So, the governor is confident that the extension of the modified business tax rate will withstand a legal challenge, according to both the Las Vegas newspaper and the online Nevada Independent.
“We’ve got legal opinion from LCB (Legislative Counsel Bureau) that, you know, a simple majority is what’s needed,” Gov. State Sisolak was quoted as saying Tuesday. “I’ve been in government for 20 some-odd years, and if you don’t trust your attorneys, you’ve got a problem. So I’m confident that the attorneys gave us a good opinion. We’ll move forward from there.”
Be prepared to move back, governor, by nearly $100 million in your budget for the next two years — the budget that promises 5 percent raises for teachers.
Republicans have promised a legal challenge if the business tax was extended without a two-thirds majority of both houses as prescribed by the Constitution. The tax extension passed the Senate on a party line vote of 13-8, one vote shy of two-thirds.
Voters in 1994 and 1996 amended the Nevada Constitution to state “an affirmative vote of not fewer than two-thirds of the members elected to each House is necessary to pass a bill or joint resolution which creates, generates, or increases any public revenue in any form, including but not limited to taxes, fees, assessments and rates, or changes in the computation bases for taxes, fees, assessments and rates.”
The modified business tax passed in 2015 by a two-thirds vote of lawmakers contained specific language saying the rates would be reduced in 2019 if tax revenues exceeded a certain level, which they have.
But the compliant LCB told the majority Democratic lawmakers and the Democratic governor, “It is the opinion of this office that Nevada’s two-thirds majority requirement does not apply to a bill which extends until a later date or revises or eliminates a future decrease in or future expiration of existing state taxes when that future decrease or expiration is not legally operative and binding yet, because such a bill does not change but maintains the existing computation bases currently in effect for the existing state taxes.”
The bill clearly “generates” revenue that two-thirds of the lawmakers in 2015 said would decrease as of July 1, 2019.
The state Constitution is not something to tamper with. Republicans should take it to court and make the Democrats abide by the rules, even if it means a special session would have to called. In fact, the GOP lawmakers should go directly to the state Supreme Court for an opinion that would binding, unlike the LCB opinion “that future decrease or expiration is not legally operative and binding yet …”
Asked nearly the same question in 2011, 2013 and 2015, the LCB said a two-thirds vote was necessary. So, governor, when do you trust your attorneys?
Gov. Steve Sisolak, right, talks to reporters about legislative session. (R-J pix)
Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak delivers his first State of the State address from the Assembly Chambers of the Nevada Legislature in Carson City, Nev., Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2019. (AP Photo/Tom R. Smedes)
By Shea Johnson Las Vegas Review-Journal
June 3, 2019 – 3:55 pm
A conservative group has formed a recall committee to attempt to kick Gov. Steve Sisolak out of office, a nascent effort largely motivated by fear of losing rights under recent gun control legislation.
Fight for Nevada, based in Elko County, registered with the secretary of state’s office on May 6. The group’s president, Angela Blass, said Monday that the “state will become dangerous” under policies championed by Sisolak, the new governor.
It was “sort of this deep gut feeling that something has to be done,” said Blass, 41, who works as an assistant administrator for a fuel company. “We can’t allow this. And also, it scared the hell out of me.”
On Saturday, a gun control bill that would ban bump stocks and enact stricter gun storage provisions and a “red flag” provision enabling authorities to seize guns from those deemed a threat to themselves or others was sent to Sisolak’s office. The next day, Fight for Nevada held its first major rally in Carson City.
The group is opposed not only to gun control legislation, but to wasteful spending and attempts to make Nevada a sanctuary state, according to its website.
“In the final hours of the legislative session, Governor Sisolak remains focused on his priorities for Nevada families — funding our schools, expanding access to health care, and fighting for a safer Nevada,” Sisolak spokeswoman Helen Kalla said Monday when asked to respond to the group’s effort.
Blass moved from California about two years ago; she said she was not politically involved until now and insisted that her group tries to be bipartisan. But she also said she witnessed the consequences of Democratic leadership in California and lamented that Nevada appears to be heading down a similarly liberal path.
She claimed there are about 8,000 members in the group and said they expect to begin signature-gathering efforts by November. Organizers say they will need 242,950 signatures of registered voters who cast a ballot in the gubernatorial race last fall to launch a recall election.
The Elko Rally has been moved to the 16th. There is going be speakers, a raffle and a lot of supporters! Come down and make your voice heard! Sheriff Aitor, Merecedes Mendive and Thelma Homer will be there.
1pm– 14810 Hwy 227 Spring Creek, NV
Estuary Park
06/22/2019 Winnemucca Rally
Location: Winnemucca boulevard between McDonald’s and the pig BBQ restaurant on the sidewalk. Parking is available in the lot beside AutoZone. We can gather in the AutoZone parking lot to consolidate before starting the March. Regroup at pioneer Park at the gazebos near the restrooms at 2:00pm-? for public speakers. Speakers are: Angela blass: Fight for Nevada Aitor Narvaiza: Elko sheriff Joshua Schmitt: 3% Legion Militia
12pm– 1:30pm
Winnemucca boulevard between McDonald’s and the pig BBQ restaurant on the sidewalk.
The briefing in the appeal case regarding Nevada State Engineer Order #1293(A) has reached its conclusion.
The documents for all parties involved are now undergoing the process of screening by the Nevada Supreme Court, which will decide whether or not to move the case forward and hold a hearing to allow for oral arguments.
In addition to the Nevada State Engineer’s Office, which is the appellant, and Pahrump Fair Water, the respondent, a third party has joined the battle as well. The Nevada Groundwater Association requested leave to file an amicus brief, taking the side of Pahrump Fair Water in the argument, and the Nevada Supreme Court has granted that request.
The water order has been the source of much contention since it was originally issued in December 2017.
The order restricts the drilling of new domestic wells in the Pahrump Valley unless two acre-feet of water rights have been relinquished in support of the well. For some Pahrump property owners, water rights were already relinquished when their parcels were initially created. However, for many others, this is not the case and the order requires these property owners to first purchase water rights and relinquish them back to the state before they can drill a domestic well on their land.
Pahrump Fair Water, an organization composed of local property owners, well drillers and real estate agents, filed suit to put a stop to the water order. After several months of legal maneuvering, a judge with the Fifth Judicial District Court rendered a ruling in November 2018 in favor of Pahrump Fair Water and overturned the water order.
That was far from the end of the matter, however, as the Nevada State Engineer’s Office took its opportunity to file an appeal, which is the case now before the Nevada Supreme Court. While the case is being considered, the Supreme Court has issued a stay on the ruling that overturned the water order, meaning at the moment, the order is still in effect.
The basic argument between the engineer’s office and Pahrump Fair Water stems from the question of just how far the state engineer’s authority extends when it comes to domestic wells.
Pahrump Fair Water asserts that the engineer does not have the power to regulate domestic wells except in very specific circumstances, which the organization argues do not exist in the given situation. The state engineer, conversely, proclaims that the engineer’s office can, in fact, restrict domestic wells and withdrawals from such if the engineer finds that it would be in the best interest of the health of the overall water basin to do so.
There are several other points argued by both sides in the briefs filed in the case, including those regarding due process requirements and whether potential new domestic wells constitute a vested property right or protectable interest.
Now the case has reached a “wait and see” point, as there is no definite schedule for when the Nevada Supreme Court might decide to hold a hearing in the matter.
“There is really no way to tell,” David Rigdon of Taggart and Taggart, LTD, the law firm representing Pahrump Fair Water, stated when asked about a possible time line for the case. “I’ve seen the screening process take as few as 45 days and as long as seven to eight months. It all depends on their workload. In the order approving the stay, the court stated that they wanted expedited briefing… However it’s not clear whether the court will expedite its screening and review.”
The appeal is filed under Case No. 77722. All associated documents can be reviewed online at www.nvcourts.gov
Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com
Call to action on AB 95
The Nevada Legislative Session is has just three weeks remaining until it comes to a close and the fate of hundreds of bills depends upon the decisions made in these final days.
In a email sent out May 14 to area residents with a deep interest in local water resources, Nevada Assemblyman Greg Hafen II urged the community to reach out to Nevada Senators and ask them to vote “no” on one particular bill, Assembly Bill 95.
The bill calls for changes to Nevada water law that many have been pushing back against. It would require the Nevada State Engineer, “…to continue to allow withdrawals of groundwater from domestic wells under certain circumstances in groundwater basins where withdrawals have been restricted to conform to priority rights,” according to the bill language.
The bill dictates that domestic wells would be allowed to continue pumping half an acre foot of water it times of curtailment but only if the owner installs a water meter. The idea of water meters is something Pahrump residents have been extremely resistant to for years. Many have also argued that the state engineer does not have the authority to curtail domestic wells at all, a belief that is current under debate in a lawsuit between the engineer’s office and Pahrump Fair Water.
A bill very similar to Assembly Bill 95 was before the Nevada Legislature in 2017 and after the public outcry, it ultimately failed to pass.
“I rise today in opposition to Assembly Bill 95. Assembly Bill 95 tramples over 100 years of Nevada water laws to the detriment of all water users,” Hafen stated from the Assembly Floor on May 14. “We heard from many Nevadans during the bill’s hearing about the negative effects of the bill. There was not one person or organization in support.”
“Currently, domestic wells in my district are already only using an average of half an acre foot per year,” Hafen continued. “Conservation is the key to solving Nevada’s water issues and this bill does nothing to promote conservation, but does have a financial burden to well owners by requiring them install a meter. I urge my colleagues to vote ‘no’ on Assembly Bill 95.”
Details on the bill and a list of all Nevada Legislators along with their contact information can be found online at www.leg.state.nv.us
The Legislature could pass a controversial gun control measure without ever holding a public hearing.
At issue is a red flag law, which allows courts to order the confiscation of weapons from people who pose a threat to themselves or others.
Narrowly tailored, these laws can be beneficial. For instance, the Parkland, Florida, school shooter had a history of disturbing and dangerous behavior. Police went to his house 39 times in seven years. It could have prevented a mass murder had a court taken away his weapons.
In the aftermath of the Parkland shooting, some prominent conservatives, such as David French with National Review, came out in support of red flag laws. But getting the details wrong can turn a good idea into a bad law. It’s a tough balancing act to design a statute that allows government to seize someone’s weapons while respecting an individual’s right to due process.
Finding that balance requires discussion and compromise. That could have happened. Early in the session, state Sen. Julia Ratti, D-Sparks, proposed a very broad red flag bill, Senate Bill 120. For instance, included in the definition of high-risk behavior was the act of acquiring a firearm within six months of displaying a firearm.
A judge who determined someone engaged in those behaviors and posed a risk could order that individual to turn over his or her firearms to law enforcement. The bill also required only “clear and convincing” evidence, a lower standard than beyond a reasonable doubt. Under the proposal, a judge could have ordered an individual’s firearms be confiscated without the subject knowing he’d been accused of threatening behavior.
If the court issued such an order — potentially without the person’s knowledge — the information would have been sent to the Nevada Records of Criminal History. Subjects would thus be prevented from passing a background check if they tried to legally buy a firearm. That makes sense. No point in taking someone’s firearms away if they’re allowed to just buy another one. What doesn’t make sense is that if the information doesn’t get removed automatically from the database if the court removes the protection order. The individual must petition a court to remove it.
This means the government could take your guns without you even knowing you’d been accused. And if you cleared your name, you’d have to return to court to restore your ability to purchase firearms. So much for innocent until proven guilty and due process.
Public and behind-the-scenes input would have improved this bill. But SB120 died in mid-April without a hearing.
Victor Joecks’ column appears in the Opinion section each Sunday, Wednesday and Friday. Listen to him discuss his columns each Monday at 10 a.m. with Kevin Wall on 790 Talk Now. Contact him at vjoecks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4698. Follow @victorjoecks on Twitter.
WASHINGTON — Interior Secretary David Bernhardt reversed Trump administration efforts to slash a Nevada public lands program Wednesday and released nearly $106 million for recreation and wildfire programs in the state.
Forty-seven new projects will be funded as a result through the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act, established by former Sens. Richard Bryan and Harry Reid, both Nevada Democrats, and then-Rep. John Ensign, R-Nev., in 1998.
The funding comes from the sale of public lands in the Las Vegas Valley, with the proceeds earmarked for improvement and conservation programs in the state and in the Lake Tahoe Basin of California.
“This program is a concrete example of the department’s continued commitment to being a good neighbor through increased recreation opportunities and access,” Bernhardt said in a statement.
Program targeted for years
The Trump administration and former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke tried to slash the program in past years.
Trump’s first two budget blueprints called for cuts to the program. The administration then sought to take the funds, but that move was blocked by Congress.
Bernhardt’s announcement that funds would be released to Nevada entities or U.S. agencies to spend on projects in the state marks a significant turnabout for the administration, said Rep. Dina Titus, the dean of the state’s congressional delegation.
Titus had demanded that Zinke and Bernhardt release the funds collected under the program, which is administered by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.
She called Bernhardt’s announcement “good news.”
“I fought the Trump administration for two years to give us this money that is rightfully ours,” Titus said.
Titus said she would continue to defend the program for Southern Nevada “residents and visitors who chose to hike, swim and play in our parks and open spaces.”
Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., hailed the decision. “I’m glad these long-overdue funds are finally being returned to the state and invested in projects that will make Nevada healthier and more sustainable,” she said.
Bernhardt called the announcement an example of the Interior Department “creating a legacy of conservation stewardship.”
The funds from land sales in the Las Vegas Valley will be used for a variety of programs and projects that include trail and habitat restoration, conservation, capital improvements and the purchase of environmentally sensitive lands.
Where the money will go
Entities that will receive money for projects include Clark County, the cities of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas; Lincoln County, White Pine County, the Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Park Service.
The Interior Department noted that BLM will use $4.45 million of the funds to buy 419 acres of agriculture conservation easement on the historic Van Sickle Station Ranch near Genoa in Douglas County.
The purchase will protect local wildlife, migratory bird habitat, groundwater recharge and open space. In addition, the owner will donate two multi-use trail easements to provide the public with additional recreation opportunities, according to the Interior Department.
The BLM also will use $1.45 million in program funds to build between 40 and 65 miles of multi-use trails, trail heads, parking and campgrounds and camping areas in the Highland Range area of Lincoln County.
Lincoln County, the city of Caliente, the Nevada Division of State Parks, the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, the Back Country Horsemen of America and the Wilderness Society and regional and local proprietors are part of the collaborative project.
Since the Act passed in 1998, the program has generated $3.6 billion for projects in the state that include the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area visitor center, renovation of Lorenzi Park in Las Vegas, public areas at Lake Mead National Recreation Area and landscape restoration in Eastern Nevada.
By law, the state of Nevada General Education Fund gets 5 percent of proceeds and the Southern Nevada Water Authority receives 10 percent, according to BLM.
Breakdown of the funding
The Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act has provided $3.6 billion in project funds in the state of Nevada since 1998, according to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt announced and additional $106 million in projects.
• Parks, trails, and natural areas, $26.7 million.
• Capital improvements, $27.7 million.
• Conservation initiatives, $13.2 million.
• Environmentally sensitive land acquisitions, $21.6 million.
• Hazardous fuels reduction and wildfire prevention, $5 million.
Nye County and U.S. Ecology are teaming up for the county’s very first Household Hazardous Waste Collection event, and residents will want to mark May 18 on their calendars.
Members of the Pahrump community and the surrounding area will be able to pack up all of the household waste that they cannot dispose of for curbside trash pickup and haul it to the Pahrump landfill to have it properly disposed of by U.S. Ecology.
Old paint is just one of the many items that will be accepted at the Household Hazardous Waste Collection event set for May 18.
“The Hazardous Household Waste Collection event is something that has been talked about for years but never executed,” Nye County Public Information Officer Arnold Knightly said of the effort.
“U.S. Ecology does these events with its community partners around the country. This event came out of a site tour of their facility last year. Nye County Manager Tim Sutton placed the event as a priority, and Nye County Public Works Director Tim Dahl has been in close contact with U.S. Ecology representatives, who live here in Pahrump, in organizing the event.”
Knightly said events of this type are important to communities as they provide a safe, proper method of disposal for all sorts of products used in the home, ensuring they do not harm the environment.
Electronics, including computers and cell phones, can be taken to Nye County's upcoming household hazardous waste event so it can be properly disposed of by U.S. Ecology.
“There is always a concern that hazardous household waste will end up in our beautiful desert through illegal dumping and will damage the ecosystem. Whether it is animals digesting items, killing or slowing the growth of plants, or waste that ends up in the groundwater, this event is to give an outlet to people to get rid of those items in their garage they don’t know how to get rid of,” Knightly detailed.
U.S. Ecology will have large trucks on site which will run continually throughout the day, with all hazardous waste bound for disposal at the U.S. Ecology site just south of Beatty.
Acceptable waste
Many of the items commonly found stockpiled around homes, awaiting disposal, will be collected as part of the household hazardous waste event.
One of the most common household products and something that generally should not be thrown in the regular trash is batteries. Those made from lead-acid, nickel-cadmium, lithium metal, lithium ions, mercury, and alkaline will be gathered and disposed of properly.
Hazardous liquids will be taken as part of the event as well, including used oil, antifreeze and paint-related materials, such as latex or water-based paints, oil-based paints, lacquers and thinners, and lead-based paints.
Pool chemicals can also be disposed of, so long as they are in their manufacturer’s original packaging and contain a legible label.
Aerosols, both flammable and non-flammable, will be taken, along with electronic waste such as televisions, computers, printers and cell phones.
Mercury and sodium bulbs will also be accepted, as will equipment containing mercury, such as thermometers and thermostats.
Unacceptable waste
There are a variety of items that cannot be accepted at the upcoming disposal event.
Propane cylinders, fire extinguishers and smoke detectors will not be collected, and residents may not dispose of fireworks, flares or flammable liquids. Household cleaners are also on the unacceptable list, along with acids, bases, oxidizers, pesticides or herbicides.
Medications, both prescription and over-the-counter, are unacceptable waste products, as are illicit drugs. Epoxies and resins, appliances, home furnishings, and explosives will not be accepted either.
The Household Hazardous Waste Collection event will take place from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 18 at the Nye County Landfill, 1631 E. Mesquite Ave. in Pahrump.
An unprecedented collaboration between various government agencies, animal welfare groups and ranchers has created a plan aimed at finally bringing the wild horse and burro population on the Western range under control.
The disparate groups include the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the National Cattleman’s Beef Association, the Humane Society of the United States, the American Farm Bureau, American Mustang Foundation, the Public Lands Council and others.
The plan calls for removing 15,000 to 20,000 wild horses a year from the range in the next three years, drastically increasing the use of temporary and permanent sterilization, moving horses to cheaper cost-effective private grazing land and promoting adoptions. The removal number would drop drastically as fertility control takes effect.
[pdf-embedder url="http://birdpuk.com/wp-content/uploads/securepdfs/2019/05/The-Path-Forward-for-Management-of-BLM’s-Wild-Horses-burros.pdf" title="The Path Forward for Management of BLM’s Wild Horses & burros"]
The primary objective of this proposal is to develop an economically and environmentally viable, humane, non-lethal, and feasible long-term management plan for wild horses and burros in the American West. The current program is unsustainable and needs redirection.As of March, the Bureau of Land Management estimated that the population of wild horses and burros on federal lands is more than 81,951 — more than three times 26,690 the agency believes the range can sustain — and that population can grow 18 percent a year, the plan warns. Meanwhile, the BLM maintains 36,906 wild horses and burros in large pasture facilities, and 14,029 horses and burros in corral facilities at a cost of $50 million a year.
The plan calls from increasing the BLM’s total wild horse and burro management budget from the current $80 million a year to $130 million initially, but with cost declining as fertility control cuts population growth and horses and burros are adopted. The goal is to sterilize 90 percent of the animals on the range.
Nancy Perry, ASPCA’s senior vice president, told The Associated Press, “Not every advocate wants to engage with or work with those that they have been in battle with over the years. But BLM’s current polices are ineffective. If they continue on the road they’re on now, it means disaster.”
In fact, the AP reported that the plan has ignited fierce opposition from the American Wild Horse Campaign and Friends of Animals, groups that are already challenging in the courts earlier horse round-ups.
The American Wild Horse Campaign was quoted as saying, “The groups promoting this plan have been co-opted into supporting the livestock industry’s agenda for wild horses by the BLM’s vague promise to utilize undefined ‘population growth suppression’ methods. By mandating the removal of a startling 15,000 to 20,000 wild horses a year, the plan will result in the reduction of America’s wild herds to extinction levels.”
Despite the hysteria from the horse huggers, the plan is at least putting forward a rational effort to control the horse and burro population on the range. The plan estimates it will take 10 years to reach the population that the BLM says is sustainable. Currently the animals in many herd management areas are so overpopulated that they are starving and damaging water resources. Grazing land needed by cattle and other wild animals is depleted.
The plan also addresses the cost of keeping wild horses off the range.
“Every day, the BLM spends $1.82 per horse in long term holding pastures and an average of $4.99 per horse in corral facilities,” the plan notes. “A shortage of pasture facilities has forced the agency to use corral facilities for long term purposes — at more than twice the expense. … The agency estimates that each of those horses costs approximately $46,000 over the course of their lifetime. We propose that the BLM relocate corralled horses and burros, along with any additional removed horses and burros, to more cost-effective private pastures.”
The status quo is not acceptable. Give this plan a chance.
Editors Comment: Identity Politics? Because of a group of people being involved or participating in an event does not make the event about that group.
This article misrepresents many constitutionalist and every day, people as members of a Sovereign Movement. The particular type of activities that this bill is trying to make criminal are related to the Common Law movement and involves self-proclaimed Common Law Grand Jurys and Judges. It also addresses documents created and used from or by these entities.
Most self-identifying Sovereign Citizens, are not about creating, filing or using common law legal documents as if they are real. They are about just being a free person and believing that the Federal Government has abandoned the constitution and its original intent.
Because many people who also have similar feelings that do not self proclaim this and comply with laws and government regulations are being identified as something they are not.
Identity Politics are the new civil rights issue of this century. It promotes prejudice and discrimination by grouping people as if they are members of Identity-based groups that they are not, based only on the fact that they have participated in political or social events where there were people that are also participating.
This is and will continue to be the number one cause of division and decent in the next decade unless we as a society can stand up unnormalize this attitude and behavior.
It is my personal belief that the issue of the creation and use of documents as if they mean the same thing as one produced and filed via a legally recognized court of law is wrong and should have legal consequences for those trying to use them.
I believe that if we are to restore our constitution to our republic we must do it within the system that is currently in place. It will be hard but it can be done with appropriate persistence.
Contact Capital Bureau Chief Colton Lochhead at clochhead@reviewjournal.com or 775-461-3820. Follow @ColtonLochhead on Twitter.
CARSON CITY — The loosely affiliated anti-government extremists known commonly as sovereign citizens are the “largest terroristic threat” facing Nevada, according to Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford.
From the Bundy standoff to a plot to kidnap and execute a police officer, law enforcement in Southern Nevada is no stranger to dealing with those who follow the sovereign citizens’ ideology: They don’t believe in federal or state laws, paying taxes, often espouse hatred of police and elected officials — all factors that have led the FBI to deem those in the movement domestic terrorists.
In Clark County alone, there are roughly 500 people who the Metropolitan Police Department says are affiliated with the movement, Detective Ken Mead said Thursday while presenting a bill under consideration by the Legislature that would give law enforcement more tools to prosecute sovereign citizens.
Aaron Ford speaks to the Review-Journal's reader panel about his platform going into the 2018 midterm elections in Las Vegas, Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2018. Caroline Brehman/Las Vegas Review-Journal @carolinebrehman
And interactions between police and those within the movement are becoming increasingly contentious, Mead said.
“I can confidently say that we have seen an increase in this in the last eight years with their level of activity, their level of aggressiveness,” said Mead, who has spent the last eight years working on domestic terrorism matters for the department while assigned to the Southern Nevada Counter Terrorism Center.
Mead has seen those increases from both a professional level and a personal one.
During an investigation into a scam targeting the elderly in Nevada, Mead became the target himself of a common tactic used by sovereign citizens. They began filing fake court documents in the case from a nonexistent court, claiming that the police officers who made the arrest were in contempt of the court they created, and ordered them to pay $500.
Those filings got more threatening over time. The $500 demand became $1,000. The group started issuing fake indictments and arrest warrants against the officers and prosecutors in the case. Eventually those documents claimed that Mead and his peers were engaged in treasonous activity and “the penalty for treason was death,” Mead said.
The documents could seem real to the untrained eye, Mead said, with official-looking stamps and raised seals.
Then those documents started showing up at his house, and he soon realized that those same people were watching his home, which caused him to have to take “alternative measures” to protect himself and his family, Mead said.
That’s where the bill up for discussion Thursday, Assembly Bill 15 — proposed by the attorney general’s office — comes in.
The seriousness of the threat posed by sovereign citizens came to Ford’s attention last spring while attending a law enforcement summit in Mesquite hosted by then-Attorney General Adam Laxalt. It was there that Ford was told by local and federal law enforcement that “the largest terroristic threat here in our state is sovereign citizens.”
AB15 goes after one of sovereign citizens’ key tactics by making it illegal to create fake judgments, summons, complaints or most other court documents. Under the proposal, doing so would be a class D felony, punishable by up to four years in prison.
The Senate committee took no action on the bill Thursday. It was previously approved by the full Assembly on a 36-4 vote, with four rural Republican assemblymen voting against it.
Clark County commissioners open to gun restrictions on Strip
CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — Some Clark County commissioners have voiced general support for considering firearm restrictions on the Las Vegas Strip if Nevada lawmakers give them the power to create stricter gun laws.
The county would be given such power under the omnibus AB291gun bill moving through the Democrat-controlled Legislature despite widespread opposition from Republicans and gun rights groups.
Some commissioners say state law prevented the body from enacting gun regulations following the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. The gunman attacked a 2017 Las Vegas music festival and used bump stocks to mimic the firing rate of an automatic firearm.
AB291 - Revises provisions relating to public safety. (BDR 15-759) Captured from nellis - 4-29-2019 6:35 pm
"As a large metropolitan area, we simply face different law enforcement challenges than other places in the state," said Commissioner Justin Jones at a bill hearing, mentioning the millions of tourists who visit Las Vegas each year. He also said declaring the Las Vegas Strip a gun-free zone on major holidays would be a common-sense gun measure.
Jones said in an interview that he expects there to be interest on firearm restrictions for the Las Vegas Strip, if the Nevada bill passes.
Commissioner Tick Segerblom says he would go further.
Segerblom said he's not only in support of those restrictions, but wants a discussion over adding an assault weapons ban, handgun registrations and ammunition limitations.
Giving counties the ability to dictate gun laws allows the conversation over firearm issues to extend past the state's biennial legislative session, he said.
Nevada is one of the few states in which the Legislature meets every other year.
Jones and Segerblom are former state lawmakers who have backed gun bills in the past.
Commission Chairman Marilyn Kirkpatrick expressed support for considering gun regulations for the Strip corridor, but cautioned that the commission would have to consider the impact on large hunting shows.
The amended Nevada bill handily passed the Assembly with no Republican support. The Nevada bill would also ban bump stocks and lower the alcohol limit for legally possessing a firearm outside a person's home.
Unlike the original bill, the amended legislation would not allow cities and towns to enact stricter firearm laws. Yet the changes to the bill have not blunted criticism.
Don Turner, president of the Nevada Firearms Coalition, said the group remains in strong opposition to the amended bill and is most concerned with provisions giving counties the ability to create stricter firearm laws, arguing that it's easier to pass a local ordinance than a state law.
Assemblyman Tom Roberts, a Republican who voted against the amended bill, said he is in support of the bump stock ban, but disagreed with giving counties the power to create more stringent firearm laws. He argued it would create a patchwork of laws.
"It's not something I believe that we should be giving up to the county commissions, when we have such a large and diverse state with huge differences of opinion on this issue," he said.
Availible to be purchased 9am to Midnight on May 7th 2019 - NCW.LiveNation.com.
How far can $20 take you in Las Vegas? Concert-booking behemoth Live Nation is about to find out.
How far can $20 take you in VegasVille? Concert-booking behemoth Live Nation is about to find out.
From Wednesday through May 7, fans can snap up tickets for $20 — including fees — to dozens of Live Nation concerts and events in Las Vegas. The widespread discount is part of the company’s fifth annual National Concert Week campaign. Tickets at the $20 price are available from 9 a.m. Wednesday through 11:59 p.m. May 7 at NCW.LiveNation.com.
The deal covers a wide swath of events, including Lady Antebellum at Pearl Concert Theater, Janet Jackson at Park Theater, Juanes at Mandalay Bay Beach, Judas Priest at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel, Christina Aguilera, Gwen Stefani and Pitbull at Zappos Theater and Trevor Noah at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace. Even the Bill & Hill show — President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton at Park Theater — is on this list.
The full NCW lineup, as provided by Live Nation:
May 5 – An Evening with President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton (Park Theater at Park MGM)
May 10, 11, 15, 17 & 18; Aug. 23, 24, 28, 30 & 31 – Lady Antebellum OUR KIND OF VEGAS (Pearl Concert Theater inside the Palms)
May 10, 11, 15, 17, 18, 22, 24 & 25 – Pitbull “Time of Our Lives” (Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort)
May 17 – Florence + The Machine (T-Mobile Arena)
May 17, 18, 21, 22, 25 & 26; July 24, 26, 27 & 31; Aug. 2, 3, 7, 9 & 10 – Janet Jackson Metamorphosis (Park Theater at Park MGM)
May 25 – New Kids on the Block (Mandalay Bay Events Center)
May 26 – Juanes (Mandalay Bay Beach)
May 31; June 1, 5, 7, 8, 13, 15 & 16; Sept. 20, 21, 24, 27 & 28; Oct. 2, 4 & 5 – Christina Aguilera: The Xperience (Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort)
June 7 – Enanitos Verdes & Hombres G (The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel)
June 15 – Jennifer Lopez (T-Mobile Arena)
June 21 – Rob Thomas (Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort)
June 22 – Hootie & The Blowfish (T-Mobile Arena)
June 28 – Coheed and Cambria (The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel)
June 29 – Judas Priest (The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel)
June 30 – Trevor Noah (The Colosseum at Caesars Palace)
July 5, 6, 10, 12, 13, 17, 19, 20, 24 & 26; Oct. 11, 12, 16, 18, 19, 23, 25, 26 & 30: Nov. 1 & 2 – “Gwen Stefani – Just A Girl” (Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood)
July 6 – Pentatonix (Mandalay Bay Events Center)
July 12 – Hammer’s House Party (Pearl Concert Theater inside the Palms)
July 13 – Gary Owen (Pearl Concert Theater inside the Palms)
July 19 – Beck and Cage the Elephant (Park Theater at Park MGM)
July 20 – Why Don’t We (Park Theater at Park MGM)
Aug. 2 – Third Eye Blind and Jimmy Eat World (Pearl Concert Theater inside the Palms)
Aug. 11 – Prettymuch (Pearl Concert Theater inside the Palms)
Aug. 16 – Young the Giant & Fitz and the Tantrums (Downtown Las Vegas Events Center)
Aug. 16 – Lynyrd Skynyrd (T-Mobile Arena)
Aug. 17 – Chris Young (MGM Grand Garden Arena)
Aug.t 24 – Iration (Mandalay Bay Beach)
Sept. 1 – Papa Roach (Downtown Las Vegas Events Center)
Sept. 14 – Gloria Trevi (Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort)
Oct.r 4, 5, 9, 11 & 12 – Billy Idol (Pearl Concert Theater inside the Palms)
Nov. 6, 8, 9 & 12 – Florida Georgia Line (Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort)
Nov. 12 – Sara Bareilles (Mandalay Bay Events Center)
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The full list of Live Nation shows can be found at livenation.com.
The Elko Rally has been moved to the 16th. There is going be speakers, a raffle and a lot of supporters! Come down and make your voice heard! Sheriff Aitor, Merecedes Mendive and Thelma Homer will be there.
clear whether the court will expedite its screening and review.”
