The 82nd Session of the Nevada Legislative session begins on Monday, and both sides of the aisle are saying education is going to be the main focus.
At the same time, Governor Joe Lombardo has said he wants to scrap criminal justice and election reforms passed just a few years ago by Democrats, and Democrats control both the Assembly and Senate.
At the same time, new members make up about one-fourth of the legislature. Are they more or less willing to compromise?
Assemblywoman Angie Taylor is a Democrat in Reno; Senator Jeff Stone is a Republican from Henderson. Though Stone was a state lawmaker in California, both he and Taylor are new to Nevada’s Legislature. They join State of Nevada host Joe Schoenmann for more.
“There’s 85% of the issues that we’re going to be probably dealing with … we probably all agree on 50%, we’re going to have some significant debates,” Stone said. “You got to have respect for your fellow colleagues and understand that everybody has their own lens on how they think problems should be solved.”
Taylor agreed, but said it matters more to work together than to talk about it.
“We represent a lot of different people … all of them deserve to have some representation,” she said.
Stone emphasized education as the top issue, and he’s hoping the budget set out this session can improve issues such as teacher vacancies and student violence. He’s also concerned with crime rates, as well as the fentanyl crisis.
“I have a bill that is going to make the purveyors, the peddlers of fentanyl … face much stronger penalties,” Stone said.
Taylor, who joined State of Nevada by phone while driving to Carson City, was on the Washoe County School Board. She said the political process is much different. Stone, from California, echoed that.
“This is a true labor of love. This is a true citizen’s legislature,” he said. “And I'm gonna work my hardest with the assemblywoman and all of our other 60-plus colleagues to try to make life better for people with the resources that we have.”
Guests: Assemblywoman Angie Taylor; Senator Jeff Stone
