News
A blueprint for getting the Silver State working again!
The most current fiscal projections indicate Nevada’s financial health is in serious jeopardy. With projections indicating Fiscal Year 2021 is roughly $1.2 billion shy of what the legislatively-approved budget requires, it is clear that government finances are in desperate need of cuts, innovation and clear policy guidance moving forward. And… Read More
Recent News
Unions: Another Attempt to Monopolize the Public Sector
In what is becoming a rite of spring, a compulsory public sector bargaining bill is once again on the table of the Assembly Government Affairs Committee this session. Versions of Assembly Bill 310 have been proposed for the past six years, with varying degrees of success. A.B. 310 would authorize collective bargaining for "persons employed by the State of Nevada, its boards, commissions, agencies and departments, the public employees’ retirement system, the University and Community College System of Nevada and any other employer that receives money from the state." (A.B. 310) Part-time employees and several positions in the state printing and micrographics division of the department of administration are excluded. The bill also creates a labor relations board specifically designed to deal with state employment disputes.
What is a Charter School?
Discussions of education reform often include the term "charter schools," but misconceptions and misunderstandings often accompany this term. Simply put, a charter school is a publicly-funded entity operating free of many of the regulations under which traditional public schools operate. Specifically, they are legally and fiscally autonomous educational entities operating within the public school system under charters or contracts. The charters are negotiated between organizers and sponsors. The organizers may be teachers, parents, or others from the public or private sectors. The sponsors may be local school boards, state school boards, or other public authorities such as universities. The concept is aimed at producing increased responsiveness to the demands of parents, students and teachers, and greater opportunities for innovation in school management and education. Twenty-six states as well as Washington D.C. have passed varying types of charter school legislation. Nevada Senate Bill 220 reintroduces potential charter school legislation for our state. The following is a list of the main components of an ideal charter school model compared to S.B. 220 as well as case studies from California and Arizona.
Charitable Choice: The Compassion Tax Credit
In the ongoing debate over welfare reform, an ambitious and innovative idea has recently garnered national attention. Often referred to as "charitable choice," the measure proposes to make welfare not simply taxpayer funded, but taxpayer controlled through a system of tax credits for charitable donations. Last year, Bob Dole included such a plan in his campaign platform.
