State Director Tray Abney reports from Carson City on the small-business agenda
First of all, thanks to all of our NFIB members across Nevada for your support and dedication. We truly appreciate your commitment to free enterprise and the economic vitality of our state. I could not do what I do every day in Carson City without our great members.
As I write this, we are just past the halfway point of the 2023 Legislative Session, with fewer than 50 days left to go until our elected representatives gavel out and head back home.
It has become obvious that, unlike the previous two sessions, having a pro-business backstop in the governor’s office across the courtyard from the Legislative Building has tamped down (a bit) the crush of anti-business legislation. Gov. Joe Lombardo articulated clear priorities in his State of the State speech back in January, and he has not backed down from his pro-business, pro-economic growth principles.
As such, while small business job-creators can’t rest easy until June 6, NFIB and our key employer advocacy partners have successfully stopped a lot of bad legislative priorities and functionally improved many others. While we expect that Governor Lombardo will have to use his veto pen several times before the Legislature adjourns, we can’t take the process for granted and must engage with legislators on each and every bill that we support and particularly on those we have concerns with.
- Please join your fellow Nevada small business owners May 8 in Carson City for NFIB Nevada’s Small Business Day at the Capitol – Register Today! Featured guests and the day’s advocacy agenda will be continually updated in the coming days. This is a unique opportunity to engage directly with legislators and policymakers on the issues that matter most to your small business.
Here is a brief update of the current lay-of-the-land in Carson City:
Governor Lombardo has brought fresh ideas and an outsider’s perspective to Carson City in the early stages of his first term. We look forward to working with him and his administration to advance shared policy priorities for Nevada small businesses:
- affordable and accessible energy
- tax reform, regulatory relief
- fiscal responsibility
- safe and vibrant communities
- and, an end to predatory litigation targeting small business owners.
Legislation NFIB Opposes (as currently drafted)
- Assembly Bill 312 would establish an Environmental Justice Commission that could stifle future growth and development and make every public and private construction project more expensive.
- Senate Bill 427 would implement new heat protection standards in the workplace, using vague definitions and a one-size-fits-all standard.
- SB 305 would create a mandatory retirement program for private sector employees. Employers would be required to administer employee enrollment and would also be subjected to fines and penalties for errors and paperwork mistakes.
Legislation NFIB Supports
- AB 50 gives the Attorney General additional tools to address organized retail crime.
- AB 14 ensures that the Secretary of State’s Silver Flume business portal is better connected to local government online licensing systems.
- SB 24 makes the Lt. Governor’s Office of Small Business Advocacy permanent.
- SB 261 improves notification requirements when local governments are proposing new regulations that affect small businesses.
- AB 77 creates an Office of Entrepreneurship within the Governor’s Office of Economic Development
- SB 233 reforms existing tax structure for companies who lease heavy equipment to other companies to make it more stable and efficient.
Legislation that NFIB has defeated
- AJR 3 sought to amend the Nevada Constitution to give everyone the “right” to clean air and water. Environmental protection is already well enforced by federal, state, and local government agencies. Enactment of this amendment would have exposed small business owners to potentially catastrophic lawsuits.
- AB 421 would have imposed a tax on businesses that collect consumer data.
Pro-business legislation that has died
- AB 314 would have ensured that local governments cannot restrict the reasonable operation of a home-based business.
- SB 179 would have limited the ‘lawsuit lending’ industry and provided much-need transparency.
- SB 193 would have raised the commerce tax exemption from $4 million in gross revenue to $8 million.
NFIB has been busy advancing and protecting the interests of small business this session, but we still have over a month to go. We will continue to bring the voice of small business to the halls of the Capitol every day to ensure that you are not subjected to more fees, more regulations, more lawsuits, more expensive healthcare or higher energy costs.
