The Legislature on Saturday May 22, 2021. Photo: David Calvert / The Nevada Independent
Monday, May 31, 2021
A major bill that aimed to provide about $ 500 million in mining revenue and federal aid to public education and stave off politically dangerous 2022 vote issues began late Sunday with a broad coalition of mining interests, progressive advocates and Clark against the legislative clock County teachers union on board.
The bill, AB495, was heard in a joint Senate-Assembly budget meeting on the Sunday evening before a crucial legislature – the 120-day session ends on Monday the 31st with a two-thirds majority that requires at least some Republican approval. The bill was passed in a party vote late Sunday in the Assembly’s Committee on Ways and Means.
The bill is much more than just a tax hike. In addition to introducing a new excise tax on total revenues from gold and silver mines over $ 20 million – a provision estimated to raise between $ 150 million and $ 170 million over the biennium – the bill redirects existing mining taxes to education alone. In addition, US $ 200 million federal funding will be allocated to address learning losses, make changes to Medicaid, and restore funding to a private school scholarship program supported by private donations in exchange for tax credits.
Congregation spokesman Jason Frierson (D-Las Vegas) phrased the bill as the product of a compromise between different interests, saying that many provisions made those involved “hold their noses and nod their heads”.
“I think this is a reflection of a collaboration that has rarely been seen in my career,” said Frierson.
Alongside Frierson, Nevada Mining Association President Tire Gray presented the bill and a representative from the mining industry’s largest player – Nevada Gold Mines – also testified in support.
“Mining is a willing payer to meet these goals,” said Gray. “While mining alone cannot solve the structural tax and financial problems of the state of Nevada, it is in our DNA to come first and be part of the solution.”
Also at the table was Clark County Education Association’s Executive Director, John Vellardita, whose presence implicitly affects the election. Frierson said that passing the bill would prevent lawmakers from pushing any of the three proposed amendments to the Mining Constitution approved in the 2020 special session, and that the teachers’ union will withdraw its ballot requests for 2022 to increase gaming and sales taxes, when the law is passed.
Vellardita said earlier this spring that the union was not “married” to its electoral actions and would consider an alternative if “it does what we think needs to be done,” although he did not provide a number at the time. At the hearing, Vellardita referred to his union’s efforts to “force a conversation about investment” and praised the bill as a historic investment in basic funding per student.
“I think the most important thing that comes out of this legislation is a dedicated flow of funding for K-12. Is that enough? No, but it’s a start, ”Vellardita said at the hearing.
The new tax envisaged in the bill is a consumption tax that is levied on the gross revenues of the gold and silver mines in the state. The rates would be set at 0.75 percent for sales in excess of $ 20 million and up to $ 150 million per year and at 1.1 percent for sales in excess of $ 150 million.
The bill also provides for deductions – including for revenue from the state that is also a military base – and establishes a calculation for determining gross revenue that is structurally similar to that related to the Nevada trade tax (a levy on annual revenue above $ 4 million approved in 2015).
If an existing source of tax revenue is diverted, the bill directs money from the net proceeds of mineral taxes to the state education fund, not the general fund. Vellardita conceded that it was possible that lawmakers could use the mining money to replace existing general fund contributions to education, but said lawmakers would face pressure not to do so from voters looking for a significant improvement in the expect the schools.
And in a likely nod to the need for Republican support, the bill will also repay $ 4.745 million in tax credits for the Opportunity Scholarship program, which provides grants for private schooling to eligible low-income children but from many progressive groups who do See is violently rejected as sucking money from traditional public schools. The program, which serves just over 1,000 students, was severely restricted in 2019 legislation and closed to new entrants – Frierson argued at the time that a 10 percent annual growth factor built into the program could quickly translate into a ” simply unsustainable ”level would rise.
During the hearing on Sunday, Frierson said the number of students in the program had “decreased significantly faster than I think we expected the last session, and so we are now within the parameters of this program.” He did not characterize the bill as an extension of the program, but as a retention of the 2019 level.
The legislation would also direct the School Funding Commission to look into new options for public education income. A Commission report published last month suggested sales tax and property tax as the best mechanisms, but Frierson opposes changing sales tax, saying he does not want to “presume” what the commission recommends based on the AB495 directive could.
“This bill is the beginning of a conversation and we are not going to stop calling for stable funding for education in this state,” Frierson said.
Meanwhile, the bill also provides for $ 200 million in COVID relief funds to be made available to COVID-related learning loss programs for school districts, including tutoring, summer school programs, advanced learning and enrichment programs, and assistance for at-risk students. The bill sees charter schools as potential recipients of the funds, but Frierson said they would be removed in an amendment.
Another proposed amendment to the bill will also mandate the commission to investigate the issue of the composition of the school board – an issue that Frierson and other lawmakers have advocated to appoint more members of the school board.
Additionally, the bill provides $ 600,000 per year for the Silver State Opportunity Grant program – the state-sponsored, needs-based grant program. This allocation would bring funding back to the level approved in 2019.
Another section would include aspects of Senate Republican Minority Leader James Settelmeyer’s legislation that allows Medicaid to reimburse personal care services. Frierson said that language “is something I think in common, people thought it was worth being part of this package.”
Progressive advocates of the law stressed the need to fund education in Nevada and hailed the move as a necessary step in helping students succeed, but complained that lawmakers were not considering AJR1, proposed during the special session pulled.
“While we claim that AJR1 from the 32nd special session would have been the ideal solution to increase revenue for that session,” said PLAN lobbyist Christine Saunders. “This deal is a start to improving the privileged position that mining has previously held in Nevada’s tax code.”
Amanda Hilton, the executive director of Robinson Nevada Mine, a copper mine in White Pine County, choked when she testified in support of the move. She said the bill will not only improve the industry’s investment in education, it will also protect the economic vitality of Eastern Nevada.
“I sit here before you today, representing the 600 miners in Robinson and my White Pine County ward,” said Hilton. “This legislation will keep our miners working in the economic engine of our community.”
Brian Mason, the vice chairman of the Shoshone-Paiute tribe, was the only caller from the opposition. He said he was “disappointed” that tribes were not included in the discussion and that state dollars should be provided to help “poverty stricken” reservation communities. The Republican Party of Nevada also filed a letter of objection.
If the measure does not progress, the election consequences will be felt on the 2022 ballot. Frierson has vowed to press ahead with one of the proposed resolutions on mining tax if the deal fails, and Vellardita said after the hearing that the teachers’ union was willing to spend up to $ 10 million in the 2022 cycle to try to end the gambling and pass sales tax initiatives – estimated at one point to raise $ 1.4 billion.
Vellardita was optimistic about the bill’s chances – it represented significant compromises on all sides, while the union’s initial funding request to the mining industry over the biennium was closer to $ 400 million. Even so, he said the potential for things to get mixed up in the final hours of the session remained high.
“The shit falls, it’s everyone’s game,” he said in an interview. “Anyone who may be the ultimate voice has a self-inflated view of value and is trying to act on it. And that’s exactly what you’re seeing right now. So do I think it’s there? Do i think it’s possible? Absolutely.”
Tabitha Mueller, Riley Snyder, and Michelle Rindels are editors for The Nevada Independent, a 501 (c) 3 not-for-profit news organization. The following individuals or entities mentioned in this article are financial supporters: Amanda Hilton – $ 480.00; and Nevada Mining Association – $ 21,500.00. This story was first published on May 30th and is republished here with permission. For more Nevada news, including full legislative coverage, visit The Nevada Independent.