WHAT: Members of the Nevada Values Coalition plan to attend both the Democratic Party Caucus on Saturday, Jan. 21 and the Republican Party Caucus on Feb. 4 to present platform planks.

WHO: Coalition members include representatives from labor, environmental, social justice and health care organizations seeking to move Nevada forward. Members will download planks and bring them to the caucus meetings.

WHEN: Saturday at 11:30 a.m. at various caucus sites.

INFO: Caucus for Progress platform planks focus on real issues facing real Nevadans, from unemployment to foreclosure, health care and retirement security. All platform planks are uploaded on the Nevada Values Coalition website at http://www.NevadaValues.Org

CONTACTS:

Danny Thompson, secretary-treasurer Nevada AFL-CIO for information on AFL’s jobs plank. (702) 413-4517 thompson.danny@worldnet.att.net

Annette Magnus, public affairs manager and volunteer coordinator of Planned Parenthood of Southern Nevada, for information on Planned Parenthood’s platform planks. (702) 285-0898 annette.magnus@pprm.org

Erin Neff, executive director of ProgressNow Nevada, for general information about the Caucus for Progress or the foreclosure platform plank. (702) 401-7959 erin@progressnownevada.org

Online: http://www.nevadavalues.org/posts/155

Here is all the information needed to attend a caucus and to introduce a plank to be added to the party’s platform.

Democratic Presidential Caucus is January 21, 2012 starting at 11:30am in all location across Nevada. Your specific caucus location depends on where you live. Find out where your caucus location is by visiting http://www.pledgetocaucus.com

Republican Presidential Caucus is February 4, 2012. Start time and location depends on where you live. Clark County caucuses start at 9:00am. Washoe County caucuses start at 10:00 am. More information is available at http://www.nvgopcaucus.com

Party Platforms – Our Chance to Make a Difference

One of the most important parts of the caucus process is the chance to introduce planks into the party platforms. These are the standards that the party will hold up as their ideals for both their members and their elected officials.

Each party has a different process by which planks are introduced at their caucus. Below is information for both parties.

Democratic Party Platform Process

To submit a plank for the party platform you must attend the caucus meeting (January 21, 2012 starting at 11:30am in all locations). At the caucus meeting you must submit your plank in writing to the chairperson at your caucus location. It can be written on any sheet of paper, but to make things easier we’ve provided a blank version of the official plank submission form (click here to download).

Voting then takes place at your caucus location, the county party convention, and the state party convention to determine if your plank will become part of the party platform.

See below for platform planks that Nevada Values Coalition members have suggested. The forms are already filled out for the Democratic Party caucuses so all you have to do is print them out and bring them with you. You can submit as many planks as you would like.

Republican Party Platform Process

To submit a plank for the party platform you must attend the caucus meeting (February 4, 2012. Start times vary by county. Clark County starts at 9:00am, Washoe County starts at 10:00am). At the meeting an informational packet will be handed out that includes an email address for the county party platform committee. You can then submit as many plank proposals as you would like to the platform committee, but they must be done by sending them to this email address.

After the planks are submitted the platform committee will hold two public hearings where proposed planks are discussed. Then at the county party convention the platform committee will submit a report on the proposed planks. A comment period will take place, followed by a vote of the entire convention membership on the proposed planks.

If the plank receives enough votes it will go to the state party convention. There will be another round of public discussion at the state convention. During this process anyone who is a member of the state convention can propose an amendment to the plank. The plank will then be voted on by the convention at large.

Suggested Planks from Nevada Values Coalition Members

Download a blank Democratic Party platform plank submission form here, but we highly suggest looking at the planks below that have been submitted by Nevada Values Coalition member groups. All you have to do is print them out and bring them with you to your caucus. The Republican Party does not have a form that is submitted at caucus locations (see above for the Republican plank submission process) so we cannot provide one here. However, you could take the same language from the suggested planks below and submit it through the process.

Protecting Women’s Health – Nevada Advocates for Planned Parenthood (Democratic plank form)

Protecting Women’s Health – Nevada Advocates for Planned Parenthood (Republican plank language)

Helping homeowners in the foreclosure process – ProgressNow Nevada

Protect Medicaid – Nevada Alliance of Retired Americans

Protect Medicare – Nevada Alliance of Retired Americans

Protect Social Security – Nevada Alliance of Retired Americans

Create jobs – AFL-CIO

Ward Voting for City Council Elections – Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada

Comprehensive Immigration Reform – Mi Familia Vota

Transition to Clean Energy and Jobs for Nevada – Sierra Club Toiyabe Chapter

Social Security Protection – National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare

Medicare Protection – National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare

Medicaid Protection – National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare

General Plank Ideas

Still don’t have an idea for a plank? Below are some general plank ideas.

• Require full disclosure online of all political donations within 48 hours of receipt.

• Permit same-day voter registration

• Require financial disclosures to be filed by out-of-state non-profits; 527s and PACs 48 hours prior to conducting paid media campaigns in Nevada

• Require banks to sell foreclosed property back to homeowners at the actual market value

• Require banks to maintain foreclosed properties they own (see the filled out form above)

• Modernize Nevada’s tax code to reflect the dynamic 21st century economy we have

• Adequately fund Nevada’s K-16 system of education

• Enact a broad-based business tax and reduce the overall sales tax rate

• Eliminate all tax deductions for foreign-owned gold mining corporations.

• Phase out coal-generated power and replace it with renewable energy.

• Create a bottle deposit system in Nevada

• Repeal Nevada’s constitutional prohibition on gay marriage

• Require a two-thirds majority vote on all budget cuts

• Limit executive pay to five times the amount of a company’s lowest paid full-time worker’s salary.

• Freeze the incoming tuition rate for all first-year Nevada higher education students for a period of five years.

• Legalize, tax and regulate marijuana sales for medical patients

• Legalize, tax and regulate marijuana sales

• Protect women’s access to health care

• Permit collective bargaining for state employees

Today, legislative leaders unveiled a plan to raise $1.5 billion in revenue while also creating a long-term structural fix to Nevada’s 1950s tax code.

Jeremy Aguero, principal at Applied Analysis, presented this presentation today showing lawmakers options to increase funding in the budget. You can find everything from Nevada’s massive budget deficit — 54 percent of the total budget — to the short-term and long-term fixes.

Reconstructing Nevada_Draft Presentation 22

This is a balanced plan — one that gives businesses flexibility and reduces some tax burdens even as it broadens the tax base and cleans up the code. There are still cuts, but money can be restored to key K-12, higher education and social service programs, if this type of approach is approved by the Legislature.

Note the location of the meeting is NOT in the Legislative Building, but instead at the Department of Health (4150 Technology Way #303, Carson City, NV). AND NOTE the teleconference will be at the Department of Welfare & Supportive Services (3330 E. Flamingo, Suite 55, Las Vegas, NV).

NV Tax Commission Meeting April 18, 2011

We continue to hear talk of shared sacrifice, but we’re wondering when business is going to start sharing in the sacrifice.

It’s time to revamp the 1950s tax code and bring Nevada into the modern era. It’s time to ask corporations to pay a small price for quality education and well-trained workers.

We know we need to diversify the state’s revenue system. And the best way to do that is with a broad-based business tax.

Assembly Bill 336 is up for a hearing Tuesday at 8 a.m. AB 336 enacts a corporate profits tax on businesses earning more than $500,000 a year. If you’re in northern Nevada, please go to the hearing in Carson City in Room 4100.

If you’re in Southern Nevada, please go to the teleconferenced hearing in Las Vegas at the Grant Sawyer State Building, 555 Washington Ave.

There are more details at ProgressNow Nevada’s Facebook event page.

If you cannot make it, please e-mail testimony in support of AB336 to the committee at AsmTax@lcb.state.nv.us

You can also watch the hearing online on the Legislature’s website.

Nevada is still under the recession’s choke hold, struggling to support additional clients needing services in this time of need.

So many Nevadans are suffering, but the current budget permits the state’s largest corporations to avoid offering a tiny downpayment on the recovery.

That would change if Assembly Bill 336 passes. AB336, sponsored by Peggy Pierce and Joe Hogan of Las Vegas, would enact a corporate profits tax on businesses which net more than $500,000 a year. It is the first broad-based business tax proposal we have seen this year.

With the legislative session now half over, we think it’s beyond time to start talking solutions.

AB336 has its first hearing Tuesday at 8 a.m. in the Assembly Taxation Committee. The meeting is Room 4100 of the Legislative Building in Carson City and will also be teleconferenced to the Grant Sawyer State Building in Las Vegas.

You can read the bill here.

This week we have a chance to put a new face on the state’s budget crisis.

We’ve heard about the cuts many times, but rarely do we talk about the other side of the issue — the revenue.

And with foreign-owned mining corporations taking more than $6 billion of gold from Nevada last year and paying practically nothing for it — it’s time to re-examine whether that industry is paying its fair share.

This week there are two great chances to learn more about mining, its taxes and its numerous deductions.

On Tuesday, the Senate Revenue Committee will meet at 1 p.m. to discuss SB 493 – a bill that would create a Mining Commission to conduct tax and environmental oversight of the industry – and SJR 15 to end mining’s sweetheart tax loopholes by completely eliminating the mining tax section from the Nevada Constitution.

The meeting itself takes place in the Legislative Building in Carson City. It will be teleconferenced to the Grant Sawyer Building in Las Vegas (555 Washington Ave.). Public testimony can be given via this teleconference.

If you’re in Southern Nevada and will be going to the Sawyer Building, please sign up at our coalition partner’s Facebook event page.

On Thursday, the Assembly Taxation Committee will meet at 8 a.m. to discuss AB428 — a bill to eliminate the tax deductions mining uses to avoid paying taxes. That meeting will also take place in Carson City and be teleconferenced to the Sawyer Building. Please sign up to attend that hearing on our coalition partner’s Facebook event page.

“Economic diversification is being sold as the panacea to our economic problems — unemployment, foreclosures — and the future health of the state. But amid that clamor, little agreement has emerged over what stands in the way of achieving it.”

Read the full article.

Elliott Parker, professor and chairman, Department of Economics, University of Nevada, Reno has his open letter to Governor Sandoval posted in the Nevada Appeal.

“Dear Gov. Brian Sandoval,”

Read the full letter here.

Two bills dropped this week that would have a huge impact on changing the governor’s untenable budget.

Assemblywoman Peggy Pierce, D-Las Vegas, is the sponsor of both.

AB428 takes a nice look at mining deductions. Currently the industry takes hundreds of millions of dollars worth of gold out of our state without paying a dime of tax on it. Pierce’s bill doesn’t end the deductions (which include everything from the cost of extraction to transportation and marketing expenses). Instead the bill calls for the net proceeds tax to be paid on 40 percent of the actual costs that are currently tax free. AB428

AB336 imposes a broad-based business tax. Although the bill hasn’t yet been printed as I write this, it would impose a net profits tax on large corporations.

Pierce’s mining bill is up for a hearing April 7 in the Assembly Taxation Committee. AB336 has yet to be scheduled.

You can comment on both of these bills by entering the bill number on the Legislature’s online poll section. http://www.leg.state.nv.us/AppCF/Opinion/76th2011/Poll/

UNLV has decided Gov. Brian Sandoval’s budget leaves the university no choice but to cut major liberal arts programs that are critical to educating a well-rounded person.

On the chopping block — philosophy, women’s studies and social work. Why? Because conservatives have freaked out about humanities programs, suggesting diversity courses are unnecessary and that only science should be supported.

UNLV can’t be considered a university if it doesn’t balance sciences with humanities. We can argue about the merits in 2011 of an undergrad degree in philosophy if you want, but we certainly should never argue the critical-thinking skills students learn from reading philosophers and pondering their own place in society.

We can argue about whether having 30 students majoring in Women’s Studies justifies the major. But we certainly should never suggest that students shouldn’t be expected to learn about historic and ongoing civil rights struggles and their place in the modern workplace.

But let’s talk for a moment about Social Work. March is Social Work Month. And how does the governor’s budget respect those who choose that noble profession? By slashing social service and welfare funding and proposing such massive cuts to the university system that Neil Smatresk decides the only way he can salvage UNLV is to eliminate Social Work.

Here’s what social work professor William Epstein told the Review-Journal today. http://www.lvrj.com/news/unlv-to-kill-315-jobs-33-degree-programs-to-meet-proposed-budget-cuts-117623393.html

William Epstein, a social work professor, said losing that department would be terrible for Nevada.

“The state’s social services are deplorable,” he said. “Cutting the program is like giving the finger to working people.”

Epstein said it would be difficult to recruit social workers to Nevada from out of state if the university eliminates the program.

“Who in their right mind would move here?” he said.

This is THE central issue that needs to be addressed for the conversation about revenue or cuts to move forward.

“It can be summarized like this: Does Nevada continue to try to poach out-of-state businesses with a low-/no-tax pitch? Or should the state make a broader appeal to businesses, emphasizing potential partnerships with education, planned improvements to infrastructure and quality of life?”

Read the full article.

We know that the mood in Carson City is grim with Gov. Sandoval’s bleak budget and pledges of no new taxes. We also know there’s mounting support for a balanced approach to the crisis that includes new revenue as part of the solution.

That said, we cannot late our hard-working state employees get used as leverage in any revenue solution. I, for one, cannot imagine our state’s underpaid workers (who have no collective bargaining rights) being asked to sacrifice even more pay cuts. And it makes no sense to break the one promise we’ve made them — their retirement benefits.

Check out this outstanding piece in the Nevada Appeal by Vishnu Subramaniam, chief of staff for AFSCME Local 4041. http://www.nevadaappeal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110210/OPINION/110209544/1029&parentprofile=1061&template=printart

And Hugh Jackson, the Las Vegas Gleaner, has a great piece about the trend toward hating our hardest public servants in the current issue of Las Vegas CityLife. http://www.lasvegascitylife.com/articles/2011/02/10/opinion/damned_pundit/iq_42059881.txt

So, if you’re in Carson City on Valentine’s Day. Let’s show a bit of love and respect for our community’s public servants. Please join our Coalition member AFSCME, retirees and other public sector employees in a rally outside the Legislative Building.

Why is it that when someone proposes sunsetting a tax, it’s a tax increase, but when the no-new-taxes governor does it, it isn’t??

http://www.lvrj.com/news/yes-sandoval-is-raising-taxes-group-asserts-115087469.html?ref=469

You cannot logically argue that raising taxes on senior citizens is not a tax increase.

We know Gov. Brian Sandoval’s budget is not workable.

Today, rural icon Dean Rhoads, a Republican rancher from Tuscarora, said he supports our coalition’s call for a balanced solution to the budget crisis.

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2011/feb/02/senior-senator-bucks-governor-no-taxes-pledge/

We’re not in the business of counting the votes (although we will note the parlor game is now 1 down 4 to go) but we fully expect to get the votes we need. Ours is the sane, balanced and practical solution.

No is not a plan. And you will increasingly see lawmakers from both sides of the aisle show they are logical, sentient beings with the ability to think beyond a soundbite.

CARSON CITY – The state may save more money by spending rather than cutting.

Read the full article.

Due to overwhelming turnout at the January 29, 2011 budget townhall meeting, it was impossible for everyone to speak individually to the committee. To allow all concerned citizens to have their voice heard, the Legislature provided a way for additional testimony to be submitted.

Below are just a few of the testimonies that poured in from across Nevada.

Implementing Sandoval’s budget would destroy–not just change–destroy
education in this state, both K12 and higher ed. It will also pull
even more of the safety net for Nevada citizens than has already been
pulled, with devastating effects on peoples LIVES.

I teach in this state. I tell my students that if you want to determine the priorities
and values of a state or country, look at the budget. When I look at
this dreadful document, I can reach one and only one conclusion: this
is a state that does not care–at all–about its citizens.

Please find the courage to do the right thing, future elections notwithstanding.
Give us real leadership. Find sources of additional funding.

- Leah Wilds, Reno

I would like to urge to consider VERY strongly any further cuts to
higher education in Nevada. The cuts proposed in the Governor’s new
budget will amount to a 40% cut over the past 4 years. Such cuts will
insure that the higher ed system in NV will literally be decades in
recovering, if it recovers at all. I work at CSN and the 70% rise in
tuition that has been proposed to help cover the cuts will simply
devastate us as well as all the other community colleges in the state.
Our faculties work harder for less pay than any other higher ed
institutions in the state and we pride ourselves on being the
“last resort” for many of our students, in terms of EVER
receiving the training, skills, and education they will need to compete
in the future.

I’m personally proud to be a junior college graduate as I would never
have been able to afford attending college otherwise. I would hate to
see future generations deprived of the opportunities I received. The
proposed cuts will insure that this nightmare scenario comes true for
far, far too many of our young (and not so young) citizens.

- Dr. Harold Nations, Las Vegas

I am close to finishing my degree at the University of Nevada, Reno. I
will graduate December 2011 with a Wildlife Ecology & Conservation
degree. Financially, every year has been a struggle for me. My parents
are unable to help me very much financially, if at all. I depend on
scholarships, grants and loans to pay for school. Every year I’ve had
to take more and more out, putting me in greater debt, all so I can get
a degree at the college I love. I was born and raised in Nevada and I
had hoped to spend my life here, but I can barely finish school and
once I leave, the outlook for jobs does not look good. I was actually
given advice by someone at a certain federal department for Nevada that
I would have a much higher chance of getting a job if I left the state.

All that aside, I am almost done. It will be hard. I will have debts to
pay. But I’ll make it – I’ll skid by. But I have three younger brothers
living in Las Vegas. They are 14, 13 and 10 years old. They’ve seen me
go to college, seen the things I’ve done here, and they already want
that for themselves. It is terrifying and sad to me to know that when
they finally graduate high school, going to an IN-STATE college will
seem like an un-scalable mountain for them. Even if they were to stay
at home, they might not be able to afford it. This may lead them to
leave the state (as it will many others). When in-state tuition is just
as high as out of state tuition somewhere else, why stay in this state
when it looks, to all of us, like it’s failing from the outside in?

Unfortunately, if they don’t have the money for in-state tuition, my
brothers won’t have money for out of state tuition.They cannot pay
these astronomical bills.

These budget cuts will absolutely destroy the system of higher
education in Nevada. Our schools will be worthless. Just big buildings
filled with struggling students, unable to study what they really want
- but unable to do anything else. Nevada is in trouble, and destroying
higher education is suicide. No one will come here, no one will stay
here, and eventually our biggest tourist draw will be the Largest Ghost
Towns in the United States. Drive Safely!

- Rachel Clayson, Reno

I am a sophomore at the University of Nevada, Reno. I am majoring in
political science and environmental studies. With the last budget cuts,
my environmental studies major was cut, however, I am able to take the
classes that are left and substitute other classes for the ones that no
longer exist so I can still get my degree. If there are further budget
cuts to higher education in our state, the remaining environmental
studies classes will cease to exist. The work I have done thus far, in
the field, will be useless if I can not complete my degree. I want to
go to law school for environmental law and labor and employment law. We
already have one of the worst education systems in the country and we
can not afford to lose more funding. The students are the future of the
state, the country, and the world. We need an education and can not do
that without funding. Please do not reduce the budget more than it has
already been cut, it will be a devastating mistake.

- Stephanie, Reno

I am a retired person living on a “fixed income.” I am
fortunate that I do not have to worry about losing a job or losing my
house. I am one of the lucky ones, but I care about those who are
having a difficult time right now. I care about those who need the
help of state programs for medical help or staying in their own homes.
I care about our school children, teachers and college students. I
know that I can afford to pay a few more dollars in taxes. I am
willing to do that IF large businesses and mining also pay a few more
dollars in taxes. I urge the legislature to listen to the majority of
people in the state who see the need for both cuts and new sources of
revenue.

- Carol Wood, Las Vegas

I have 43 students in my 5th period class. Class is 52 minutes long.
Education cannot be an assembly line.

Budget cuts will result in more students being overlooked, and even
more students dropping off the belt!

- Tari Hawks, Las Vegas

Ultimately, we in Nevada must confront the fact that we can no longer
function in a economic structure that leaves mining industries billions
of dollars in profits untouched while attempting to balance the budget
on the backs of those who no longer have anything to give. We can no
longer expect to have functioning educational systems of any
consequence when teachers who require an MA degree to be in the
classroom can barely make $35,000/year to recoup the cost of their
education. We cannot train the workforce of tomorrow as we gut the few
universities and higher education providers that the state has, nor can
we attract the businesses of the future that might restore growth to
the state. In the end, our legislators must confront narrow
self-interest and make it clear that without real and substantive
change to the failed strategies of the past, none of us has any real
future in the State of Nevada, myself included.

- John, Las Vegas

I am a senior citizen that lives in Fernley, Lyon County. I am quite
concerned about the deteriorating quality of life living here in the
rurals. Services has always been at the minimum here even during good
times, as most of the services seemed to always be centered on the two
urban areas, Las Vegas and Reno, of Nevada. Since this economic
downturn Lyon County in particular has been hard hit. I am one of
hundreds in the town of Fernley that are paying for a upside down
mortgage, but I consider myself lucky given that many of my friends and
neighbors have lost their homes, due to foreclosures or short-sales. I
pay a substantial amount in property taxes, well above what in my mind
is fair and equitable, given the downturn of the actual value of my
home.

- Dina Porter, Fernley

I am a registered and active voter. I am also a licensed medical social
worker who primarily provides home-based services to our senior
population in the Reno/Sparks area. I have lived in Nevada for 11 years
and have witnessed the severe toll that the recession has taken on our
seniors. Services such as meals on wheels, CHIP waiver services,
Lifeline, respite care and adult daycare are more difficult to access
due to reduced budgets. We cannot afford to cut these services further
as it would result in greater hardship for these seniors and their
family members, many of whom are struggling to care for their aged
parents while working full-time jobs and raising their own children.
Many of our seniors are able to remain in the home and community
setting—and avoid costly longterm placement in nursing
homes—because of the services funded by our state government.

- Mary, Reno

Thank you both for attending the committee hearing this past weekend at
the Grant Sawyer building. It was a great experience, not only for
myself but for my Nevada Youth Coalition (NVYC) Members as well.

I brought over 25 members of the NVYC with me to those hearings, 5 of
whom chose to speak and testify in front of the committee. Even though
they were nervous, they put their names down and began to prepare their
testimony.

The debate over the proposed budget cuts demanded the faces and the
voices of these young people, because they’re the ones with the most to
lose. They’re the ones who will feel how deeply these cuts will go if
they’re allowed to pass. Most importantly, if these cuts are allowed to
pass, they’re going to be the ones who will have to struggle to get
ahead when every possible obstacle has been placed in their way.

I am grateful, both as a Nevadan and as the leader of the Nevada Youth
Coalition, that I can count on my representatives to stand up for the
kids that I’m proud to call members of the NVYC.

It’s their testimony that should give you motivation and offer you the
courage to stand up for education in our state. Remember their words
while you’re in Carson City, but we’re all looking forward to seeing
you both once again very soon in the chambers of the capitol.

“Tell Governor Sandoval to stop living in his fantasy land”

“I’m a good kid, I wouldn’t be here today if I wasn’t. Education
is important to me.”

“How do you expect me to be a productive member of society if I
can hardly go to school?”

“I love Nevada, I want to go to school here, but I might have to
look elsewhere.”

“You will be hearing from me again, this will not be the last time
that you see me. Thank you.”

-Leo Murrieta, North Las Vegas

I am a native Nevadan who grew up in Las Vegas. I was present at the
townhall hearing held Saturday, January 29th but did not address you at
that time. I’m writing to ask that when you consider what cuts and
consolidations to make with the state budget, you do everything humanly
possible to protect education.

Although we (as a state) have talked about the need to diversify our
industry for nearly two decades, we have yet to make a serious attempt
to do it. Without a good education system, we will be unable to attract
many new businesses to our state nor produce qualified workers for them
to hire.

Raising taxes may not be popular but it is warranted in this case.
People looking for a good environment to raise a family and put down
roots are more concerned with the community than they are the tax
structure. Businesses may have a product but they also have a family.
What we need to do is provide them with competent workers, an excellent
education system, competitive industry, and a sense of community. Build
it – and they will come.

We will never achieve all that we claim to want if we don’t make
education our number one priority. Please, no cuts to education.

- Marla Turner, Las Vegas

I am a lifelong Nevadan and mother of two small children. This budget
does not give my children access to the same stellar educational
opportunities that I enjoyed growing up in southern Nevada. This is
unfair. Mayor Goodman has done an outstanding job of attracting the
creative and business class to downtown Las Vegas–now it’s your job to
keep them here. All you have to do is fund our schools and universities
at an adequate level. This way, these creative and business-minded
people will have no reason not to move their families to southern
Nevada. More businesses moving to Nevada = more tax revenue to fund the
educational system. The proposed budget not only stifles our current
students, but ensures that our revenue-collecting system will remain in
the red for the foreseeable future.

- Lauren Beattie, Las Vegas

I’ve served as an enforcement supervisor for NVOSHA for 16 years, 29
years total with NVOSHA. This is a pressure job and we end up under
oath in court. Gov.Sandoval’s concept of shared sacrifice rings hollow.
My W2 is $12 K less than 2009′s. With no overtime (you can do it for
free) and have had my longevity pay taken away in an unfair fashion.
That reduction is not 5%.Our salaries are noncompetitive compared to
city-county and the Feds. Benefits are worse each year. I’m an UNR
Grad, BS and MS and use my education for the protection of all
Nevadan’s. We are last in education funding in the USA. Our agency
can’t keep talent. Who will try to protect Nevadan’s from chemical
plant releases, fires, and explosions in the future? Who will educate
staff and inspire them? Sandoval’s plan forces me out. Mining will take
$8-10 billion out of our state and the LCB estimates the state’s gold
tax to be $28 million or so. Something is wrong. The top ten sources of
industrial air pollution are our gold mines. We get the shaft they get
the gold.

- Rich Meier, Sparks

The middle class has lost their homes, or seen home values plummet
and we didn’t create those problems. The banks and all the large corporations
and big businesses should be paying their share–not the middle class, who
the legislature want to take from, and take from, and take from again every
service we pay our taxes for. Why would any business want to come to a state
that has no educated work-force, no libraries, no mental-health services, whose
children receive the lowest health services and whose governor has the
only idea to give to the rich and take from the middle and lower classes?

- Alice, Henderson

I am the Immigration Program Manager at Catholic Charities of Northern
Nevada and I am a University of Nevada, Reno alum. Serving the
immigrant community throughout Northern Nevada, I understand just how
critical it is to maintain human services. Without current state and
county programs, many immigrants will be forced into a situation even
more desperate and destitute than that in which they currently find
themselves. It is imperative that we maintain these services so that
our immigrant community may thrive and succeed, helping to fuel
Nevada’s recovery.

On a personal note, I would like to note that I am in the middle of the
law school admissions process. I am proud to say that I have already
been accepted to a number of law schools, one of which is UNLV’s Boyd
School of Law. Unfortunately, the quality and existence of the law
school is now in jeopardy due to budget cuts. I hope that my chances at
a quality legal education in Nevada are not jeopardized by Governor
Sandoval’s budget.

- Ryan Brewer, Reno

I know that title makes no sense. Neither do those the state GOP and conservative activist Chuck Muth asked to turn out at 8 a.m. at the Sawyer Building in Las Vegas on Saturday.

All I can say is, our position is the balanced approach.

The off-kilter ones can do what they want. I certainly wouldn’t want to be waving a sign supporting 30 percent cuts to higher ed.

University System Chancellor Dan Klaich told lawmakers this morning the proposed budget cuts to higher education cannot be sustained.

There’s no way to increase tuition or raise fees high enough to offset the cuts, he said.

http://www.lvrj.com/news/chancellor-says-budget-cuts-threaten-education-system-114732779.html

“Community colleges are the foot soldiers of the army that will get Nevada back to where it needs to be,” Klaich said, as reported by the Nevada News Bureau intern on Twitter this morning.

So Klaich has a flat budget — something NPRI is so fond of — and guess what — Nevada ain’t flat. A flat budget means the university system doesn’t expect increased enrollment. The reality is there are 200,000 out-of-work Nevadans. And guess where most of them need to go for job training?

Back to school.

Here’s a closer look at Gov. Brian Sandoval’s face of education reform — Michelle Rhee — from Politico.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0111/48275.html

Would seem to me that the governor need only look within his state to find the real reform. Both Washoe and Clark school districts have enacted school choice programs, rendering his assaulting call for vouchers void.

And it’s the underpaid professional teachers of this state and the deprived students that should be the real face of reform.

For Immediate Release

Contact: Erin Neff (702) 401-7959 erin@progressnownevada.org or Launce Rake (702) 917-7541 or lrake@planevada.org

WHAT: Rally Outside Budget Hearings

WHERE: Concurrent Legislative Townhall meeting — 2 locations
Grant Sawyer State Building, 555 E. Washington Ave., Las Vegas
Washoe County Commission Chamber, 1001 East Ninth St., Reno

WHEN: Saturday, Jan. 29. The meeting begins at 9 a.m. Rally ongoing from 8:30 a.m.

WHO: Higher Ed and high school students, teachers, support staff, activists, non-profit service providers and other members of the Nevada Values Coalition will rally outside the concurrent legislative town hall meetings on the budget in both locations. Members also plan to testify at both hearings.

WHY: The governor’s proposed budget has been balanced on the backs of school children, college students, safety net service providers and state employees. Specifically, the coalition is vehemently opposed to the proposed $270 per student reduction in K-12 education and the 18 percent + cut to higher ed.

The Nevada Values Coalition is a diverse statewide coalition of non-profits, service providers, students, teachers, activists, environmental groups and labor organizations. Together we represent or provide service to more than 600,000 Nevadans. The coalition supports a balanced approach to the state’s budget crisis, including an examination of new revenue.

“We agree with the governor that it is time for ‘shared sacrifice,’ ” said Coalition spokesperson Erin Neff. “Nevada’s teachers, students, parents, service providers and their clients have been making sacrifices for three years now. We think it’s time for a balanced solution that requires large corporations to invest in our community and education services. The governor’s budget places unfair additional burdens on Nevadans who have already been sacrificing the most.”

INFO: http://www.nevadavalues.org

LOGISTICS: Both locations offer plenty of free parking for attendees, satellite trucks and media. Coalition members will be available on site beginning at 8 a.m.

We now know how Gov. Sandoval plans to balance the budget.

There is at least an 18 percent cut to higher education. There’s a $270 drop in each child’s education funding. Our workers will take yet another pay cut. And the safety net, already worn thin, now has gaping holes.

Thankfully, the Legislature has asked to hear how we’d do things differently.

Saturday is our turn. And if we don’t show up, the governor’s vision may very well end up being Nevada’s sad reality.

Please attend the meeting nearest you.

In Clark County, go to the Sawyer State Building on Washington Avenue. In Washoe and neighboring counties, please go to the Washoe County Commission Chambers on East Ninth Street, Reno.

Join us Saturday. The concurrent hearings start at 9 a.m. Lawmakers will likely alternate testimony between those attending in Reno and Las Vegas. We expect the meeting to go all day.

Please get there early. Make sure you’ve signed in. Make sure you tell lawmakers you’re part of the Nevada Values Coalition. And most importantly tell them what you value.

Use #nvsos or #nvleg

This evening Gov. Sandoval will present his plan for the state.

Jon Ralston suggests he’s going to shuffle those good old deck chairs a bit. http://www.lasvegassun.com/blogs/ralstons-flash/2011/jan/24/state-state-preview-sandoval-speak-50-mins-redefin/

One thing is certain — the no new taxes pledge means a solid budget plan that isn’t balanced on the back of state workers and schools will require more than some cosmetics. After all, that old couch in the living room still looks old and is wearing through if you move it to the other corner and put a plant next to it.

Check out the Events Calendar for tonight’s State of the State watch events. If you’re in Reno and Carson, please attend the speech live. There’s transportation from Reno. If you’re in Las Vegas, pick the event that makes the most sense to you.

Now is the time to tune in and listen.

Saturday is the day for action.

As we prepare to hear Gov. Brian Sandoval’s vision for the state, it’s critical to have a bit of perspective.
Nevada has been cutting the budget now for three years. The budget we expect to see from Sandoval’s staff has enough revenue to fund 46 percent of our current services.
That’s not even half a state.
And this is what that 46 percent funds…http://www.8newsnow.com/story/13886990/nevada-gets-poor-grades-in-education

Two ways to take action:

1. Use the form below to send Governor Sandoval a message
2. Call his office directly at 775-687-5670

When calling his office all you have to say is that you would like the governor to know that you support using a balanced approach that includes revenue to solve the budget shortfall.

Imagine having a daughter and learning you only had enough resources to take care of 46 percent of her. Would you feed her less or look for more revenue?

Now imagine that child is the state. Nevada’s budget crisis is such that the governor and lawmakers only have enough revenue to pay for 46 percent of what we have here. And any of us who use state services like schools, colleges, Medicaid, mental health programs, parks and roads, wouldn’t even say the state is serving us well.

We’re notorious for our low rankings in education, social services and public health at the same time we’re well-known as a state with a lower-than-average tax burden.

The bust has proven we never put the state in a good position during the boom. Conservatives like to say you can’t raise taxes in a recession. In good times, they like to say, there’s no need to upset the rampant growth.

Now Nevada is facing its biggest crisis and best opportunity.

We expect Gov. Brian Sandoval to release a budget Monday that takes Nevada’s per pupil spending below $4,900 a child. That’s less than the state spent in 2007 and would rank us 51st in the nation.

Democratic lawmakers will undoubtedly present a response to Sandoval’s budget and State of the State Address. But if past is prologue we can expect the same type of language we heard on the campaign trail; in last year’s special session and in 2009.

We recognize it’s difficult to hold your caucus and pick up a few moderate Republicans to support you. But we also believe strongly that this is the time and Carson City is the place to finally right the state’s financial ship.

That’s why progressive organizations and activists formed this coalition. That’s why more are joining each day. And that’s why this year we will present our first State of the State. Call it a Progressive State of the State or the Real State of the State.

We call it common sense. We think if Nevada’s leaders are asking for more sacrifices from our students, seniors, teachers, state employees and most disadvantaged residents, it’s beyond time to ask the wealthiest corporations and businesses to pay their fair share.

We aren’t afraid to talk taxes. We know that NO is not a plan. But we also recognize we can’t just magically make 54 percent of the state’s budget appear with new taxes. There will have to be additional cuts.

We just ask the governor and lawmakers to do the least harm to social services and education. Failing to preserve what little safety net we have left will only make it harder to rebound in better times.

Last year we argued it was downright mean for government to even consider cutting critical safety net programs like dentures and adult diapers. This budget simply eliminates all adult day care service and eviscerates mental health.

This budget moves Nevada backward at a time when most states are pulling out of recession and headed strongly into recovery.

There has got to be a better way. And we are counting on the governor and lawmakers to find common ground around common sense.

Watch the Progressive State of the State here.

Mr. Gowins proposes four excellent questions that every legislator should ask themselves when making budget decisions.

Read the full article

“Hospitals and other health care providers are hearing Gov. Brian Sandoval’s plans to cut reimbursement money by 5 percent to 10 percent as part of his effort to balance an upside down state budget while keeping a promise not to raise taxes or fees.”

Read the full article

“Nevada’s higher education leaders are bracing for budget cuts that could be as high as 20 percent in the state’s coming two-year budget cycle.”

Read the full article