Dear colleagues:
With a just 10 days left in the Legislative session, time and money are running out for funding of fair compensation for faculty and other state workers. The end game is all about Education Savings Accounts (a.k.a. vouchers). Many lobbyists in the building think their pet bill is the big bargaining chip, but I don’t know of any single cause that is as important to Democrats as ESAs/vouchers seem to be to Republicans. Improved state employee compensation including faculty merit is looking less likely but can still be addressed in the end-of-session compensation bill, which is being drafted now. The NFA is advocating for higher COLAs for all state employees as well as funding of faculty merit. Please contact decision makers with the contact information and talking points at this link.
Our complete NFA bill watch list is linked here. Bills of particular interest or recent action:
AB16 & AB407 Cooperative Extension unfunded mandate and north/south split. AB407 was heard on 5/20 Assembly Ways & Means with extensive testimony. New hearings could be scheduled at any time.
AB188 Expands Silver State Opportunity Grant eligibility down to 12 credits (from 15 currently). Passed Senate with 2 Republican votes and sent to Governor.
AB202 Interim study of higher education affordability and faculty compensation. Bipartisan passage, to Governor.
AJR5 Removes Regents from Constitution. Amended in Senate LOE Committee to add academic freedom clause. Passed. Will come back to Legislature in 2019.
SB384 Amended to make PERS info confidential except name, pension amount, and last employer, as favored by Governor. Passed on party lines, to Governor.
SB486. Collective bargaining for state Classified employees. NFA testimony in support of including NSHE employees.
SB502. Adds 2nd NSHE representative to PEBP Board and refines RFP procedures for PEBP and Nevada Deferred Comp. Passed unanimously in both houses and sent to Governor.
Best regards,
Kent Ervin, Legislative Liaison
Nevada Faculty Alliance
Kent.Ervin@NevadaFacultyAlliance.org
