Democrats’ Slam & Jam Marathon Exposes More Republicans Voting Badly

(Annie Black) – This is NO WAY to do the people’s business.

On Tuesday, legislators in the State Assembly considered over 100 bills and voted on 87 of them.  All on the same day.  Like drinking from a fire hose.  And there was NO EXCUSE for it.

Let me give you just one example…

AB3 – a non-controversial bill – was submitted as a BDR (bill draft request) last November.

It received a committee hearing on February 12^th in the Government Affairs Committee.

It received a second hearing/work session on April 6^th and was voted out of committee.

But despite holding MULTIPLE Assembly floor sessions afterwards, the Democrat leadership chose not to hold a floor vote on the bill until the slam-and-jam marathon on Tuesday.

This bill, which was approved unanimously 42-0, could have and should have been voted on long before the April 20 deadline.

But here’s the even bigger problem…

A number of amendments to a number of the bills were dropped in our laps less than 24 hours before we were expected to vote on them.  So there was no time to consult on the amendments with allies, experts or constituents before we had to vote.  This is just plain wrong.

One of my bills (AJR12) – the “Slam & Jam Prevention Act,” which was killed by the Democrats – would require all bills, UN-AMENDED, be posted online for public review for at least 48 hours before legislators could vote on them.

That gives YOU a chance to weigh in.

THAT’S the way to do the people’s business.

Now here’s something else I think you’ll find interesting…though it will again get me in hot water with my GOP colleagues up here.

Of the 87 bills voted on during Tuesday’s slam-and-jam session, 53 of them passed with at least one Republican “no” vote.  All the others were passed unanimously.

On the non-unanimous bills, here’s the list of the 16 Assembly Republicans with the percentage of time they voted with the Democrats…

• Tom Roberts:              58.49%
• Melissa Hardy:            57.72%
• Jill Tolles:                    56.60%
• Heidi Kasama:            49.06%
• Lisa Krasner:               43.40%
• Glen Leavitt:                32.08%
• Greg Hafen:                 32.08%
• Alexis Hansen:            28.30%
• P.K. O’Neill:                 24.53%
• Andy Matthews:          24.53%
• Jill Dickman:                20.75%
• Jim Wheeler:                18.87%
• Richard McArthur:      16.98%
• Robin Titus:                  15.09%
• John Ellison:                11.32%
• Annie Black:                  3.77%

Now, a more thorough study of these votes is called for. There will certainly be cases of some bills in which conservatives can disagree without making them “RINOs.”

However, it should be DEEPLY troubling to conservative Republicans that the two Assistant Minority Co-Leaders, Mr. Roberts and Ms. Tolles, voted with the Democrats more than half the time, while three others in caucus leadership positions – Ms. Krasner, Mr. Leavitt and Mr. Hafen – voted with the Democrats a third of the time.

The caucus has also been decidedly bad at communicating what’s going on up here with the public, and have been totally ineffective in fighting the opposing side.  Make no mistake, it has plenty of tools at its disposal to do so.  It’s simply chosen not to use them.

Go along to get along.

This sadly-expected failure in leadership is why I chose not to join the caucus last November.  Has that decision made my efforts in Carson City bumpier?  Absolutely.  Do I regret my decision?

Not.  One.  Bit.

QUICK HITS

* AB399 is a ridiculous anti-business bill requiring that chickens producing eggs sold in Nevada be housed in cage-free environments.  Assemblyman Glen Leavitt (R-Boulder City) was the only Republican to vote with the D’s on this bill.

* The Clark County Commission voted to extend a “temporary” sales tax hike this week.  As the saying goes, there’s nothing so permanent as a “temporary” tax hike.  Voters need to stop falling for this scam.

* According to an Associated Press report this morning, five of the nine Republicans in the state Senate are thinking about voting to repeal the death penalty in Nevada.  Report doesn’t name names, so you’ll need to contract all of them.  Contact information found at the bottom of this AnnieGram.

FROM ANNIE-GRAM MAILBAG

• “Annie. Remind them that you are not afraid of the storm. YOU ARE THE STORM.” – Eilleen White
• “Love what you are doing up there Annie – keep rattling the cages. These people can learn a lot from you about standing up for what is right.” – David Orlov

QUOTES OF THE DAY

“State Sen. Keith Pickard (R-Clark) on Tuesday said he has changed his position and plans to support a mining tax reform resolution that Democratic leadership in the Nevada statehouse is expected to introduce in the weeks ahead.” – Sam Metz, Associated Press, 4/21/21

“I should not have voted against the mining tax (in the summer special session) because politically it’s killed me.” – Nevada State Sen. Keith Pickard (R-Clark)

Annie Black is the Nevada State Assemblywoman representing District 19.  You can get more information and subscribe to her AnnieGram newsletter by visiting www.AnnieBlack.net