News

And across town

The Nevada Legislature wasn’t the only place in Carson City where public moneys found their way into private pockets.

The Nevada Commission on Mineral Resources gave $2,500 to the mining industry political organization, Nevada Mineral Exploration Coalition, to go to a trade show.

In an email message, a Commission spokesperson said, “NMEC staffs the booth at these trade shows and hands out geologic maps and publications done by the Division of Minerals. The intent is to attract companies to invest in mineral exploration and development in Nevada, which is consistent with the statutes for the Division of Minerals. The donation is made directly to the trade show for the booth, not NMEC. The funds used come from mining claim fees collected annually by the Division of Minerals.”

The Coalition came to notice in 2012 as one of seven mining industry organizations that poured money into a state senate district in Nevada to elect Republican Greg Brower over Democrat Sheila Leslie. As a state legislator, Leslie, now an RN&R columnist, sponsored a measure to repeal a mining industry tax loophole from the Nevada Constitution. Leslie’s measure will appear on the ballot in November.

Constitutional amendment fails

A proposed U.S. constitutional amendment failed in the Senate Aug. 11, and Nevada’s senators split on the issue.

The measure, sponsored by Sen. Tom Udall, would have carved out an exception in the First Amendment in order to negate the effect of U.S. Supreme Court rulings that in campaign finance, money is speech, that corporations are persons entitled to First Amendment protection, and that aggregate limits on campaign contributions violate the first amendment. Those rulings have turned a flood of money loose.

Democratic Sen. Harry Reid supported the amendment and Republican Sen. Dean Heller voted against it.

The measure had no chance of winning approval because constitutional amendments require a supermajority, but Reid brought it up for a vote to force Republicans to cast an unpopular vote during an election campaign.

The measure is opposed by the American Civil Liberties Union, which issued a statement after the vote:

“But history has taught us to be wary of proposals that would empower the government to monitor, regulate, and ultimately criminalize political speech. For instance, with the McCainFeingold bill in 2002, Congress made it a criminal offense for groups like the ACLU or Sierra Club to even mention a candidate in certain communications paid for by general treasury funds in the crucial run-up period to elections and primaries. The constitutional amendment under consideration in the Senate is even broader in some ways. It would allow the federal and state governments to limit spending, including spending by private citizens, that lawmakers say could ‘influence elections.’”

Time warp

The campaign of Kate Marshall, who is trying to move from state treasurer to secretary of state, sent out a fund-raising message that read in part:

“[S]tarting at midnight tonight, lawmakers cannot accept campaign contributions during the special session or for 15 days after it ends. With the midnight deadline looming, Kate’s opponent [state legislator Barbara Cegavske] has kicked her fundraising efforts into overdrive to raise money by the end of the day. We need to keep up the pace to make sure Kate has the funds necessary to win this election in November. We have a goal of $1,000 before midnight tonight. Can you contribute $5 right now to help reach our $1,000 goal?”

The message was dated Sept. 9 but apparently didn’t get mailed on time. It arrived on Sept. 12, the day after the special session ended.

—Dennis Myers

Tesla triumphs

Sandoval signs off on $1.3 billion untax package

Carole Vilardo stalked the legislative halls during the special session of the by Nevada Legislature. She represents Dennis Myers the Nevada Taxpayers Association, a business group. Except possibly—and only possibly—for state budget directors, she knows more about state taxation than anyone. One of her concerns with the Tesla deal was that green energy abatements have a history in Nevada, and they were not always successful. She recalled one abatement that was created in the early days of energy alternatives when the state was trying to encourage their use. An abatement was provided on the assumption that businesses would use it for their buildings. One casino used it for its entire footprint—parking lots and all—and ate up most of the abatement provided. Drafting legislation can be tricky.

Speed and secrecy prevailed

So can the makeup of the legislature. Term limits have seldom had an impact because there is such heavy turnover. Few legislators stay long enough to be termed out. This means that there are few legislators who have much knowledge of how past legislation was handled. That casino eating up most of an abatement is institutional knowledge that few people—least of all legislators—have. So Vilardo was putting it in their ears.

“A lot of these legislators have been spoken to about it.” she said. “I know because I have done some of it.”

That was her principal concern with the Tesla deal. If that was handled, she was satisfied.

That was true of most players at the special session. Their main interest was to tinker with the deal, not to stop it or alter it significantly. With northern journalists serving as cheerleaders, little scrutiny had been done and so the public had only a rosy projection of what the Tesla deal meant. In the handful of hours after the deal was announced and before the legislators went into special session, the two Las Vegas dailies quickly turned out some rigorous analysis of the Tesla deal, but by then the juggernaut was rolling.

Gov. Brian Sandoval worked hard to keep the public from being involved and a debate from getting started. The negotiations with Tesla were secret. Once the governor announced the deal, he raced to get the lawmakers into special session as fast as possible so critics would not get traction and debate would not get underway. The actual language of the legislation was not available for the public to examine until

Theatrical production people brandished protest signs at passing cars while they demonstrated in front of the governor’s office. They objected to corporate welfare being taken from their industry and given to the electric car industry.

the last possible moment. Indeed, the governor didn’t get around to actually calling the legislators into session until the night before they met, when many of them had already arrived. Since the governor’s call to the legislators contains the legislative agenda, the agenda, too, was withheld from the public. Information was held closely, preventing anyone from raising questions or slowing things down.

Once the legislative session was underway, a good deal of work was done in political party caucuses barred to the public.

The governor suggested there was nothing to debate, a notion seconded by supporters of the Sandoval deal like Washoe County Commissioner Marsha Berkbigler, who said, “I can’t see a downside to it” on Nevada Newsmakers. When there was rare scrutiny by journalists, Tesla backers complained. Assemblymember James Hardy of Clark County, a Democrat, complained that the press was misrepresenting the legislation as Tesla-specific, and columnist Steve Sebelius answered him that Tesla was the only corporation that would be affected by two provisions in the then-existing bill drafts, and Tesla was getting its own $103 million highway built for it by the state.

Tesla itself had five lobbyists registered, though there may have been others behind beards like public relations firms. They kept their heads down to avoid giving anyone a target.

There were plenty of lobbyists representing other entities. Water districts and private water corporations, chambers of commerce, the Burning Man festival, teachers, real estate salespeople, contractors, the state’s courts, hospitals, vineyards, law enforcement and casinos all had their lobbyists on hand.

So did the automotive world, including General Motors and the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. And so did insurance companies and theatrical production people, who were directly affected, their existing corporate welfare reduced to help pay off Tesla.

Democrats, who early on had talked tough and skeptical about corporate welfare, ended up fighting to protect a slightly larger portion of welfare for the film industry that was supposed to go to Tesla.

Nevada Taxpayers Association lobbyist Carole Vilardo made a point in a huddle outside the Senate gallery.

Most of the lobbyists were there to watch and report back to their clients. Only a few felt any direct impact, but the implications of the legislation were sweeping, so they needed to be on hand. They’ll be affected down the road.

Though nowhere near the size of the Hoover Dam project— some legislators have made the comparison—the Tesla plant will likely trigger a growth spurt unlike any this region has seen since the summer of 1978, when, in a dazzling display of bad municipal planning, six new casinos opened in Reno. People poured in from around the nation looking for jobs, which were plentiful—indeed, some could work two or three jobs, and did—but there were few places to live and the sewage treatment plant was running out of capacity and had to be expanded by a quick bond issue. People lived in their cars or at a roadside rest stop east of Sparks. Traffic problems became endemic. The impact hit the valley like a sledgehammer and overnight a controlled growth faction gained legitimacy and public office. So real estate and developer lobbyists had a lot to watch last week.

The people imported to work at Tesla will put new strain on water and schools. The workers are expected to live mostly in Washoe County and Fernley in Lyon County. While taking out $1.25 billion in abatements, Tesla will put $7.5 million in for schools, which is not expected to come close to paying its way. Lawmakers sought to guarantee that half the hirings would be of local residents, but lawyers who specialize in employment law said such a provision would be unlikely to survive court scrutiny. One said citizens are free to cross state borders in their search for work and must be treated equally and not burdened in their search for work by local laws. The principal case law in the field involves government employees, not private workers—though given the federal and state funding tied up in Tesla, it’s difficult to determine which applies here.

A few legislators like Richard Segerblom of Clark County noted that the state never has money for things like schools but manages to find mammoth abatements for Tesla. Labor unions who sought wages at the prevailing regional level failed.

Sen. Joe Hardy got attention for saying of Storey County’s rapid local approval of Tesla, “That’s a lesson we could learn in southern Nevada.” The fact is, if Tesla had said it wanted to manufacture meth, the county might have waved them through just as quickly. Nevada’s small counties are notorious for approving dirty industries, as with a one time Lincoln County plan to allow two hazardous waste incinerator projects to be built (subsequently disallowed by the state) or Nye County’s willingness to welcome the now-defunct Yucca Mountain high level nuclear waste dump.

Given that one of Gov. Sandoval’s goals was to increase Nevada’s credibility in attracting new companies to Nevada, the reaction may not have been what he anticipated. The special session’s work was denounced in the major organs of the financial community, such as the Wall Street Journal, Business Insider and Forbes. Ω

The financial community is not impressed

Itʼ s happening in

ACTIVITIES

GREAT BASIN BREWING CO. FARMERS MARKET

Nevada’s farmers, ranchers, food purveyors and artisans will converge at Great Basin Brewing Company for the late-season Nevada Grown farmers market. Th, 3:30-7:30PM through 9/25, free. Great Basin Brewing Co. 846 Victorian Ave. (775) 3557711

HARVEST FESTIVAL

Our second annual Harvest Festival and artisan fair. Come see the harvest of our local farmers and gardeners, enjoy great food, fun activities for the kids and a vegetable competition for the best and biggest in Northern Nevada; prizes will be awarded! Local artisans will also be on hand with their creations. We will also hold our Scarecrow Building class from 10am-2pm- $15 per scarecrow- all supplies included. Sa, 9/20, 10AM-5PM and Su, 9/21, 10AM-5PM, free. Rail City Garden Center, 1720 Brierley Way (775) 355-1551

SCHEELS RUNNING CLUB

Run with expert pacers and enjoy running in a group. Tu, 6:30PM through 12/9, free. Scheels, 1200 Scheels Dr. (775) 331-2700

CROCHET CONNECTION

Learn to crochet or share tips with other crochet enthusiasts. Th, 4-5:45PM, free. Spanish Springs Library, 7100A Pyramid Lake Highway. (775) 424-1800

FOUR SEASONS BOOK CLUB

The book club meets the fi rst Saturday of each month. Call to fi nd out each month’s book title. First Sa of every month, 1-2PM, free. Sparks Library, 1125 12th St. (775) 352-3200

CONVERSATION CAFE

The drop-in conversation program meets on the fi rst Saturday of each month, 2-4PM, free. Sparks Library, 1125 12th St. (775) 352-3200

FOOD TRUCK DRIVE-IN

Food Truck Drive-In comes to Victorian Square on the 2nd and 4th Saturday of each month through October. 5PM to 9PM. Enjoy the fi nest in mobile cuisine including Hawaiian fusion, desserts, hot dogs, pulled pork nachos and much more! After dinner, head to Saint Mary’s Ampitheater for a free movie at 8PM. Our upcoming movie (September 27) is Across the Universe. Victorian Square, Victorian Ave, free.

CLICKETS KNITTING GROUP

This class is for knitters of all ages and levels. Yarn and needles are available. First and Third Su of every month, 1:30-3PM, free. Spanish Springs Library, 7100A Pyramid Lake Highway, Spanish Springs (775) 4241800

PERFORMANCE AND MUSIC

TOM DRINNON

Th, 9/18, 7PM, F, 9/19, 7PM and Sa, 9/20, 7PM, no cover. John Ascuaga’s Nugget, 1100 Nugget Ave. (775) 356-3300

DECOY

Sa, 9/20, 9PM, no cover. CBQ, 1330 Scheels Dr. (775) 359-1109

DIRK SPALDO AND SUPER NATURAL HEROS

We are going to have two great bands coming to you LIVE!!! Dirk Spaldo and Super Natural Heros is an Alternative/rock band and will open for 11/11, also an Alternative Rock cover Band. Sa, 9/20, 9:30PM. Paddy & Irene’s Irish Pub, 906-A Victorian Ave. (775) 358-5484

RICK HAMMOND DUO

Su, 9/21, 3PM, no cover. CBQ, 1330 Scheels Dr. (775) 359-1109

ACOUSTIC WONDERLAND

This is a singer/song writer Showcase. Come down to Paddy’s and bring your acoustic instruments. Sign ups are at 7:30PM and music begins at 8PM. M-Su, 8PM through 9/25. Paddy & Irene’s Irish Pub, 906-A Victorian Ave. (775) 358-5484

DJ RAZZ

Come dance the night away to DJ RAZZ! You can even karaoke if you like. Ladies Night every Friday night. Drink Specials all night. F, 9PM through 9/25. Paddy & Irene’s Irish Pub, 906-A Victorian Ave. (775) 358-5484

TAZER ROCKIN’ BIRTHDAY BASH!

Rock cover band TaZer rocks the night away at this huge birthday bash! Come out for food and cake and dance to the music of the ‘80s, ‘90s and today! F, 9/26, 9:30PM, no cover. Paddy & Irene’s Irish Pub, 906-A Victorian Ave. (775) 358-5484

THE UNWANTED

Sa, 9/27, 9PM, no cover. CBQ, 1330 Scheels Dr. (775) 359-1109

BIKINI BULL RIDING

DJ and Bikini Bull Riding Competition. Su, 5 & 9PM through 12/28, no cover. John Ascuaga’s Nugget, 1100 Nugget Ave. (775) 356-3300

LOCALS NIGHT

Locals Night, DJ. M, 5PM through 12/29, no cover. John Ascuaga’s Nugget, 1100 Nugget Ave. (775) 3563300

LIVE MONDAYS WITH TANY JANE

Open mic night every Monday at 8PM, hosted by Tany Jane. M, 8PM, no cover. Sidelines Bar & Nightclub, 1237 Baring Blvd. (775) 355-1030

CLASSIC ROCK NIGHT

Classic rock night with DJ. Tu, 5PM through 12/30, no cover. John Ascuaga’s Nugget, 1100 Nugget Ave. (775) 356-3300 OPEN JAM WITH TAZER & FRIENDS W, 8PM, no cover. Sidelines Bar & Nightclub, 1237 Baring Blvd. (775) 355-1030

LADIES NIGHT & TOUGHEST COWBOY

Ladies Night w/live music and Toughest Cowboy Competition. DJ breaks until midnight. W, 7 & 9PM through 12/31, no cover. John Ascuaga’s Nugget, 1100 Nugget Ave. (775) 356-3300

A SINGERS-SONGWRITERS SHOWCASE

Bring yourself, your instrument and your song. We look forward to hearing and seeing you there! Th, 8PM through 12/18, no cover. Paddy & Irene’s Irish Pub, 906-A Victorian Ave. (775) 358-5484

LIVE MUSIC & LATE NIGHT DJ

Live music with late-night DJ. F, 5PM-2AM & 7-11PM through 12/26, no cover. John Ascuaga’s Nugget, 1100 Nugget Ave. (775) 356-3300

LIVE MUSIC & LATE NIGHT DJ

Live music with late-night DJ. Sa, 5PM-2AM & 7PMmidnight through 12/27, no cover. John Ascuaga’s Nugget, 1100 Nugget Ave. (775) 3563300

KARAOKE

KARAOKE COMES TO SIDELINES

Every Monday Night!!! M, 8PM. Sidelines Bar & Nightclub, 1237 Baring Blvd. (775) 355-1030

KARAOKE WITH BOBBY DEE

Tu, 8PM, no cover. Morelli’s G Street Saloon, 2285 G St. (775) 355-8281a

KARAOKE

Th-Sa, 9PM, no cover. Bottom’s Up Saloon, 1923 Prater Way (775) 359-3677