• The bill to provide incentives for an air carrier to fly passengers from Elko to Reno, SB363, as well as to help other airports in the state, like Wendover, never got to the floor for a vote. That bill was killed in both houses. That bill was the result of a lot of work from Assemblyman John Ellison R-Elko and Senator Pete Goicoechea R-Eureka, but “That bill was blocked by two democrats from Las Vegas, Senator Aaron D. Ford and Assemblyman Jason Frierson” said John Ellison. Assemblyman John Ellison and Senator Pete Goicoechea were two very disappointed men, as a lot of bills who would have help rural Nevada didn’t pass.
• A bill introduced by the Nevada Supreme Court “in way and means”(finance) about a new court house in Ely, also didn’t pass.
• Many water bills didn’t pass, and for ounce some of it was good because stopping Las Vegas from having a close look at rural Nevada water, and water rights.
“They killed that,” said Ellison regarding the airport bill. “They also killed AB109,” which would have required the Nevada Public Utilities Commission to conduct a general consumer session in Elko County for Spring Creek water customers.
He said a diesel gas tax bill, SB439, that would bring revenue to Elko and other rural counties for road improvements also was dead.
“A lot of rural Nevada bills didn’t pass,” he said, remarking that prisoners in Nevada institutions are making out better than rural Nevada. A bill will allow prisoners to have electronic tablets, Ellison said.
“It’s just a bad session. We came down here to work for the people, but the leadership is not controlling the bills,” he said.
State Sen. Pete Goicoechea said “the lack of leadership in both houses has really turned a bad session into a dysfunctional session.”
The bill had proposed providing $1 million a year for two years to establish a fund for 80 percent grants to rural communities to attract air service, with the communities providing the other 20 percent in funds or in-kind matches.
The Reno airport and smaller cities like Wendover, would have qualified under SB363, which Ellison and Goicoechea co-sponsored.
• The bill that gives West Wendover the chance to have a medical marijuana dispensary opened in the city, SB487, made it through the Senate Sunday night and the Assembly Monday afternoon.
“This bill has the language in it (Section 30) which will allow municipalities in counties of less than 100,000 population to petition directly to the state for the site licensing for medical marijuana,” West Wendover City Manager Chris Melville said.
“We needed that language in place in order to move forward with medical marijuana in West Wendover. The governor has not yet signed the bill but we are assuming he will,” Melville added.
West Wendover is looking at one dispensary that would include a growing facility.
Also bill AB52, which would streamline exploration permitting for lithium in brine passed. The Nevada Division of Minerals was closely watching that bill.
Although rural Nevada didn’t fare well in the 2017 session, legislators who represent the Elko area had a few successes.
Goicoechea proposed a bill that would allow jail inmates to choose how their pets should be housed while the inmate is incarcerated. It already has been signed by the governor.
Another bill proposed by Goicoechea that pertains to hunting from helicopters also has been signed by the governor. The bill requires airports and heliports used in the transportation of hunters to be accessible by a public road.
Ellison said legislators passed his “critical bill for business,” AB123, that addresses limited liability companies. Without passage, he said LLC businesses may have left Nevada for a friendlier state.
Earlier, a bill proposed by Ellison requiring slow drivers to keep to the right on four-lane highways was signed by the governor.
Goicoechea’s bill to provide help with petroleum tanks, especially for small gas stations, also passed.
Another controversial bill, among the water bills that came before the Nevada Legislature this session, SB51 has been signed by the governor. State Engineer Jason King earlier characterized the bill as modernizing language for adjudication of water rights.
Sandoval also signed AB209 regarding water forfeitures. The bill adds additional criteria the state engineer must consider to whether an extension of time request from the holder of water rights is necessary.
Goicoechea said SB47 on water forfeiture issues also just passed. The bill deals with notification regarding beneficial use of water.
