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State Legislature Heats Up With Confrontations And Some Lawmaking

Nevada State Legislature
There is a lot going on in Carson City as the Nevada State Legislature gets going.

With the Nevada State Legislature in full swing, sleepy, cold Carson City is starting to heat up.

There was a near fight between two Republicans in a stairwell, Michele Fiore was followed into a bathroom by a citizen wanting to talk about a gun bill, and a host of bills -- everything from hiring the spouses of military veterans to making it more expensive to get public records – are being heard.

Las Vegas Review-Journal political columnist Steve Sebelius said that the barrage of gun bills before the Legislature are adding to the usual circus feeling in Carson City.

“With respect to guns there really is not any rationality,” Sebelius said, “On the one side you have people who think the Second Amendment is an absolute and they should be able to carry weapons where ever they go. On the other hand, you have people who think that guns cause all kinds of crimes and death. “

Sebelius said protecting gun rights in Nevada is being pursued with almost religious zeal and it is difficult for both sides to put aside emotion to create good legislation.

However, Sebelius noted the back and forth over the prevailing wage for school construction is an example of the small impact the unions are having in Carson City in this session.

He believes there are two schools of thought on lawmakers’ attitudes to the unions. One is that many lawmakers believe they’re not coming back because the tide will turn again in the next election so they might as well get as much done as they can.

The other school of thought is that many Republican lawmakers feel they can take this time to show the state a different way to govern that is in contrast to how Democrats ran Carson City.

Sebelius also calls a bill that would allow cities, counties and law enforcement agencies to charge fees for public records requests, “the worst pieces of legislation I’ve seen since covering the Legislature.”

He said if it is passed transparency in local government and law enforcement will end. 

Copyright 2015 KNPR-FM. To see more, visit http://www.knpr.org/.

Steve Sebelius, political columnist, Las Vegas Review-Journal

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Joe Schoenmann joined Nevada Public Radio in 2014. He works with a talented team of producers at State of Nevada who explore the casino industry, sports, politics, public health and everything in between.