Annie Black talks to Alan Stock about her push to get school choice on the special-session agenda as well as her doubts that Governor Lombardo’s criminal-justice reform bill will pass due to Democratic opposition. She also predicts approval of an expanded film tax credit, but warns it could deepen Nevada’s financial strain as tourism and revenues decline.
Click to read transcript
It is Thursday. So you know, it is Nevada news and views, Thursday. Great resource for news and also opinions locally, statewide and nationally. And if you’d like to find a great website, go to Nevada, Nevada news and views.com, Nevada news and views.com. Joining us today on behalf of Nevada news and views is our good friend, Annie black, former mesquite city councilwoman, former Nevada State Assembly Woman, and that’s going to be even more important today as you see what we’re going to talk about. Hi Annie, how you doing?
Annie Black 0:35
I’m doing fantastic. How are you? And congratulations on a successful parade. We’re so proud of you. That’s awesome.
Alan Stock 0:41
Thank you. I appreciate that. That is the I just want to say it’s the largest parade we’ve ever had, and I think it’s the most successful, successful we’ve ever had. And it was great weather, and we were just, we’re so happy to be able to do it, more entries than ever before. And now set the bar so high, we’re going to really have to reach even higher next year. But it was a great parade, and I thank you very much for that you were you had a petition that was going that was asked people to sign, to go to the governor to ask him to address the issue of of a school choice, right? And a great, great, great idea. I think most people in the state support that idea, maybe not the teachers union, but most people support that idea. But you, you mixed that, that petition. How come?
Annie Black 1:40
Well, we actually, we didn’t mix it. We still have. We just submitted it to the governor. So we had a feeling that the special session was coming up, and we took all the signers and we wrote a nice note to the governor, and we sent it to his office before he announced the special session, asking one more time for him to put school choice on the agenda. And we put all the signers names on the letter, and we sent it off to him, and then I think it was, you know, a day or two later, we found out the session was scheduled and school choice was not on the agenda, unfortunately.
Alan Stock 2:14
So you did not drop it. And I understood that you had dropped the petition, that you submitted it, but they, they did not adhere to the request of the petition, and they’re not going to be requesting school choice in this, in this special session.
Annie Black 2:32
Yeah, I think when someone may have referenced to dropped it, they may have meant like we delivered it, dropped it. I don’t know if that that’s a new word that people say nowadays, we dropped a new video. We dropped the petition. Whatever, you know just means that, like you put it out there, slang, I guess.
Alan Stock 2:48
All right, well, then my misinterpretation of that, that’s fine. I’m glad to hear you did submit it. I’m sorry they didn’t pick up on it. Let’s talk about this a special session. You have been an assembly woman, and you’ve been up there in Carson City while all the hoopla goes on, and there are various issues they’re going to be addressing up there as part of this special session one, and I think it’s the most important, by the way, is Governor lombardo’s Proposed criminal justice reform bill that’s for Senate Bill 457 proposes revising provisions related to public safety, juvenile justice, pretrial release and opioid use disorder. It also corrects a problem that we have in this state, because we have become much more liberal in allowing people to steal things that even California who realized their mistake and they adjusted that it used to be $1,200 and they went back to $600 if you steal $600 with this stuff from the store, it’s considered a felony. We we’re up to by about $1,200 right now, I believe, and we should be getting back to, as far as I’m concerned, $2 but that’s just me. How do you think that’s going to go this time around, with a special session
Annie Black 4:12
as far as the crime bill goes? I think that, look the we’re still in the minority, so it’s, I imagine it’s not going to go great, because Democrats have no appetite to curb crime and also makes different penalties. And so why would they vote for any sort of good crime bill? It was the same thing that happened to me when I was in the legislature. We proposed amazing bills, and then the Democrats shoot them down or don’t even want to hear them, and that’s just the way it goes.
Alan Stock 4:41
What you say is that the Democrats have no appetite to make our communities safer.
Annie Black 4:49
Exactly no they, I think they truly thrive on chaos that this is all created. I don’t know why. I mean, why would they not want school choice? Why would they not want a lot? Of the things that we want that we know, we know will make the community better, but I don’t know. It’s hard to fathom that when you’re a normal, sane thinking person,
Alan Stock 5:08
but there we want to make the community safer. You know, for me at least, and for a lot of us who tend to view, you know, politics in a similar vein, the most important role of any government entity, whether it’s city, county, state or federal government, is the safety and welfare of the people, education. You know, all the other things that you can think of, I don’t care every your whole laundry list of anything you have after safety, safety of the of the of the citizenry is first and foremost, everything else, everything else is secondary.
Annie Black 5:48
I agree 100% Unfortunately, it seems like they would rather have people on the government dole and worry more about SNAP benefits and government programs and making and keeping people safe, which I agree, is a prime function of government.
Alan Stock 6:05
That’s the only mandatory function of government. Everything else is debatable. But all right, they’re going to be doing that. I just want to say, with all due respect, I hope you are wrong in your prediction. Unfortunately, I think you’re going to be right. So I just want to put that out. I mean, I agree that they should be passing this. Let’s talk about,
Annie Black 6:28
I hope they’re going to be wrong too.
Alan Stock 6:32
I get it absolutely. Let’s talk about the proposed Nevada studio infrastructure, jobs and Workforce Training Act. I want you to keep that in mind, because we’ve got to take a quick break, but I want to, I want you to come on back in a moment and talk about that with me. If you would, that would expand the state’s film tax credit program provide incentives for the construction of the Summerland studios project. They’re now running ads on the tube. I saw about that this morning. So they want people to support this. I want to talk to you about that and whether that has a chance of passing, or whether it even should pass or not. Annie black, joining us, former Nevada State Assembly woman for Nevada news and views this morning, and we’re going to continue in just a moment right here on Vegas at eight. Annie, good morning. Great to be with us on this Thursday morning, which Thursday it’s got to be Nevada news and views. News and views Thursday, which it is And today, on behalf of Nevada news and views, is former Nevada State Assembly Woman, Annie black. Annie, thanks so much for joining us. I appreciate it. I do want to talk about the the special session. I want to talk about the proposed Nevada studio infrastructure, jobs and Workforce Training Act, which actually translates simply to the film tax credits for the film industry instead of all the other gobbledygook. But do you think that that is going to pass? A lot of people are supporting it. They’re writing a lot of ads of TV about it. The unions want it. And I know some Democrats are opposed, a few Republicans are opposed. But you know, I would, I’m going to venture to suddenly go out in a limb and adventure to say that it’s going
Annie Black 8:08
to pass. I’m with you. I think it’s definitely going to pass. I’m pretty sure that’s the primary reason they’re calling the special session, if that’s my feeling, anyways, and I, you know, I could be wrong. It’s happened before that
Alan Stock 8:20
you’ve been wrong rarely, I’m sure so the this would pass. But do you think that it’ll be tied in any way to the lombardo’s proposed criminal justice reform bill?
Annie Black 8:38
Because to me, I hope so.
Alan Stock 8:41
Okay, I mean that to me, that would make the most sense. Let me say something about this tax credit. Also, I know that a lot of people are opposed to it. They think it’s going to be a bad thing for us. I was talking to one person over the last few days, and the idea came up about making sure that there’s a sunset clause in it, so it automatically sunsets in, let’s say, three or five years from now. And in order to continue it, the legislature would have to re up it, and doing it that way means that they would evaluate, wow, it’s been a wild success. We for sure want to keep it going. But if it’s not, it would automatically die. And people would say, well, good reasons, let it go. I To me, I think a sunset provision in there would be a fair way to go forward with it. Do you think so or not?
Annie Black 9:38
Well, I mean, given, didn’t we just have a sunset issue, like in the last legislature with the fuel tax or something, or something, it was like, more cops. I don’t remember what it was, but there was a sunset that was supposed to happen. And then they printed and said, Oh, we’re going to have the county commission, you know, make the decision, which they knew was going to be a slam dunk. So Correct. You can give something a sunset. But I don’t think. It ever goes away once it’s passed.
Alan Stock 10:03
So okay, so you think that it would that if it passes, I mean, it’s going to be in there, and that’s how it is. It’s not going away.
Annie Black 10:14
How many taxes have they taken away or lifted from us? Ever money they’re not going to give it back. This is
Alan Stock 10:24
a tax credit, though, so it’s not I mean costing us individually, taxes on us individually. I mean, that is a little bit different. I agree with you. Any any tax that they initiate will never go away. I mean, I took How long did it take for that telephone tax that they initiated in 1909 to go away. What was it 100 years or, or close to 100 years, if you recall that there was a telephone tax that the federal government had that was no longer having anything to do with anything, it took about 100 years to get rid of that tax. So, you know, it’s, it’s almost impossible to get rid of a tax, per se, this is a tax credit, though, and I’m just wondering, is much, is there much difference?
Annie Black 11:08
Well, a tax credit has the money for the credit has to come from somewhere, right? So it doesn’t just magically appear. So I don’t think, I mean, I guess technically, there is a difference. But is there?
Alan Stock 11:22
Well, I mean only that we’re not individually being taxed, though, for it. I mean, it may be coming out of a general fund or something like that, but we’re not being individually taxed for it. If it was any kind of individual tax on us, everyone I know, would say absolutely 100% no. I mean, we should never raise and I hope that if this passes, it doesn’t mean an increase in tax for any of us, anywhere at all. I don’t think we can afford to have any taxes raised right now, no matter where you are in the economic strata. I don’t think that’s are we
Annie Black 11:57
already I guess I just go back to some recent articles about Vegas tourism and like, how it’s really down and our funds are already running low. So now, in addition to that, adding fuel to the fire, we’re going to start offering tax credits when the state’s already signaling that we’re going to have to increase taxes on the people because we’re not making enough from casinos and tourism, like, what may not result in the tax on us right now today, but if we keep taking money out without putting more in, eventually we’re going to run out, and they’re not going to, you know, they’re not going to let us get away with not paying for this some way or somehow, whether it’s through gaming or some other industry, we all the consumer, end up paying these things.
Alan Stock 12:41
Well, that will go over like a lead balloon if they try to do that. I mean, absolutely. Annie black, former Nevada State Assembly Woman, watching the special session as we all will. Thanks so much for being with us. I appreciate it you and I will talk very soon and talk about any potential of Candidacy as well.
Annie Black 13:00
Sounds good. Thanks, Alan. Have a great day.
The opinions expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Nevada News & Views. Digital technology was used in the production of this transcript and as such may not be 100% accurate.
