Nevada’s local governments reported spending nearly $4.7 million to lobby legislators during this year’s 120-day legislative session, breaking the record for annual lobbying spending by more than $700,000.
This year also saw all-time lobbying spending records for Nevada cities, counties and districts, which include agencies ranging from police departments to water authorities, according to a Department of Taxation report released in July.
The funding represents a 167 percent increase from 2021, when the legislative building remained closed for the majority of the session. Local officials said inflation increased those costs this year.
Under state law, local governments must disclose expenditures of more than $6,000 on “activities designed to influence the passage or defeat of any legislation,” which include lodging and travel expenses plus paid lobbyists who testified on bills, arranged lawmaker meetings, tracked legislation and conducted research on policy issues.
Almost all of the spending came from governments in Clark and Washoe counties, which make up more than 90 percent of the state’s population. Clark County governments spent a combined $3 million on lobbying, while those in Washoe County spent more than $1.1 million. Those are jumps of 80 percent and 45 percent, respectively, from 2021 lobbying spending totals.
The state’s most populous cities had a prominent role in those rising numbers. The City of Las Vegas spent $476,000 on lobbying this year, an increase of more than $140,000 from 2021, while the North Las Vegas government reported $337,000 in lobbying funding, a more than 230 percent increase from 2021. The cities of Reno and Sparks spent more than $180,000 this year, compared to the $110,000 spent two years ago.
Local governments reported using 232 lobbyists this session, an increase of 76 from the 2021 session, according to the Legislative Counsel Bureau. That included Clark County relying on five more lobbyists — 13 compared to eight — and the City of Las Vegas having three more lobbyists than during the 2021 session.
Rural governments lagged significantly behind the more populous areas in terms of lobbying spending but still saw increases from 2021. Governments in western Nevada’s Churchill County spent more than $140,000 in lobbying expenditures, a rise from $88,500 in 2021. That funding represented 3 percent of the total local government lobbying spending, even though Churchill County represents less than 1 percent of the state’s population.
School districts also returned to pre-pandemic levels of lobbying expenses, spending more than $420,000 on lobbying, with more than half coming from Clark County.
Washoe County
governments
Almost half of the $1.1 million lobbying expenditures reported among Washoe County governments came from the county.
The county supported bills including SB68, which never received a vote in either chamber and would have raised real property transfer taxes statewide by 20 cents per $500 of value. The effort was designed to boost housing options for people with behavioral, mental and physical disabilities. The county also backed SB368, which became law and allows homeowners to petition to remove historic racist covenants from housing documents that prohibited people who are not white from living in certain communities or buying homes.
The Washoe County Health District supported bills including SB172, a priority bill for LGBTQ+ rights groups to allow minors to receive preventative health care without parental consent. The district also partnered with other health districts to support SB118, which creates a fund to give local health authorities money to address community needs.
The county’s public defender’s office opposed the introduction of SB35, a bill from the attorney general’s office to increase penalties for fentanyl tracking. Erica Roth, the office’s government affairs liaison, said the introduction of the bill was “reminiscent of the failed crack cocaine-related legislation in the 1980s and ’90s.” The office also focused on mental health investments and specialty court prrgams rather than “reactionary incarceration first solutions,” Roth said.
The City of Reno had several priorities this legislative session, including SB12, a failed bill that would have halted a plan to give the city a sixth ward. The city also pushed for the passage of AB62 (a measure to expand eligibility criteria for affordable housing projects to receive property tax credits) and AB408 (the “trick driving” bill that Clark County officials also backed). Both measures became law.
“We’re really happy with how this session ended,” said Nic Ciccone, the city’s legislative relations program manager.
Rural governments
Governments and agencies in Nevada’s 15 other counties made up about 10 percent of all lobbying expenses, with six counties not spending any funds on lobbying.
Churchill County once again ranked third in lobbying expenditures, with more than half of reported expenses coming from the City of Fallon. The county government contracted out its lobbying efforts to an outside firm Strategies 360. In a presentation following the session, they described the session as “very successful” for rural communities, citing legislation to improve rural health care access.