How James Settelmeyer fought the Democrats, the Attorney General, and the Governor – and beat them all.
It was the last week of Nevada's 2019 legislative session, and Democrats thought they had gotten away with something.
Senate Bill 551 extended the existing Modified Business Tax (MBT) rate, generating $98.2 million. Senate Bill 542 extended a DMV technology fee that was set to expire.
Both bills passed the Senate on party-line 13-8 votes. One vote short of a two-thirds majority. Both times. On purpose.
Democrats had a clever theory: extending an existing tax at the same rate isn't really a tax increase, so the constitutional supermajority requirement doesn't apply.
They even got Nevada's Legislative Counsel Bureau to write them a memo backing them up.
The day after the Legislature ended, Governor Steve Sisolak told reporters he believed the state was on firm ground with the tax extensions because of the counsel bureau's opinion.
They were wrong. And James Settelmeyer was about to prove it.
The Fight Nobody Else Was Willing to Pick
Most politicians would have grumbled, voted no, and moved on. Settelmeyer didn't.
The senators led by Senate Minority Leader James Settelmeyer, R-Gardnerville, filed suit in Carson City District Court alleging Gov. Steve Sisolak and Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro violated the Nevada Constitution.
This wasn't a press release. It wasn't a floor speech. It was a lawsuit – with Settelmeyer personally on the hook for legal costs.
He said the burden for paying costs of the lawsuit was on him at that point. He said any groups or individuals who believed in the cause of protecting the two-thirds majority were welcome to contribute to his campaign account or the state Senate Republican Caucus.
Few did. They were all afraid of incurring the wrath of Sisolak and Cannizzaro.
So what did Settelmeyer do?
He put his ranch up as collateral in order to fund the lawsuit. He put his own name on the line. He put his own money on the line.
Because someone had to.
What the Constitution Actually Says
Nevada's two-thirds supermajority requirement isn't fine print. It's the voters' direct command to their elected representatives.
Article 4, Section 18(2) of the Nevada Constitution requires the agreement of at least two-thirds of the members of each house to pass any bill “which creates, generates, or increases any public revenue in any form, including but not limited to taxes, fees, assessments and rates, or changes in the computation bases for taxes, fees, assessments and rates.”
The language is airtight. The voters put it there for exactly this reason – to make sure that raising taxes is hard, that it requires genuine consensus, that it can't be done in the dead of night with a bare partisan majority.
Democrats argued that blocking a scheduled tax cut and extending a fee that was supposed to expire didn't count as “generating” revenue.
The courts didn't buy it. Settelmeyer said:
“If the governor and other parties want to change that, then they need to go ask the voters to change the constitution and not just do it at their own will.”
A Movement Builds
To be fair, Settelmeyer wasn't completely alone after staking the lawsuit himself.
A handful of retail groups joined the GOP in the lawsuit and helped cover its legal costs, including the Nevada Trucking Association, the Nevada Retail Association, National Federation of Independent Businesses, and Nevada Franchised Auto Dealers.
These weren't ideological groups looking for a fight.
They were Nevada businesses that had been promised a tax cut when state revenues hit certain targets – a tax cut the Legislature voted to steal back with a simple majority the moment the trigger was pulled.
The Democrats didn't just fail to cut taxes. They broke a promise made under law.
The Courts Agree. Twice.
Carson City District Court Judge James Russell sided with the Republicans first.
Democrats appealed.
The case went all the way to the Nevada Supreme Court – seven justices, the highest court in the state.
In a decision with more than $100 million in implications for lawmakers, the seven justices sided unanimously with Settelmeyer and Republican state lawmakers and rejected the arguments by Democrats.
Seven to zero. Not even close.
Based on the plain language of the supermajority provision, the court concluded it applied to the bills at issue – because they create, generate, or increase public revenue.
And because the bills did not pass by a two-thirds majority in the Senate, those portions of the bills were unconstitutional.
“Today's unanimous Nevada Supreme Court ruling made one thing clear,” Settelmeyer said. “Nevada Democrat leaders knowingly violated the Nevada Constitution. This is a victory for all Nevadans.”
$107 Million. Returned.
This wasn't abstract. It was real money – your money.
The Nevada Supreme Court ruled that Democratic state lawmakers were wrong to continue a payroll tax without a two-thirds majority approval.
Settelmeyer estimated the state would have to return $107 million in tax money. And he had already done the math on whether Nevada could absorb it.
He told reporters the state had a robust enough revenue picture to cover the gap – and he was right.
Democrats cried that schools would suffer.
But Settelmeyer had already punched holes in that argument during the legislative session itself, arguing that SB551 wasn't even necessary to fund K-12 education because the state's surplus was greater than the $100 million the MBT would generate.
Why Democrats Lost – And Why It Matters
Here's what Democrats never understood: this case was never really about the money.
It was about whether the Nevada Constitution means what it says.
It was about whether a bare partisan majority can quietly pocket tax revenue it was never legally entitled to collect.
It was about whether the voters' own protections can be shrugged away with a clever memo from the Legislature's in-house lawyers.
The answer from every court that looked at this case – district court, Supreme Court, unanimous – was the same:
No. They cannot.
Settelmeyer didn't just win in court. He forced the Democratic leadership to face the consequences of what they had done.
He named them in the lawsuit. He named Governor Sisolak. He named Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro.
He made them defend their constitutional end-run in public, at every level of the judiciary, until there was nowhere left to hide.
The Record That Doesn't Lie
James Settelmeyer is now running for Congress in Nevada's 2nd District. His opponents are trying to define him as a RINO (Republican in Name Only) by cherry-picking (and often outright lying about) certain complicated pieces of legislation.
What they won’t tell you is that during the sausage-grinding legislative process, Settelmeyer’s actions on those bills actually made them “less bad” than they would have been without his involvement.
You can disagree with that strategy – and yes, he and I have had our disagreements over the years – but to claim the man is a “RINO” is silly. Dishonest, actually.
When the Democrats were one vote short of a two-thirds majority and decided the rules didn't apply to them, Settelmeyer was the one who sued.
When the Attorney General moved to dismiss the case, Settelmeyer pressed on.
When Democrats appealed the district court loss, Settelmeyer saw it through to the Nevada Supreme Court.
When all seven justices ruled in his favor, Settelmeyer didn't spike the football. He said it was a win for all Nevadans.
He didn't just vote no and move on. He went to court and forced the system to follow the law. That's what standing up for taxpayers looks like.
In a legislature full of people who talk about fiscal responsibility, Settelmeyer is one of the few who has actually paid a price to defend it.
That's not a talking point. That's a fact – with a case number attached: Legislature of the State of Nevada v. Settelmeyer.
Look it up.
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