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I have seen many, many tendentious polls in my life. But the one released Monday by the Retail Association of Nevada is one of the worst.
Before I get into specifics, consider the timing: The poll was made public two weeks before the end of the session and clearly designed to influence lawmakers to vote against tax plans the retailers don't like -- that is, any that have a gross receipts component, which RAN always has opposed. Why conduct and release a poll just days after a compromise plan...
Welcome to the Weekly Report.
This week:
1. My insiders on the Nevada Revenue Plan, and who the swing votes are
2. The likelihood of passage of:
Uber
Campus carry
Parental notification
Sands web gaming bill
Primary instead of caucus bill
3. Smartest/dumbest moves
Usual smart stuff from my insiders. Most think the new tax plan has a chance, but no one thinks it will be easy. Most (not all) were very negative on the anti-web gaming bill (I have always said there is no way the governor could...
It's the Spike Lee approach, but is anybody listening to anything outside the building anymore?
The compromise tax plan unveiled today takes the best parts of the Assembly GOP bill and the governor's original proposal, along with a new Commerce Tax (don't call it gross receipts!) to esnure all businesses contribute something to fund education.
The plan, which I have attached here along with the governor's and legislative leaders' comments, will need to get at least 11 GOP votes in the Assembly. Gubernatorial chief of staff Mike Willden said on "Ralston Live" he believes the votes are...
This is up statewide:
Rep. Joe Heck is getting closer to a bid for Harry Reid's U.S. Senate seat, a development that could effectively clear the primary field and make the race very competitive.
I told you a couple of weeks ago Heck was rethinking the contest. But, I've confirmed from multiple sources, he is almost there, although no commitments yet.
Ryan Erwin, Heck's closest adviser, would not comment for this piece.
But I'm told Heck is at worst 50-50 on getting in, and maybe more likley than that once he has...
Welcome to the Weekly Report.
This week:
1. My thoughts on Uber, taxes and the Sandsmen cometh
2. Three weeks left: The insider outlook on what’s to come and the endgame
3. The Democratic tracker, Greg Brower and the dustup
4. Smartest/dumbest moves
Some insiders went after the Democratic implosion on Uber, but others thought Michael Roberson forcing the vote was equally dumb. (Yes, some of the views were refracted by client lists.) Most agreed it will contribute to the uncertainty as to...
Presidential hopeful Marco Rubio said Saturday he backs opening a nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain.
The Florida senator made the comments in a videotaped interview with Greenville, South Carolina, reporters after he spoke at the South Carolina Freedom Summit. Here's the full exchange:
Reporter Rudolph Bell: "Do you favor opening it or not?
Rubio: "Yeah...we've already invested money into that facility....there has to be such a facility in the United States. That's the one that was chosen...
As the Senate leaders bitterly snipe at each other, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is coming into Minority Leader Harry Reid's state to raise money for the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
With Reid's colleague, Dean Heller, headlining the "luncheon to celebrate a new Republican Senate Majority," McConnell will be the guest of honor at a casino-hotel owned by major GOP donors, Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, whose names also are on the May 27 invite. Also on the list of hosts: Sheldon...
In a sign of escalating tensions with three and a half weeks left in the (regular) session, state Senate Minority Leader Aaron Ford on Wednesday accused Judiciary Chairman Greg Brower of threatening to kill all Democratic bills until a state party tracker is out of the building.
"He (Brower) told me, 'I'm not going to hear any more Democratic bills until she is gone," Ford said in an interview. "I told him it's a blatant abuse of power."
Brower denied saying he would entomb the bills, adding...