This past Friday the Bureau of Land Management released its Record of Decisions on how to protect greater sage grouse across a number of Western states, including Nevada. The BLM backed off Obama administration plans that would have hampered mining, ranching and oil and gas exploration, saying its goal now is to align BLM plans for managing sage grouse habitat with plans … [Read more...]
Nevada press shield law protects bloggers
Unlike too many jobs in this country there is no such thing as a licensed journalist, but a Carson City judge has found such in the penumbra of Nevada’s press shield law. Normally those in the press don’t seek any privilege not accorded any other citizen, but by the very nature of the job — showing up at fires and car crashes, attending public meetings, poking into nooks and … [Read more...]
Same-day voter registration invites fraud
Progressives are always clamoring to make it easier to vote. To that end Democratic state Sen. James Ohrenschall of Las Vegas has introduced Senate Bill 123 that, among other things, would allow people to register to vote on Election Day. “The purpose of SB123 is to make it more feasible for people to be part of the government of ourselves, by making it easier to register … [Read more...]
Do not shroud public pensions in secrecy
Some lawmakers in Carson City are pushing a bill that basically declares that it is none of your business how your tax money is spent. Senate Bill 224 would make the names of recipients of pensions through the Public Employees’ Retirement System secret. The first glimpse at the kinds of duplicity this bill invites is the fact that two of the three chief sponsors of the bill … [Read more...]
No need for murky water law changes
Two bills proposing to alter water use policy are pending in the Nevada Legislature. They are at best problematic. Assembly Bill 30 appears to give the state engineer greater leeway in the use of monitoring, management and mitigations — known in the jargon as 3M — to resolve conflicts in water rights. The language is rather vague and subject to interpretation. Assembly … [Read more...]
National Popular Vote bill would dilute Nevada vote
Democratic lawmakers in Carson City are at it again, bound and determined to give your presidential ballots to the voters of California and New York. Two years ago — after Donald Trump won the Electoral College vote by 304 to 227, though Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by 2.9 million individual votes — a bill was introduced that would have had Nevada join in something … [Read more...]
Court ruling will curb asset forfeiture abuses
The U.S. Supreme Court has finally brought the hammer down on the abusive law enforcement practice of civil asset forfeitures — seizing of cars, money and property simply because it might have some tenuous link to some alleged crime. The court has unanimously ruled that such seizures can violate the Eighth Amendment prohibition against excessive fines. The case involved … [Read more...]
Gun background check law is a futile gesture
The frequency of gun violence calls for a senseless and futile gesture and Nevada Democratic lawmakers are just the ones to do it. In a matter of days this past week the Nevada Legislature passed Senate Bill 143, which requires background checks to be conducted prior to the sale or transfer of any firearm by a private individual to anyone other than an immediate family … [Read more...]