(Assemblywoman Jill Dickman) – I rise in strong opposition to AB5.
It’s a lot easier to be a yes on something like this because we all share the goal of strengthening and diversifying Nevada’s economy. We all want good jobs, long term investment and new industries that bring opportunity to our communities.
There are numerous examples of great companies coming to NV without ANY incentives other than NV is a fantastic place to do business.
Haas Automation which recently moved to Henderson from CA, is a premier high tech computer numeric controlled machine manufacturer, preeminent in the US and around the world.
Their machines are used in manufacturing ultra-high precision medical and electronics parts, aerospace, energy, transportation, defense and multitudes of other products that make modern life possible.
We use then in our manufacturing business. Haas also has a successful car participating on the Formula 1 circuit.
There’s Scougal Rubber, Dynamic Isolation Systems, and many others in the Tahoe Regional Industrial Center – all who have located here with absolutely no incentives.
These are the kinds of jobs we need in NV. High paying manufacturing jobs.
The bill we have before us is not a good deal for Nevada. It asks taxpayers to shoulder enormous long-term costs, while offering little more than promises, projections, and glossy marketing in return.
And we are being asked to approve it in a special session – not because it’s urgent, but because someone wants it rushed.
Let’s be clear about what this bill really does: It locks the State of Nevada into years of financial giveaways with no firm guarantees and no enforceable accountability, and most certainly no wage transparency.
We are being told to trust projections from the very people who want the subsidy. As one of my colleagues said…PLEASE read the bill!
And while we’re debating this, our real priorities – our schools, our health systems, our workforce, our roads – are still fighting for every dollar they can get.
Yet here we are, being asked to carve out a massive exception for one out-of-state industry, for one set of beneficiaries, for one shiny project.
Nevadans don’t want us to give away the store to whichever well-connected entity can hire the most lobbyists.
This bill creates winners and losers, and the winners are not the average Nevadan.
The winners are corporations who can trade and transfer these credits like poker chips, while the losers are our students, our communities, and every future budget that will be forced to absorb this cost.
Nevada deserves better.
Nevada deserves economic growth that is broad, accountable, measurable and fair. Nevada deserves a legislature that refuses to be rushed into a billion-dollar commitment with more questions than answers
And finally, there is the matter of process.
This is a special session. By design, special sessions are limited, focused, and typically reserved for urgent issues. A program of this magnitude and duration deserves full debate, full public input, and full fiscal vetting in a regular session, not an accelerated timeline.
So today, I’m saying NO to transferrable tax credits for the film industry. I’m saying NO to rushed policymaking. I’m saying NO to corporate subsidies without transparency.
I’m saying YES to fiscal responsibility, to fairness, and to standing up for Nevada taxpayers.. I urge you to join me and Vote No on AB5.
