RAN January 2023

The Legislative Session Ahead

By Mary Lau, RAN CEO

As we begin a new year, I would like to express our gratitude to our members for their participation in the year 2022 both in supporting RAN and for their political involvement. There’s the old saying, “get involved with politics or it will get involved with you”, and it certainly still holds true. We appreciate the fact that we get communications of concern, compromise, and support, and I hope you had an amazing Christmas and New Year’s holiday.

Last year’s election was very tense and either held peoples’ attention captive or pushed them away from candidates and their platforms. The viciousness of the campaigns turned many voters off too. The press jostled back and forth between a Republican tsunami to a Democrat wave, but in the end, many of the elections continued the status quo and the turnout was not what was expected by any party. I had to go back and remind myself not to use the term “either party” because the independent nonpartisan voters in Nevada are growing stronger as evidenced by registration and turn-out.

As a result of the 2022 election, we have a new Governor, Joe

Mary Lau

Lombardo, a new Lieutenant Governor, Stavros Anthony and a new Controller, Andy Matthews (all Republicansthe remaining Constitutional Officers remained the same and are Democrats). The Assembly is guided completely by the Democrats who hold a supermajority of the seats, and the Republicans, with a superminority, will have truly little to say as far as policy and positions go. In the Senate, the Democrats ended one seat short of a super majority, leaving the Republicans with one leverage point for many important debates. What was projected to be a Republican tsunami never manifested, and

their legislative numbers declined further.

The Senate only needs one Republican to side with the Democrat leadership to push bills through. It has been more years than I can remember since Republicans have held firm and been able to parlay an advantage where they can also represent their constituents. Too many times our Republican friends have considered their own advantage before good policy. Republicans will also be charged to work in concert with the new governor.

It will be interesting to see if Democrat leadership is interested in drafting good legislation and

“Legislative Session”

working with the minority legislators to address their constituents’ concerns, or will they ignore their the Republicans and steamroll over everything and everyone? Many new legislators, and by that I mean less than three election cycles in the Assembly, have never held regular office hours nor met with various lobbyists or association and chamber representatives. There is a misunderstanding that a 2-minute zoom testimony creates good policy.

There have been conversations that Democrat leadership recognizes they have been pulled too far to the left and Republicans recognize they have been pulled too far to the right. There are concerns about understanding how to move Nevada forward and correct the course of this ship of state before we hit the rocks. That is a laudable conversation, and one would hope a sincere conversation.

There seems to be a general philosophical switch that is going on in politics itself. With Senate leadership at the federal level having to negotiate with a Joe Manchin and a Kyrsten Sinema, they were unable to slam through

politically divisive bills in there are original forms. The frustration level of this type of constant battling is fracturing the political process and the ability for legislators to do their jobs and protect the citizens that voted for them. When Kyrsten Sinema announced in December that she was leaving the Democrat party and registering as an Independent, she expressed the frustration of having

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are genuinely interested in good policy or prefer divisive competitiveness. The public is exhausted with politics as it exists now and are looking for leadership instead. We have catchy phrases like “One Nevada”, but let’s see if the challenge to govern overcomes the desire for perceived power. It is our job to collaborate with legislators, regardless of party, and be able to clearly articulate the needs

realize that collaborating with the governor’s office in crafting legislation also increases the value of their legislation. It’s been a while since that type of cooperative effort has existed, and it would be nice to see it in practice again.

to deal with the game that has been shifted to not allowing your opponent to have any wins as opposed to crafting good legislation and working across the aisle. The Democrat party in Arizona, of course, criticized her for her decision and said that she had no following in Arizona anymore. When you look at the facts, she has a 37% favorability among Democrats, a 36% favorability among Republicans and a 41% favorability among Independents.

So, it will be interesting to see if during the upcoming legislative session legislators

of Nevada businesses to be established, grow, make payroll and provide goods and services. The delicate ecosystem that Nevada needs for businesses to be successful at all levels, from mega-resorts to mom-and-pops, must be considered, and the crafting of legislation should be a cooperative effort.

Because of COVID many legislators are not used to the idea of getting a group of people together with an interest in their legislation to help them refine the language and make it a better bill. It is also important for legislators to

Another big change that may spur some cooperation is the readiness of information via social media - instant press messaging and the ability to watch committee meetings is much easier than in the past. A legislative joke is that you don’t want to see how sausage is made; however, thanks to social media, it’s right there for the viewing. That does make some committee meetings into theater, but overall, it’s good, and the public has a right to be involved. If you don’t have time to watch the hearings when they happen, you can go online and review them at your leisure.

When the legislative session convenes on February 6th, your RAN staff will be there every day, fighting for your businesses. Please feel free to contact us with any concerns, and you will get continuous updates.

May you have a successful year in your endeavors!

n

“There seems to be a general philosophical switch that is going on in politics itself.”

Don’t Let a Budget Surplus Turn into a Budget Deficit

By Bryan Wachter

When the Nevada Economic Forum met in early December, they projected an additional $2 billion a year for Nevada’s upcoming budget, more than a 20 percent increase over the previous state budget; however, there was not consensus among the forum members whether this additional revenue will be available past 2025. State leaders must exercise an abundance of caution going into the 82nd Legislature to prevent this current budget surplus from becoming a future budget deficit by expanding permanent programming with potentially temporary revenues. Instead of expanding programming, state leaders should use this money to help secure the state going into future economic uncertainty.

The first and obvious action should be to grow Nevada’s Rainy-Day Fund. The state’s emergency fund was zeroed in 2020 to backstop the state’s economy during the pandemic (Nevada was one of only two states to take such a drastic step to completely empty the account) and has since

been refilled as a result of a relatively rapid recovery of state gaming revenues and overperformance of sales tax revenue coupled with the Supreme Court ruling on taxing internet purchases, but recovery hasn’t always come this quickly. In fact, following the Great Recession and Nevada’s long recovery, it took nearly a decade to refill the account. If these two major “once-in-a-lifetime” financial events are any indication, we need to make an investment to grow the state’s Rainy-Day Fund to ensure the state has the resources to keep the doors open should revenues face a sudden decline.

The next obvious use of the surplus would be to return it to the taxpayers. Governor Guinn tried something similar in 2005 with a $300 million surplus by rebating vehicle registration fees. Rather than a direct rebate, Legislators could begin the process to create a state sales tax holiday where all Nevadans can feel some relief from the rising prices as a result of inflation. This would be in addition to the sales tax holiday for National Guard members approved in 2021. At last count, 19

Bryan Wachter

other states have some form of sales tax holiday, with many falling during the back-to-school season for products including clothing and school/office supplies. Finally, this surplus could be invested by providing the revenue to bridge a reform and modernization of some of the state’s taxes. This large surplus creates a unique opportunity for state leaders to create a soft transition while setting the state up for future success. One example of a tax that is not keeping up with modern

times is the state’s property tax cap which doesn’t reset the tax rate upon the sale of properties. This means that as the cost to maintain the infrastructure in older and aging neighborhoods increases due to inflation, the state and local governments are having to use other revenue sources to support this maintenance. Another area of concern is the items that have historically been subject to sales tax that are now being sold in a digital format, like music, movies and e-books. By ensuring our sales taxes are representative of the times, the state can continue to keep other taxes low.

Spending a surplus may not be quite as hard as navigating a deficit, but arguably more time and energy will need to go into this upcoming state budget to hold program growth to sustainable levels. It will be unfortunate to have to return to Carson City in a few years with red pens because this budget surplus was allowed to grow programs without the consistent and reliable revenue to support them into the future. n

“The first and obvious action should be to grow Nevada’s RainyDay Fund.”

State Budget Overview

RAN Staff Report

The Nevada state budget is the financial plan for the state government, outlining the expected expenditures and revenues for a fiscal year.

For the 2021 fiscal year, the Nevada state budget is $8.8 billion. This is an increase from the previous year’s budget of $8.1 billion. When the Nevada Economic Forum met in early December, they projected $11.4 billion for fiscal years 2024 and 2025, a substantial increase over the previous budget. This was attributed to Nevada’s economic recovery, especially in gaming. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that monthly gaming win revenues have exceeded $1 billion, taxed at 6.75 percent, for 20 consecutive months as of October 2022, according to Michael Lawton, senior economic analyst for the Nevada

Gaming Control Board.

As we look to the upcoming budget, education is funded first and is the largest portion of the Nevada state budget, comprising about 38% of the total budget. This includes funding for K-12 schools, higher education institutions, and programs such as early childhood education and special education.

Health and human services is the second largest area of expenditure, accounting for approximately 28% of the budget. This includes funding for programs such as Medicaid, mental health services, and assistance for low-income individuals and families.

The state’s transportation system is also a significant part of the budget, with approximately 8% of the funds being allocated to maintaining and improving roads, highways, and other

infrastructure.

Other areas of the budget include public safety and justice (7%), natural resources and environment (3%), and economic development (2%).

Revenue for the Nevada state budget comes from a variety of sources, including taxes, fees, and grants from the federal government.

The state’s primary source of revenue is sales tax, which accounts for about 44% of total revenue.

Other significant sources of revenue include gaming taxes (18%), property taxes (14%), and mining taxes (6%).

The Nevada state budget is prepared by the Governor’s Office of Budget and Planning based on input from state agencies and departments, as well as data on the state’s economic and financial conditions, and is then reviewed and debated

by the Nevada legislature. Throughout the budget process, the Legislature and the Governor’s Office of Budget and Planning and other state agencies work to ensure that the budget is balanced, meaning that revenues are expected to be equal to or greater than expenditures.

Planning for the upcoming budget relies on the projects by the Nevada Economic Forum. The budget will be prepared based on the December projections, but the final budget will rely on the findings during the May 2023 meeting of the Economic Forum. All indications show the Governor and Legislature will be working with $2 billion more than planned, but the Economic Forum is undecided if these revenue projections will continue past fiscal years 2024 and 2025. n

The Nevada State Board of Pharmacy met November 30th and December 1st, 2022 in Las Vegas. The following regulations passed unanimously during the public hearing:

LCB File No. R007-22- This regulation sets forth the requirements governing participating in or receiving prescription drugs through the Prescription Drug Donation Program. This language revises existing regulations regarding the prescription drug donation program to be expanded to allow all drugs, with the exclusion of controlled substances to be donated to an eligible pharmacy, medical facility, health clinic, or provider of healthcare. This regulation does not require any of these providers to participate in the program. This regulation defines how a provider may volunteer to participate.

LCB File No. R178-22This regulation defines the qualifications and procedure for a person to obtain a certificate of registration as a dispensing technician in training. It also determines certain duties of a dispensing technician in training and a dispensing

Nevada Board of Pharmacy Update

By Liz MacMenamin

practitioner.

LCB File No. R179-22- This regulation authorizes the operation of an automated drug dispensing system at sites of certain governmental agencies. This regulation authorizes an automated drug dispensing system to be located at a site operated by the Division of Public and Behavioral Health of the Department of Health and Human Services or a local health department if the system is operated by a pharmacy owned by the Division or local health department.

LCB File No. R180-22This administrative rule authorizes one or more dispensing practitioners at a reproductive healthcare center to obtain a license to distribute certain drugs using an automated drug dispensing system. This regulation was at the request of Planned Parenthood to allow them to use the automated dispensing machine to provide medication for their patients. The organization must comply with the same standards as a pharmacy when using this equipment. These regulations will be sent to the Legislative Council

Liz MacMenamin

Bureau and will receive final approval on December 28, 2022, at the Legislative Commission meeting.

The Board also scheduled a public hearing for December 8th on zoom for the consideration of:

LCB File No. R164-20This regulation allows for a pharmacist to work remotely. During the pandemic, the Board implemented waivers for pharmacists to work from an alternate location outside the pharmacy and allowed the pharmacist to provide other cognitive services related to collaborative drug therapy and other duties to be performed outside the pharmacy. The dispensing still was provided at the pharmacy, but these other services were instrumental

in helping to alleviate burnout for the pharmacist and provide medical accommodations for pharmacists. This proved to be successful, and these health providers asked the board to consider making this allowable when the waivers were rescinded. This language is the result of that effort. The language was amended at the request of providers and passed with these amendments unanimously. This language should be also heard for final approval at the December 28th Legislative Commission meeting. n

Majority of Consumers Want Pharmacy Access to Continue

RAN Staff Report

The National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) released a survey in December confirming a majority of Americans believe “Learning the lessons of the pandemic means keeping in place policies that make it easier for patients to access services from pharmacists and other pharmacy team members –including vaccinations.”

During the pandemic, Nevada pharmacies were given new authority, through emergency orders, to self-regulate from certain regulatory restraints to allow them to provide the patient services that the pharmacist can provide. One of the biggest changes was the ability to adjust staffing ratios, and the added support staff enabled the pharmacist to get out from behind the counter and provide other clinical services for patients.

The Nevada State Board of Pharmacy has declined to make permanent any of the changes once the pandemic waivers were rescinded.

NACDS President and CEO Steven C. Anderson wrote to the Biden Administration, “If this capacity goes away, Americans’ vaccination experience will be characterized by lack of access, especially for children and families, longer wait times and frustration. The current ‘triple-demic’ of COVID-19, flu, and RSV demonstrates that our nation will continue to experience spikes in vaccination demand.”

NACDS reports that pharmacies continue to administer two in every three COVID-19 vaccinations, totaling nearly 300 million administered, and more than 40% of vaccinations provided are in underserved areas. n

About the poll methodology: Morning Consult conducted this poll between December 7-December 12, 2022, among a sample of 20,010 Adults. The interviews were conducted online and the data were weighted to approximate a target sample of Adults based on gender, age, race, educational attainment, and region. Results from the full survey have a margin of error of plus or minus 1 percentage point. NACDS commissioned the poll.

Amazon Pilots Supply Chain Visibility Tool

Amazon Web Services (AWS) unveiled a new cloud application last month with the goal of improving supply chain visibility and assisting users in responding to shifting market conditions. Users can pool their data from many systems into a centralized “supply chain data lake” that regulates, interprets, and stores data in real time using the pay-as-you-go method. According to the press release, the AWS system is currently preview-ready in Northern Virginia, Oregon, and Frankfurt, Germany, with further availability “coming soon.” Among the companies adopting the new platform are Whole Foods, Traeger Grills, and Lifetime Brands.

Retail Dive

Target Ranks High For InStore Holiday Shopping

According to a poll conducted by Jungle Scout, 29% of respondents shop at Target for instore purchases, second to Walmart at 56. More than two-thirds of online Christmas shoppers (67%) shop at Amazon, followed by Walmart.com (36%), and Target.com (18%).

National News

More than half (57%) of respondents said they shopped on Black Friday this year, while 43% shopped on Cyber Monday. The survey stated that 34% of shoppers made their holiday purchases during Amazon Prime’s Early Access sale in October, followed by 32% who shopped during Walmart’s Rollback Sale and 22% who shopped during Target Deal Days. In addition, of the 33% of shoppers who are limiting their holiday costs, 59% are reducing their Christmas gift budget and 20% are purchasing less holiday decorations.

Retail Dive

24-Hour Same-Day Delivery Launched By Walgreens

Walgreens will be expanding 24-hour sameday delivery service to almost 400 locations, allowing shoppers to buy more than 27,000 goods for delivery in an hour or less. Customers can also get their medications delivered the same day through the Walgreens app or by contacting the pharmacy, with delivery rates varying by location.

Grocery Dive

Inflation Dips in November

According to the Consumer Price Index, inflation fell in November, reaching its lowest level in a year. Prices grew 7.1% annually in November, down from 7.7% in October. The November CPI rate marked the fifthstraight monthly decline and beat the economists’ expectations of 7.3%. It was the lowest reading since December 2021 and a huge improvement on this year’s peak rate of 9.1% in June. The news comes as the Federal Reserve begins its final two-day policy making meeting of the year, during which officials will scrutinize important economic statistics to see if their aggressive rate hikes have begun to cool the economy and bring down decadeshigh inflation.

CNN

Grocery Prices Continue to Rise As Inflation Dips

Food inflation is once again surpassing general inflation. Food became 10.6% more expensive in the year through November, with grocery prices up 12% and restaurant prices rising 8.5%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. During the same time span, total inflation increased by 7.1%.

CNN

Shoppers Are More Selective In Consequence of Inflation According to Walmart CEO

According to Walmart CEO Doug McMillon, the American shopper is still “stressed” by inflation, and the consequences aren’t being felt evenly across categories. McMillon claims that shoppers are becoming pickier in their purchasing, foregoing some electronics in favor of essentials. Walmart is one of many retailers seeing a shift in customer behavior as inflation drives up the cost of food, housing, and other necessities.

CNBC

Amazon Delays Some New Hires

In an effort to conserve money, Amazon has delayed graduate hire start dates from May until the end of next year. The decision, which an Amazon spokesperson confirmed, was made in the midst of an industrywide cost-cutting initiative. Graduates were given a onetime payment of $13,000 regardless of whether they took the postponed employment or not. The decision’s impact on how many graduates is unclear.

Financial Times

Important Information for SIG Members

NRS requires all existing members of a self-insured group to be notified of all new members. NRNSIG new members are listed below.

NRNSIG

Membership Information: Find out more about RAN’s self insured group. Call Pro Group, 800-859-3177, or the RAN office at 775-882-1700 (toll free in Nevada 800-690-5959). Don’t forget to check out our website, www.RANNV.org.

“Workers’

Nevada News

Clark County School District To Cover AP Student Test Fees

Officials from the Las Vegas school district announced that they would cover the $100 Advanced Placement exam fee using federal funding. To obtain college credit for taking an AP class in high school, students must pass the exam. Only 79% of enrolled pupils actually took the test last year, according to district officials, falling short of their anticipated goal. Thus, more pupils are being aggressively recruited by the district to take AP classes.

KTNV

Lombardo, Nevada Lawmakers To Plan $11.4B Budget For Two Years

For the upcoming two-year general fund budget, Joe Lombardo and Nevada lawmakers will have $11.4 billion in estimated tax receipts, representing a nearly $2.3 billion increase over the current two-year budget set in 2021. The budget’s significant growth was caused by increased revenue from gambling and sales taxes, which have risen in tandem with persistently high inflation and generally robust consumer spending. This is a significant increase from the Economic Forum’s May 2021 projection of less than $9.2 billion in general fund revenues over the biennium.

Carson Now

Decriminalization Of Minor Traffic Tickets in Nevada Starts January 1

Effective January 1, 2023 minor traffic infractions will no longer be a jailable offense, and all outstanding warrants for infractions of minor traffic laws will be lifted. According to estimates, there are more than a quarter million open warrants for minor traffic infractions in Clark County alone. During the 2021 Legislative Session, Assembly Bill 116 decriminalized traffic and the majority of speeding citations, with the goal to keep people out of jail for small offenses.

Fox 5 Las Vegas

Temporary Nursing Licenses Fast-Tracked By Nevada

In an effort to address the current shortage of pediatric nurses, Nevada has accelerated its temporary nursing license application process, according to officials. Cathy Dinauer, executive director of the Nevada State Board of Nursing, a nurse who is currently licensed in another state can now receive a temporary Nevada license within a few hours. The procedure would typically take several days. According to the Nevada Hospital Association, the shift comes as pediatric hospital units across the state continue to be overcrowded with children suffering from respiratory infections such respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), influenza, COVID-19, rhinovirus, and enterovirus.

Las Vegas Review-Journal

Retail Association of Nevada

410 South Minnesota Street

Carson City, Nevada 89703-4272

Nevada

Mary F. Lau President/CEO

Bryan Wachter Senior Vice President

Elizabeth MacMenamin Vice President of Government Affairs

Brown Vice President, Finance and Administration

BATTLING ORC: HUGE WIN FOR RETAILERS, WORKERS, CONSUMERS

Retail Industry Leaders Association

The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) issued the following statement welcoming news that crucial consumer and employee safety legislation, the INFORM Consumers Act, is included within the 2023 omnibus appropriations bill.

“After three years of working together with RILA member companies, law enforcement, and policymakers, we are thrilled the INFORM Consumers Act is included in the 2023 omnibus spending package,” said RILA Senior Executive Vice President, Public Affairs Michael Hanson. “INFORM will require more transparency

online, making it harder to anonymously fence stolen products on Amazon and other marketplaces, and it will empower law enforcement to prosecute organized retail crime networks across the country. Its passage is a victory for businesses, retail workers, consumers, and communities large and small who have been impacted by the surge in organized retail crime (ORC).”

The INFORM Consumers Act will require online marketplaces to verify the identities of highvolume third-party sellers and disclose basic information to shoppers and law enforcement. Removing the anonymity on

these platforms by creating basic accountability measures will protect consumers from illicit goods, aid law enforcement in their efforts to track organized crime and make it harder for bad actors to build an illegal business and profit by selling stolen or counterfeit merchandise.

Once enacted, INFORM will empower every state Attorney General to enforce the laws’ provisions. Many states have already taken the lead funding statewide ORC task forces to coordinate efforts between local law enforcement and retail asset protection professionals to build cases and prosecute

criminal rings. As INFORM heads toward passage, retailers encourage every state to make tackling organized retail crime a priority by funding a dedicated ORC task force to coordinate local efforts and prosecute criminal rings operating in their communities.

“The issue of organized retail crime won’t be solved overnight, but with INFORM in place at the federal level and states coordinating efforts with additional resources, stakeholders will finally have a more comprehensive approach to tackling this problem in our communities,” added Hanson.

Nevada News is published by the Retail Association of Nevada, a nonpartisan, nonprofit corporation founded in 1969 representing the Retail Community, the Chain Drug Council and the Grocery Industry Council.

Piper

Megan Bedera Editor

Sue Arzillo, Alphabet Soup Inc. Newsletter Design & Layout