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Robert Fellner
Director of Policy
Robert Fellner is NPRI’s policy director and joined the Institute in December 2013. Robert has written extensively on the issue of transparency in government. He has also conducted legal research and assisted in crafting legal arguments for numerous public records-related lawsuits, including one which prevailed at the Nevada Supreme Court, resulting in a landmark decision that protected and expanded Nevadans’ rights to access and inspect government records.An expert on government compensation and its impact on taxes, Robert has authored multiple studies on public pay and pensions. He has been published in Business Insider, Forbes.com, the Las Vegas Review Journal, the Los Angeles Times, RealClearPolicy.com, the San Diego Union-Tribune, the Wall Street Journal, ZeroHedge.com and elsewhere.
Robert has lived in Las Vegas since 2005 when he moved to Nevada to become a professional poker player. Robert has had a remarkably successfully poker career including two top 10 World Series of Poker finishes and being ranked #1 in the world at 10/20 Pot-Limit Omaha cash games.
Additionally, his economic analysis on the minimum wage won first place in a 2011 George Mason University essay contest. He also independently organized a successful grassroots media and fundraising effort for a 2012 presidential candidate, before joining the campaign in an official capacity.
ACLU and NPRI ask Senator Cannizzaro to allow a vote on Assembly Bill 420
The ACLU of Nevada and the Nevada Policy Research Institute are calling on Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro to allow the Senate to vote on Assembly Bill 420, which…
Lobbyist’s false testimony crucial in moving anti-transparency bill forward
To justify the “PERS secrecy” bill, lobbyist Marlene Lockard relied almost entirely on known falsehoods in her official testimony to lawmakers. Because state law makes it a crime to knowingly misrepresent…
Legal complaint: lobbyist submitted false testimony to aid in bill's passage
The Legislature cannot effectively serve the public if policy is being shaped based on outright falsehoods and misinformation, which is why it is illegal to knowingly submit false testimony before…
SB135 Testimony (Collective Bargaining)
Testimony in Opposition re: Senate Bill 135 – Senate Government Affairs Committee Thursday, April 4th, 2019 6:30 pm My name is Robert Fellner and I…
SB475: Proteger el establecimiento educativo, en detrimento del aprendizaje de los estudiantes
Un nuevo proyecto de ley podría dificultar que las escuelas despidan a los maestros con bajo rendimiento, al tiempo que reduce la importancia del aprendizaje de los alumnos en las…
SB475: Protecting the education establishment, at the expense of student learning
A new bill would make it harder for schools to dismiss underperforming teachers, while also reducing the importance of student learning in teacher evaluations — which is just the latest…
Support for prevailing wage undermines Dem opposition to Opportunity Scholarships
Many lawmakers have argued that the more than $20 million spent on the state’s Opportunity Scholarship Program for low-income students should, instead, go toward traditional public education. That argument, however,…
Falsehoods, misinformation dominate PERS Secrecy Bill hearing
Last Friday, the Senate Government Affairs Committee held a hearing for the PERS Secrecy Bill (SB224). The bill would overturn existing Nevada law by making secret the names of those who…
SB224 Testimony (PERS Secrecy)
SB224 Testimony – Senate Government Affairs Committee March 1, 2019 1:00 pm My name is Robert Fellner, and I am the policy director for the Nevada Policy…