32nd Special Session Wrap Up
Dear Constituents, Colleagues and Supporters,
Our founding fathers chose the symbol of the eagle to illustrate a two party system for our nation that, when held in balanced tension by the left and right wings, could lift us higher than any other in the world. However, when only one wing carries all the weight, the bird will inevitably spiral down into the ground.
What we have today is a lack of balance in our state and what we saw in this past legislative special session is what happens when one party rules both houses and the executive branch.
The 32nd special session brought forward a kitchen sink of partisan proposals, almost always heard in the late hours of the night, forcing members of the public and industry representatives to squeeze their two minutes of comments in at midnight with virtually no real vetting or honest deliberation.
The negative results included:
- AJR1, SJR1, and AJR2: Poorly crafted industry specific tax proposals that carry the potential to wipe out entire rural communities where mining is the lifeline to families and supporting businesses across our state.
- AB4, an election reform bill that shamelessly takes the power away from our Secretary of State, an official specifically elected to oversee the voting system, and gives it to the Governor in times of declared emergencies, at the cost of $4.5 M dollars we do not currently have. It also included sections that unnecessarily raise doubts about the integrity of the ballots cast during what will undoubtedly be an extremely contentious general election in November.
- SB4, a much needed civil liability bill providing protections for reopening businesses following safety protocols and providing jobs but with back room negotiated carve outs that left hospitals and schools more exposed to frivolous lawsuits.
Although I support adequately funding education and will continue to work for solutions to ensure we support the success of our students and workforce development needs, the proposals that were brought to the table were extreme, unfair and with little input on the way they will negatively impact our state.
Although I believe both sides use the topic of election reform to exaggerate their case, I was adamantly opposed to the content of the bill and the attack on our Secretary of State who has worked tirelessly to ensure we have an election process that is safe, fair, valid and accessible.
Although I voted to support businesses staying open, jobs coming back and our economy recovering, the fact that hospitals and schools were excluded from liability protections shows that elections have consequences, numbers of seats matter, and if we want to see better outcomes, we need more balance in our two party system.
In spite of the challenges, we were able to address some critical issues that pertain to this present moment.
- SB1 will save taxpayer dollars and help tenants and landlords work through eviction issues through expedited mediation proceedings without bogging down the courts.
- SB3 will streamline some unemployment insurance processes. This measure is much needed with the current backlog of claims, however more still needs to be done to help struggling individuals who have lost their job due to COVID.
- AB3 was the result of much collaboration with law enforcement and the community to provide greater transparency and place best practices into statute. At a time when the topics of race and policing have become so divisive, I am proud of the way everyone came together to build more community trust while still supporting our law enforcement officers.
Balance in government, transparency, honest debate over facts, true vetting of policy proposals, and collaboration on final solutions lead to better outcomes on behalf of the 3 million Nevadans we collectively serve.Unfortunately, little of that was present in these past two special sessions.
I will continue to work with my colleagues in the Assembly Republican Caucus to bring back more members to the legislature next session so that every Nevadan’s voice and viewpoint is represented and the quality of outcomes will serve our citizens better, as the founders envisioned it could be.
In the meantime, it remains an honor to serve the 64,000 citizens in Assembly District 25. Over this interim I will keep providing you with important updates when they arise, work to support the safe reopening of our economy, research issues and listen to your ideas for future legislation to propose that will support the prosperity, safety and liberty of my constituents and every citizen in our great state.
In Service,
Jill TollesAssembly District 25
Additional Resource Links:
For more information on Washoe County School District , click here .
For more information on the NV Department of Education , go here .
For the latest updates from the Nevada System of Higher Education , visit here.
The Legislative Counsel Bureau has put together a great resources page here.
To see the latest information, links and resources compiled by the Reno Tahoe Chamber of Commerce visit here.
For up to date information at the Nevada state level on COVID-19, please go to https://nvhealthresponse.nv.gov/.
For Washoe County Regional Information go to: https://covid19washoe.com/
To Learn more about How to Get Tested go to: https://covid19washoe.com/testing/
To submit information to the Governor’s Office of Economic Development on the impact to your business, go to: https://www.diversifynevada.com/small-business-administration-sba-disaster-assistance-in-response-to-the-coronavirus/
For more information on Unemployment Insurance and the Federal CARES Act , go to: https://detr.nv.gov/Page/COVID-19_(Coronavirus)_Information_for_Claimants_and_Employers
To file for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) , go to: https://www.employnv.gov/vosnet/Default.aspx