CARSON CITY, Nevada (AP) — Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo on Monday cut business taxes, suspended the state’s gas tax for a year, made the largest investment in education in Nevada’s history, and cut state employee salaries by 12%. I said I want to lift. for the next two years.
Republicans advocate tougher penalties for offenders, creation of new state office to expand school choice, in first state address at a packed joint session of the Democratic-controlled Congress on the floor of Carson City. , and also proposed the abolition of electoral reform obligations. A vote-by-mail ballot will be sent to all voters. He argued that all initiatives could be accomplished without new taxes.
Lombardo announced plans to unveil the new facility with Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Tuesday.Lombardo said he hopes to further the Nevada economy beyond its overreliance on casinos and tourism. It’s part of his determination to diversify.
Lombardo said the automaker’s development includes “a brand new $3.5 billion advanced manufacturing facility in northern Nevada for the company’s all-electric semi trucks.” Tesla already operates a huge factory 20 miles (32 km) east of Reno to make batteries for electric vehicles.
Lombardo’s lofty legislative goals took center stage in his speeches setting the stage for what could be a militant legislative session after his very thin victory in the western swing states. .
“My budget doesn’t add a single cent of new taxes,” Lombardo said, adding that his plan would cut household and business taxes, pay off debts, and put “an extra dollar into the General Fund.” Claimed to save “$1 for every dollar spent.”
The former Clark County sheriff, who fired Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak in November, said Nevada’s economy was “getting stronger every day.”
He said he was determined to work with Democrats in the majority and Republicans in the minority alike to achieve an ambitious agenda.
In a speech in the state capital, Lombardo said, “As governors, I am full of hope and optimism about what we can achieve if we simply arouse our will to work together.” While there are exciting opportunities in the
“Not one cent of the state’s one-time surplus will be used to fund recurring programs,” he said.
Lombardo was the only Republican to defeat an incumbent Democratic governor in November, an important win in a western battleground state where a wave of Republican victories was expected.
He said the administrative budget, which he will return to Carson City in two weeks to present to lawmakers attending the biennial Congress, will ease the tax burden for working families and businesses. He said his proposal to suspend the state’s auto fuel tax for the next 12 months would save consumers and businesses about $250 million.
“For a family of four, that’s hundreds of dollars a year,” he said Monday.
“My budget will also save taxpayers more than $260 million in interest payments on bonds, which will help create more construction jobs in the future.
Lombardo also expanded on a plan he discussed during the campaign to roll back the criminal justice reforms passed under Sisolak, which he called “crime-vulnerable”.
Paying tribute to bipartisanship, his opening address included a moment of silence in memory of many Nevada leaders. Among them was the late Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
In his first three weeks in office, Mr. Lombardo has already enacted four executive orders, including one directing the Ministry of Administration to address a vacancy rate of about 24% in state employees. The order also directed state agencies to return to pre-pandemic operations, including normal face-to-face hours, by July 1.
Another executive order would require all agencies, departments, and others to review all existing regulations, recommend which ones should be removed, and explain why the new regulations are subject to exceptions.
Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers have teased a bill that, if passed, would test how Lombardo would use its veto power.
___
Associated Press writer Scott Sonar contributed to this report from Reno, Nevada. Gabe Stern is a member of the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms. Follow him on Twitter. @gabester326.