Opening Day of the Nevada Legislature: February 1, 2021 - An Auspicious Start
Well, the first day of the 81st Regular Session of the Nevada Legislature is in the books. Historically, the first day of session was devoted to pomp and circumstance, with family and friends in attendance to witness new members being sworn in, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court posing for pictures with the legislators, notifying the opposite house that we were “organized and ready for business,” and then considering and passing resolutions for funding the session and to establish the rules of the road.
Of course, this year, because of the onerous restrictions in the name of COVID-19, we had no families and friends present, no pictures, and we couldn’t get past the notification stage. We certainly were not organized and ready for business. The two houses are not talking, the Senate Majority Leader told us they would start without Republicans if we didn’t jump at her call, though she then made the entire building wait for hours while she and others appeared on a special interest’s webinar. Moreover, the legislative rules have changed so much that this session appears to be shaping up to be an unguided boat in the rapids.
But on the bright note, it should be quite a ride. With so many new members of the Senate, there is hope for bipartisanship if they can convince their leaders to do so. There is so much to be done.
The mood in the building is different, and not all in a bad way. Though we have our queen and her minions making sure we walk in a proper way (properly masked and distant), there is also a sense that we have an opportunity to make some needed changes. I had a wonderful talk with Senator Dina Neal about working together to make our tax structure fairer across the board, eliminating loopholes for the politically powerful and generating revenue through finding those that have avoided paying taxes, rather than raising it on the segment of society that pays for most everything. And Senator Ratti commented to me that she agrees that my hope for a “reset” and a cooperative effort is still achievable.
We may have our disagreements, and the attitude we are witnessing is that President Biden’s call for unity is the same brand as the majority here: join with us, do what we want, and we’ll consider ourselves unified. We’ll see how long that language survives before it’s just “my way or the highway.” I hope and pray that Senator Ratti meant it.
I’m going to try to stay positive no matter what. I’m here for a reason.