 20. The HCC opposes this bill.
     
  • SB192 addresses health care. It would establish a minimum level of health benefits to be made available by an employer in order to pay the lower level of minimum wage as provided in the Constitution. It would also create the Office of the Ombudsman for Hospital Patients to advocate for the protection of the health, safety, welfare and rights of patients of hospitals. The bill was heard in Senate Health and Human Services on March 6. HCC has not taken a position on this bill at this time.
     
  • SB152 would eliminate the requirement to file a return for the Commerce Tax if the business' Nevada gross revenue for the taxable year is at least $500,000 less than the amount of Nevada gross revenue that would cause the business entity to be required to pay the Commerce Tax (currently $4 million). The bill has been referred to Senate Revenue and Economic Development; no hearing has been scheduled. The HCC supports this measure.
HCC Day at the Capitol

Business leaders and chamber staff stand with Senator Joe Hardy inside the Senate Chamber during the chamber's biennial delegate trip to Carson City during the Nevada Legislative Session.
 
A delegation of HCC members traveled to Carson City on February 26, led by your Legislative Chair Aviva Gordon, Gordon Law Office, and Vice Chair Natalie Buckel, I Want My Two Dollars. We want to thank them and other members of the delegation: Tim Brooks of Emerald Island Casino, George Garcia of GC Garcia, Chuck Mohler of Eagle Corporate Advisors, and John Ramos or Harsch Investment Properties, as well as HCC's President/CEO Scott Muelrath and Government Affairs Director Amber Stidham. The group met with a number of legislators on both sides of the aisle as well as the Lieutenant Governor to discuss issues of interest to the Chamber, including minimum wage, paid sick leave and a handful of other issues.
 
The day concluded with a reception the HCC co-hosted with the City of Henderson. Henderson Mayor Debra March and council members were in attendance, as well as many state legislators. Almost 200 members and invited guests attended this successful event.

Save the Date - 2019 Post - Legislative Luncheon

HCC will hosts its "2019 in Summation: Biennial Nevada Legislative Luncheon" on June 18 with featured speaker, HCC's contract chief lobbyist, Rocky Finseth - president/CEO of Carrara Nevada. Attendees will get an inside look at key bills state legislators acted on that will impact local businesses. Event details to come.  
Amber Stidham
Director of Government Affairs
Henderson Chamber of Commerce
AStidham@HendersonChamber.com
702.565.8951