Nevada’s Republican governor reached out Wednesday to Democratic-controlled state legislaturesaying that they must meet finding solutions to pressing issues like affordable housing and access to adequate health care.
Gov. Joe Lombardo’s speech in the state capital, Carson City, sets the tone for how he plans to move his policies forward, even as his party is outnumbered.
“I would ask that before some of you say no, work with me, work with my agency leaders, ask questions, give feedback, offer alternatives and put partisan politics aside,” he said. -he declared. “The reality is that if we do nothing, these challenges will only become more difficult. »
Nevada legislators meet every two years, in odd years. The 2025 session begins on February 3.
Lombardo, who is up for re-election next year, announced Wednesday, as part of his goal to strengthen access to health care, that he would restructure the state Department of Health and Human Services by transferring responsibilities for managing services like Medicaid, mental health and health funding. insurance programs to a new agency, the Nevada Health Authority. He called it a “streamlined agency” that will focus on ensuring better insurance options for state employees and those enrolled in Medicaid.
Beyond Carson City, the first-term governor said he’s looking to the president-elect Donald Trump to help create more affordable housing in Nevada, where more than 80 percent of land is managed by the federal government. Lombardo, placing the blame squarely on what he called “the federal government’s reluctance to release the land we need for housing,” said he had “great confidence” in Trump’s aid.
Lombardo also seeks to build on previous efforts in 2023 to expand school choicegranting pay raises to teachers, creating harsher penalties for certain crimes and diversifying Nevada’s economy, which relies heavily on tourism and casinos. Teacher pay raises will also be extended to charter schools, Lombardo said, adding that his budget seeks to make those increases permanent.
The state Democratic Party said in a statement that Lombardo has had more than two years to reduce costs for Nevadans.
“As rent costs and food insecurity rise across the state, Joe Lombardo has offered no serious plans to address these issues, while directly blocking and vetoing Democratic legislation that offered solutions serious problems,” the statement said.
Lombardo, the former elected sheriff of Las Vegas, vetoed a record 75 bills during the 2023 legislative session, including bills that would have added protections for renters, reformed The Nevada Expulsion summary system, provided free lunches in K-12 schools, and gave insurance stipends to long-term substitute teachers.
A similar dynamic is playing out in Arizona, where Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs said Monday at the start of her legislative session that she sees room for bipartisan compromise as she seeks to advance her legislative goals in a GOP-controlled legislature.