Friends,
I want to start by saying thank you for all of your heartfelt feedback on my Friday email and appearance on Ralston Reports. Out of respect for the families in Newtown, along with the people who are suffering here in Las Vegas with the Excalibur tragedy, I don't want to participate in making this tragedy any more politicized than it already is. I will rejoin the conversation following the holiday season in the days preceding the session.
Yesterday the Clark County Commission selected Lesley Cohen to fill the vacant Assembly District 29 seat. I would like to welcome Lesley, and I look forward to working with her at the Legislature.
I have been hard at work these last few weeks preparing my Bill Draft Requests (BDRs) with the latest submitted just over a week ago as well as learning about the BDRs that have been submitted by my peers in both houses. You can see a full list on the Nevada Legislature website. The descriptions don't give a lot of information; however, legislators are hard at work on the full text that goes with them that will be available when the BDRs become bills in February.
I am including my personal reasoning behind some of the BDRs I have submitted and chosen to support, and I will provide updates when I have more information. I'm not including Campus Carry since it was the topic of my Friday email; you can read that email by clicking here, and you can watch my Ralston Reports interview by clicking here (Bob Irwin's interview is first followed by mine). I hope you will read about all of the BDRs I've requested on behalf of our district and share your thoughts with me.
BDR 125
I believe voting is a right given to citizens of this country. To make sure we keep the integrity and not suppress voters, I believe we need to require photographic identification to vote. Assemblyman Hansen has introduced this bill.
BDRs 428, 429, 430
Homeowners associations have been in the news for cases of corruption and disagreements. I have co-sponsored three BDRs submitted by Senator Gustavson that strengthen the assessment of fines and penalties and limit harassment of tenants.
BDR 551
I have been approached by many of our neighbors who have been unfairly punished under the construction defect law, and I will be co-sponsoring legislation proposed by Assemblyman Hansen to change how legal fees are collected. Construction defect law is the most defective law I've ever heard. An example: if you're a painter, and you're working on a home at the same time there's a plumbing problem, you, the painter, are liable for the fees of the attorney who is suing you. Every subcontractor, whether it was their issue or not, gets forced into the lawsuit. The goal of this legislation is to make sure our local businesses that are not at fault don't have to pay attorney fees if they did not created the defect.
BDR 614
I will be introducing a BDR to help small businesses to expand. More details to follow.
BDR 616
There are countless crimes where the punishment is jail time, a huge expense to taxpayers. I believe we need to make sure the punishment fits the crime, especially in the case of non-violent crimes and when there is no threat to public safety.
BDR 617
Too many of our Nevada youth are falling through the cracks in our school truancy programs. We need a specialty court that can provide more follow through and press parents to get involved, and we need to empower our school police to get students to their court hearings even if their parents won't. Truant students will never change their behavior if there aren't real consequences for their actions that get them back on the right track.
BDR 749
During tours of 5 of Nevada's prisons last week (there are 17 total, and I look forward to visiting the others as time permits), I was concerned to hear how much of Nevada's tax dollars are being wasted while needed programs are being cut. There are various areas where we can make smart financial changes. We need to send contracts to bid to ensure we're getting the best possible product for the best possible price, instead of blindly renewing contracts that increase costs.
No BDR Number Yet
Most people don't know that human trafficking is a very real problem in our own backyard. Young girls are picked up off the streets, manipulated, drugged and sent out to work the streets or the truck stops. It's not only girls; women, men, young and old, people with any color of skin can be victims of sex and labor trafficking right here in the United States and Nevada. I will be working on legislation that defines luring.
No BDR Number Yet
As a business owner, I firmly believe that businesses are suffocating under taxation, regulation and litigation. This BDR will address duplication of services provided and fees charged by state agencies that are hindering our businesses from growing and creating jobs.
I have only spent a limited amount of time with most of my peers at the Nevada Legislature, and I'm confident that we will find ways to work together and do great things for Nevada. This is a very exciting time, and I will continue to keep you updated about the BDRs (and soon the bills) I'm working on. I hope you will share your feedback with me now and throughout the process. You can always respond via email or start a conversation on Facebook.
There are great things ahead, and I will make sure your voice is heard in Carson City.
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Yours truly,
Michele Fiore
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