In what has become a sort of legislative tradition, NV Energy is having talks late in the session, this time about wildfire liability. According to four people with knowledge of the situation, discussions are taking place behind the scenes about addressing the utility company’s liability in wildfires started by its equipment. It’s a fluid situation and everything is in the early stages, but here’s what we know so far: Sources familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity because conversations are ongoing, said everything is preliminary.
Last month, the Reno City Council approved the Oppidan Data Center to become the city’s second data center, despite the city planning commission’s original denial of the project. The back-and-forth decision coincides with the ongoing city council debate about how to regulate data centers, in light of their significant energy and water demands to power artificial intelligence (AI) models such as ChatGPT. “Every time a user inputs a prompt, ChatGPT’s massive language model processes it using an estimated 2.9 watt-hours (Wh) of energy,” reported RW Digital, a digital marketing firm. “That’s nearly ten times what it takes for a single Google search.”
The push to expand the child tax credit is more bipartisan than ever — but a clear solution to stop it from being slashed in half is still far off. Republicans and Democrats have been juggling proposals for the credit — currently a $2,000-per-child tax incentive — as Congress renegotiates the country’s tax structure. Lawmakers told The 19th they are anxious to pass something this year before the existing bill sunsets this fall and reverts the credit to a baseline $1,000.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed new legislation on Monday that will provide more than $170 million in state funding to help prevent wildfires while signing an order aimed at speeding up the work by easing environmental permitting. The funding — which the Democratic governor said was part of a broader effort to better protect communities ahead of peak fire season — comes as the state is under extraordinary pressure after the January infernos that devastated Los Angeles communities.
Public officials in 16 states and the District of Columbia sued the Trump administration Thursday to restore access to pandemic relief aid for schools, saying the Education Department's abrupt halt of hundreds of millions of dollars of promised funding will force cuts to vital services. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan by a coalition of 16 Democratic attorneys general, led by New York’s Letitia James and including Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, plus Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, also a Democrat. It claims the administration's refusal to release the aid violates federal law because it reversed a prior decision to allow states to access the money through March 2026.
April 1 has come and gone, and from here on out, it’s all downhill — literally and figuratively — for Nevada’s snowpack. Snowpacks are Mother Nature’s reservoirs, natural repositories that slowly release water downstream into lakes, reservoirs and sinks. April 1 is historically the date in Nevada and across the Eastern Sierra that most snowpacks hold their highest water content.
RENO — The Bureau of Land Management Nevada State Office leased 10 parcels totaling 19,954 acres for $295,309 in total receipts for its quarterly oil and gas lease sale. The combined bonus bids and rentals from the lease will be distributed between the federal government and the State of Nevada. Oil and gas lease sales support domestic energy production and American energy independence, while contributing to the nation’s economic and military security. Consistent with Executive Order 14154, “Unleashing American Energy,” the BLM’s lease sales help meet the energy needs of U.S. citizens and solidify the nation as a global energy leader long into the future.
CARSON CITY — Over 50 Nevadans joined state legislators, Chispa Nevada, and the Nevada Conservation League (NCL) advocated for policies that lower energy costs, expand access to outdoor education opportunities, and protect our wildlife, public lands, and the outdoor recreation economy at Conservation Lobby Day. As more and more Nevadans are burdened with increasingly high energy bills, leaders in conservation and at the state legislature are working to create policies that hold utility monopolies accountable and make local, cheap, and clean energy accessible to all.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic officials in 19 states filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump's attempt to reshape elections across the U.S., calling it an unconstitutional invasion of states' clear authority to run their own elections. Thursday's lawsuit is the fourth against the executive order issued just a week ago. It seeks to block key aspects of it, including new requirements that people provide documentary proof of citizenship when registering to vote and a demand that all mail ballots be received by Election Day. “The President has no power to do any of this,” the state attorneys general wrote in court documents. “The Elections EO is unconstitutional, antidemocratic, and un-American.”
Nevada nonprofits face an unprecedented level of uncertainty amid potential federal funding cuts, but a bill in the Legislature could help their bottom lines. Here’s what you need to know: AB254, sponsored by Assm. Erica Mosca (D-Las Vegas), would establish a nonprofit grant program in the state’s Office of Federal Assistance, which is housed in the governor’s office. The bill itself doesn't allocate any money, but creates an account to accept donations that would then be funneled to nonprofits applying for merit-based grants.
When Gov. Joe Lombardo delivered his State of the State speech in January, he talked about open zoning — the policy of allowing students to attend a school other than the one they are assigned, or zoned for, based on their address. It’s a concept that exists with some limitations across the state already, and has proponents on both sides of the aisle. But skeptics have also raised concerns about transparency, how practical it is for students to choose a different school they can’t walk to and whether it detracts from the broader goals of ensuring all schools offer a high quality education.
Nevada's long-dormant law requiring minors to give parental notification before undergoing an abortion will go into effect at the end of the month, after a federal judge lifted an injunction that prevented the law from ever being enforced. U.S. District Court Judge Anne Traum ruled that the new policy will take effect April 30. Nevada has had a law since 1985 requiring parental notification — or judicial bypass of the notification requirement — for physicians to perform abortions on minors. But the law has never been enforced because federal courts enjoined it before it took effect. Planned Parenthood of Washoe County sued to stop the law, saying it was not compliant with Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court case guaranteeing the federal right to an abortion.
LAKE TAHOE — The snow is already melting in the Lake Tahoe region and the end of winter gives way to a busy spring for wildlife in the area. Bears that have been in winter dens are emerging, and they are hungry! In the fall, black bears went through hyperphagia, which is an increase in feeding activity (consuming about 25,000 calories a day) driven by their need to bulk up before winter.
Nevada has become the latest state to curtail the participation of transgender athletes in school sports after the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association (NIAA) reversed a 2014 policy that allowed transgender students in high schools to play for teams that align with their gender identity. In a near-unanimous vote on Tuesday, the group’s board — a group including parents, principals and athletic directors that governs athletics at more than 120 high schools in Nevada — passed a new policy that limits students to playing sports that align with the sex listed on their “unaltered original birth certificate.” It also scheduled an emergency meeting in May to discuss implementation.
Another legislative session brings another swing at reforming Nevada’s seemingly untouchable property tax structure. Among this year’s proposals: Letting voters in 2028 decide whether the taxable value of property should reset when a home is sold. Currently, it does not, meaning the benefits of a depreciation factor and abatements used when calculating property tax stays with a home after it is sold to a new owner, according to Nevada Current.
Previous Next