Nevada, like many states, is blessed with a part-time citizen legislature. Because it only meets for 120 days every two years, however, the legislature has to pack a lot of work into very little time, which means they need people like you and me to let them know what bills are worth passing and which bills need to die quickly.

Help us get good legislation passed!

With that in mind, we first need your help supporting Senate Bill 110. SB110 is a good start towards removing a long-unneeded handout to the newspaper industry and supporting the rights of trans people to change their names without cutting a check to Sheldon Adelson's newspaper for three weeks. In the 19th century, it might have made sense to require people to post a notice in a newspaper for three weeks after changing their name, but, nowadays, name changes can be tracked with a Google search and a Social Security Number.

So, let's help give trans people the right to not support the newspaper industry during their transition. To do so:

CALL Senator Tick Segerblom (702-388-9600) and Senator Nicole Cannizzaro (775-684-1475) and tell them that the Libertarian Party encourages the Senate Judicial Committee to do the right thing and pass Senate Bill 110. Or, if you'd prefer, email Senator Segerblom ([email protected]) and Senator Nicole Cannizzaro ([email protected]). Either way, this is our chance to get our voice heard!

Or, if you're free Tuesday afternoon, please attend the hearing for Senate Bill 110. This can be done at Room 2134 of the Legislative Building in downtown Carson City, or in Room 4412 of the Grant Sawyer State Office Building at 555 East Washington Avenue in Las Vegas. The hearing begins at 1:30 PM - if you're interested, don't forget to review the rules for testifying to a committee here. 

"They get paid for this?!"

On a less positive note, there are a few bills floating around the legislature that are completely ridiculous. We doubt these will make it out of committee, but we're keeping an eye on them for you and will let you know if there's a chance they'll see the light of day:

Assemblywoman Heidi Swank has a cost-saving measure for our government, and Assembly Bill 160 was the result. What does it do? Why, it requires the State Public Works Board to meet and "evaluate alternatives" before a state-owned window is changed, lest someone accidentally replace a window instead of applying weather stripping or interior window panels. Bear in mind, each time the Nevada State Public Works Board meets, it costs $86.40 per member. So, with seven members, each window will cost Nevada taxpayers $604.80 - then the window needs to actually get fixed! This is precisely the sort of solution to government waste that only government can love - more government.

Did you know that it's illegal to apply supplemental stop lamps on motor vehicles in Nevada? Well, neither did we, but Assemblywoman Melissa Woodbury and Senator Joseph Hardy did and wrote Assembly Bill 230 to fix this miscarriage of justice. If it passes, we'll be able to mount supplemental stop lamps "on the rear of the vehicle or in the rear window, and [they] may emit a flashing or pulsing light for not more than 5 seconds when initially activated." We feel safer already.

Meanwhile, Umbrella Corporation - sorry, Parasol Tahoe Community Foundation - would like to be tax exempt. Senator Ben Kieckhefer, after being injected with the latest strain of the T-virus - sorry, after talking with his constituents in Incline Village, has decided to write that exemption in the form of Senate Bill 85. Now, the Libertarian Party of Nevada would love to spread exemption to taxation as far and wide as legislatively possible, and would ordinarily support legislation to that effect, but we're all quite certain there are other, more deserving non-profits that should enjoy tax exempt status than a single, well funded, well connected non-profit serving the needs of Nevada's wealthiest neighborhood. Might we humbly suggest making all non-profits tax exempt? 

Or all Nevadans?

Just a thought.

Until next time...