Election Report From State Director Randi Thompson

Election Day 2014 was a good day for business in Nevada. 

First, with your help, we beat the Margins Tax. NFIB/Nevada was active in the coalition to stop the tax, and we were able to defeat Question 3 by a huge margin! Thanks to all of you who helped spread the word about this bad tax.

Election Day 2014 was also an historic day as we saw pro-business candidates win every statewide constitutional office, and a flip of the leadership in Assembly and Senate to one that will be controlled by pro-business legislators.  

In total, NFIB endorsed 32 candidates this election, and 27 of them won. That is a new record.  What a difference an Election Day can make!

There are now 25 Republicans in the Assembly and 17 Democrats.  While that is a majority, it’s not the two-thirds needed to pass any tax-related bills, so the GOP will have to get three more votes to pass legislation that requires a super majority.  In the Senate there are 11 Republicans and 10 Democrats; again, a majority, but a super majority is 14.  

An interesting perspective here: the last time both houses of the Legislature were controlled by the Republican Party was 1929.  While the Senate flips back and forth fairly often between Democrat and Republican majorities, the Assembly has only been under GOP control in 1969, 1971 and 1985.  In 1995 there was a 21-21 tie in the Assembly, and the Senate was in the GOP’s hands; that is the closest to what we have today. 

Needless to say, I’m very excited to be able to work with a pro-business Legislature to pass laws that will positively impact business. Session after session, I have been on the defense, trying to stop bills that will hurt business owners. But this session we will have the chance to:

Now more than ever, I need to hear from you about changes you’d like to see in Carson City that will help your business grow. So please don’t hesitate to contact me with ideas for legislation. 

Thanks for voting for Main Street this year, and for helping elect a business friendly Legislature. What a difference this will make!