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The Nevada Supreme Court was busy last week, releasing decisions regarding ballot questions that sought to be on the November midterm ballot.
In a 5-2 ruling Tuesday, justices upheld a lower court decision not to allow the Education Freedom for Nevada ballot initiative to go forward. The initiative would have required the state to establish and maintain a private school voucher program. The court said the initiative was void because it would have created an unfunded mandate.
Erin Phillips, chairwoman of the Education Freedom for Nevada PAC, said in a statement that the “right to direct democracy by way of petition has been severely limited by this court’s decision which has far reaching ramifications beyond this case.”
“Nevadans who believe that the constitution allows the people to ‘legislate by initiative’ should be concerned with the burden that the court has placed to fund future amendments and restrict the Legislature’s actions,”Phillips said in the statement.
The court did allow for the ranked-choice voting and open primary initiative to qualify for the ballot in November.
According to the initiative’s language, in Nevada races for the U.S. House and Senate, governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, treasurer, controller and state legislator, there would be open primary elections in which the top five finishers, regardless of party affiliation, would advance to the general election. In the general election balloting, voters would be allowed to “rank” the candidates in order of preference, from first to last.
Any candidate receiving first-choice votes of more than 50% would be declared the winner. If no candidate is the first choice of more than 50%, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and each voter who had ranked the now-eliminated candidate as their first choice would have their single vote transferred to their next highest-choice candidate.
“During this election cycle, we saw an increase in nonpartisan registration ahead of the primary, as well as those registering with a major party,” said Joe Brezny, campaign manager for the initiative. “This trend demonstrates that Nevadans were eager to participate in the primary election but feel disenfranchised by the current two-party system and are unhappy with the push to choose the ‘lesser of two evils.’ ”
Nevada Voters First on Wednesday submitted to the secretary of state’s office signatures of more than 250,000 registered voters calling for the initiative to be placed on the November ballot, Brezny said. To qualify for the ballot, the secretary of state must verify about 140,000 signatures.
“Nevadans have confirmed their desire to update Nevada’s currently antiquated election system to one in which their vote and voice matters, regardless of their party affiliation,” Brezny said.
Debate challenge made, accepted
Gov. Steve Sisolak’s campaign last week challenged Republican candidate Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo to two debates after Labor Day, and Lombardo agreed.
“Gov. Sisolak is committed to sharing his record and vision for a second term with Nevadans,” campaign manager Sam Barrett said in a statement. “Joe Lombardo has spent the past year taking both sides of every issue, saying ‘I don’t know’ and campaigning for a promotion while crime skyrockets — it’s past time he gave Nevadans straight answers on where he stands.”
Lombardo’s spokesperson Elizabeth Ray said the election would be a referendum on Sisolak’s “abysmal record and failure to articulate a vision for our state.”
“Frankly, we’re shocked that Sisolak is willing to defend his disastrous tenure, but our campaign will gladly work with his team on mutually agreeable times, venues, and moderators for debates,” Ray said in a statement.
Sisolak’s campaign wants the debates to be hosted by local Nevada media outlets with at least one debate taking place in Northern Nevada. One debate must also be hosted and broadcast by a Spanish-language media outlet.
Ensuring safe baby food
Attorney General Aaron Ford last week joined other attorneys general in calling on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to protect children from toxic metals found in baby foods.
In a letter, the attorneys general made recommendations for how the federal government could drive down the levels of toxic metals that make their way into baby food.
“I will continue to take the necessary steps to ensure the FDA holds baby food manufacturers and suppliers accountable for ensuring baby foods are not rife with toxic metals,” Ford said in a statement.
Ford said attorneys general petitioned the FDA to take action in October 2021, but that petition was denied. He said the FDA has failed to adequately regulate baby food, only acting on one type of toxic metal found in one type of baby food product.
The attorneys general urged the FDA to propose interim limits for inorganic arsenic, lead, cadmium and mercury, to propose a lower limit for inorganic arsenic in infant rice cereal than currently set in FDA guidance, and to provide guidance to all baby food manufacturers to test their products for toxic metals.
Nevadans respond to EPA ruling
In an opinion released Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court cut the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s abilities to regulate carbon emissions from power plants. Nevada Democratic politicians and climate activists are concerned what effects the decision will have on fighting the climate crisis. At least one Republican candidate hailed the decision.
Ford in a statement called the decision “shortsighted” and said it “will have ramifications far into the future.”
“By gutting the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority before the agency had even made a decision, the Supreme Court has stopped necessary actions to combat climate change,” Ford said. “It has restricted the ability of our regulatory agencies to take the steps necessary to ensure a safe and environmentally clean life for Americans, and sided with those who put profit over responsibility.”
Nevada has been hit hard by climate change, Ford said, pointing to the precipitous decline in the water level at Lake Mead as evidence. Nevada cannot wait for action, he said.
“Make no mistake, Nevada will take whatever steps necessary to protect our climate, our environment and our planet, and we will work diligently with partners around the West and around the country as a whole to do so,” Ford said.
His Republican challenger, Sigal Chattah, called the decision a win for states against unnecessary federal overreach.
“NV’s ranching and mining industries should not subject to obstructionist and intrusive EPA regulations,” Chattah said in a tweet Thursday.
Russell Kuhlman, executive director of the Nevada Wildlife Federation, a nonprofit conservation organization, said the Supreme Court undid “decades of established EPA authority and precedent under the Clean Air Act to limit pollution and protect public health.”
“The truth is that the stakes couldn’t be higher,” Kuhlman said in a statement. “Science makes clear that climate can’t wait.”
He called on Congress to pass climate legislation and investments.
“For every second we delay, the costs of inaction for all Americans only grows,” Kuhlman said.
Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., said the decision would allow massive corporations to pollute without being held accountable.
“We need to combat the climate crisis and its effects, from drought to wildfires, and this ruling is a big step backward,” she said.
Nevadans in Congress
Cortez Masto and Sen. Jacky Rosen introduced two pieces of legislation last week that aim to combat drought in Nevada and protect Lake Mead. The legislation would provide $500 million from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to a grant program for large-scale water recycling. The two senators also introduced legislation that would support erosion control projects around the Las Vegas Wash, according to a statement from Cortez Masto’s office.
“Nevada’s drought impacts every corner of the state, and I’ve led the way on sensible solutions to conserve our resources and address drought long-term,” Cortez Masto said in the statement. “We need to protect Nevadans into the future and keep water in Lake Mead by continuing to increase our capacity for wastewater recycling and keeping up with vital water infrastructure projects.
“We must take swift action to combat and reverse the damage that severe drought is causing all across our state,” Rosen said. “These bills will help our efforts to recycle and reuse water and prevent the erosion and depletion of our state’s waterways. Sen. Cortez Masto and I are committed to ensuring that Nevadans have access to clean water now and in the future.”
Last week, Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev., issued a statement criticizing the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to uphold President Joe Biden’s decision to end Title 42, a Trump-era policy that gave U.S. border officials the right to refuse entry to migrants to mitigate COVID-19.
“Since the start of this failed administration, over 2.9 million illegal immigrants have been apprehended at the southern border, and those numbers continue to rise, setting new records month after month,” Amodei said in the statement. “This is not the time for weak immigration policies that encourage illegal crossings.”
Amodei voted last week in favor of an amendment that would delay Title 42 from ending, but it did not pass. He has also called for an investigation into the release of migrants in the U.S. and has urged the Biden administration and the Democrats to secure the border.
Reps. Dina Titus, D-Nev., and Guy Reschenthaler, R-Pa., sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland urging the Department of Justice to fight illegal, offshore sportsbooks that expose Americans to financial and cyber vulnerabilities, according to a statement from Titus’ office.
Titus and Reschenthaler, who are co-chairs of the Congressional Gaming Caucus, said illegal, offshore sportsbooks do not have protocols to address money laundering or age restrictions and they undermine states’ efforts to get tax revenue through legal sports betting channels.
“We ask that the Justice Department work with the gaming industry, sports leagues and other stakeholders to identify the worst actors, investigate and prosecute them, and educate Americans on the dangers associated with illegally wagering on sports,” the letter says.
Fourth of July
Monday is the Fourth of July, where we all celebrate the country’s founding and where political candidates can attend patriotic events full of potential voters.
Rosen is scheduled to be in Reno attending the Star Spangled Sparks event and a Reno Aces baseball game, where Cindy Green, the highest-ranking female officer in the Reno Fire Department, will throw the ceremonial first pitch.
Sisolak will be walking in the Boulder City Damboree parade, and Lombardo will be attending several parades around Las Vegas throughout the day.
Senate hopeful and former Attorney General Adam Laxalt will also be attending the parade in Boulder City.
Countdown
Days to Nov. 8 midterms: 128