Ron Knecht
Senior Policy Fellow
Ron Knecht, MS, JD & PE(CA), is a Senior Policy Fellow at the Nevada Policy Research Institute. Previously, he served Nevadans as State Controller, a higher education Regent, Senior Economist, college teacher and Assemblyman. Contact him at RonKnecht@aol.com.One Big Nail in Coffin of Administrative State?
Recently we reviewed the U.S. Supreme Court case Jarkesy that may end the power of regulatory agencies to act as both prosecutors and judges in matters under their jurisdiction.
Administrative State's Reach Under Review by Top Court
America’s progressive movement began with the Pendleton Act of 1883, which created federal civil service. It continues to the present, addressing many areas, including antitrust, women’s rights, eugenics, income/wealth equality,…
Supply Side Option May Fix Southwest Water Challenges
After two decades of drought, water-year 2022-23 (October to September) brought great rain and snow to the Colorado River Basin. Cooler-than-expected temperatures delayed the snow melt, and so the river…
Should NV PERS Be Allowed to Invest in ESG Securities?
The U.S. Department of Labor has adopted a rule allowing retirement plan fiduciaries, such as Nevada’s PERS board, to consider environmental, social and governance issues when choosing investments for their…
Nevada PERS the Best and Possibly the Worst: Why?
Nevada’s Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS) has the best investment strategy among public retirement systems in the country and one of the best records of return. It also has one of…
Opportunity Scholarship Foes Hurt Students and State
In August, legislative Democrats turned down Gov. Joe Lombardo’s proposal to fund Nevada’s Opportunity Scholarship program reasonably from surplus funds available, and they left the funding at a minimum level. But…
Solutions for Some of Our Biggest Public Policy Problems
Last month, this space listed our three biggest, most challenging public policy problems: 1) excess government spending, causing inefficiency and low government productivity; 2) proceduralism, the long public review…
A Toxic Belch of Swamp Gas from the Regulatory Marsh
Another belch of environmental swamp gas is rising from the depths of the federal regulatory marsh. Of course, it looks and sounds so innocent, benign and even beneficial – something…
Earth Day: Think Globally (and Outside the Box), Act Locally
Friday was Earth Day. So, between its “think globally, act locally” spirit and my long familiarity with energy, water, land-use and public policy matters, some thoughts on Nevada and western…