Republican Las Vegas Assemblywoman Heidi Kasama has introduced a series of new bill draft requests (BDRs) aimed at enhancing transparency and accountability in the Nevada Legislature. The proposed legislation is in response to allegations of conflicts of interest involving Democratic assembly members.

Kasama submitted three BDRs on March 6, and Governor Joe Lombardo has expressed his support for the initiative.

Bill 1. Legislative Transparency and Accountability:

- 72-hour review legislation must be published 72 hours before final approval

Bill 2. Transparency and Accountability

 - Open meeting law: The Legislature will adhere to the open meeting law. - Public records: Prompt responses to information requests. - Line item operations budget: Detailed budget transparency. Conflict disclosures: Public disclosure of member interests and relationships.

Bill 3. Governance and Appropriations Transparency

 -Appropriation Bills: Governor's line-item veto on appropriations. - Nonprofit Only Bills: Direct state funding is limited to nonprofits without other attachments.

We reached out to the Nevada Assembly Democrats to see if they favor Kasama's bill draft requests. In response, Speaker Steve Yeager stated, "In the scenario that Assemblywoman Kasama wins re-election, we will vet the bill once it is introduced and there is proper language to review."

These are the summaries of the controversies that we presented to the Assembly Democrat Caucus, involving three Democratic Assemblymembers. It's important to note that none of these members were found guilty of any wrongdoing or in violation of ethics code.

Michelle Gorelow: 

Assemblywoman Michelle Gorelow voted in favor of Assembly Bill 525 (AB525), a funding bill that allocated money to 56 nonprofit organizations, during the legislative session in early June. A new organization called Arc of Nevada received $250,000 as a last-minute addition to the bill. Shortly after the bill was passed, Gorelow was appointed as the executive director of Arc of Nevada. A complaint alleging ethics violation was filed against Gorelow by Republican operative Chuck Muth on August 31. The next day, Gorelow announced that she would not run for re-election in 2024. However, the Nevada Ethics Commission dismissed the complaint against Gorelow.

Nevada Ethics Commission Dismisses Complaint Against Assemblywoman:

Cameron "C. H." Miller:  

Assemblyman Cameron "C.H." Miller did not disclose that he was the president and chief executive officer of the Urban Chamber of Commerce when he filed his financial disclosure statements. This is despite the fact that he voted to give the organization $100,000. Miller took over the position in January 2023 but failed to disclose this information in his financial disclosure statement submitted in January. Miller claimed that it was an oversight and he would promptly amend it. It is worth noting that the financial disclosure statements are meant to cover the previous calendar year, so Miller was not legally required to include his position with the Urban Chamber. In October, Miller announced his resignation from the Legislature to run for a seat on the Las Vegas City Council.

Bea Duran:

Assemblywoman Bea Duran, who had been in office since 2018, announced in October that she would not seek re-election. This decision came a day after the Las Vegas Review-Journal published an article revealing that at least 13 legislators, including Duran, had ties to organizations that received over $33 million from the state during the 2023 Nevada Legislative Session.

We reached out to the Nevada Assembly Democratic Caucus to inquire about their position on Assembly Member Kasama's Legislative Transparency and Accountability Reform bill draft requests, specifically whether Speaker Yeager and his caucus are in favor of the proposed legislation.

Here is the Assembly Democrats Caucus response:

I wanted to address your phone call and email. First, Assemblywoman Gorelow was cleared of any wrongdoing, and the Ethics Commission unanimously found did nothing wrong. Second, CH Miller moved out of AD7, so by NRS, he would have to resign. To be clear, no complaint was filed against CH Miller and the complaint against Assemblywoman Gorelow proved she did nothing wrong and to date no Assembly Democratic Legislator has been found to violate ethics laws. Ironically enough, the only politician to have violated ethics laws is Governor Joe Lombardo.

Background Information:

Furthermore, were any questions asked of Assemblywoman Kasama to see if she potentially violated her own proposals during the 2023 legislative session? Her bills aimed at "increased transparency" in the Legislature and we wanted to point out just how hypocritical this move is given her lack of transparency as a legislator. For example, last session she failed to abstain from votes related to lowering housing and prescription drug costs despite the fact that her daughter lobbies on behalf of both industries and she and her husband work in the real estate industry (and stand the benefit financially from these bills failing to become law). Does she think these conflicts rise to the level of required disclosure? Does she believe she should've abstained from votes involving legislation her daughter lobbied for or against or regarding legislation that her and her husband stand to personally profit from? Under her proposed BDRs, would she have been forced to abstain?

We presented the response of the Assembly Democrats to Assemblywoman Heidi Kasama. This was Kasama's response:

"If Nevada Democrats believe—as we do—that legislators should disclose all possible conflicts of interest, my proposals are the perfect way to address this issue. Transparency should not be a partisan matter. I encourage them to join Governor Lombardo, my fellow Republicans, and me in committing to pursuing these proposals in the next legislative session," said (R-Las Vegas) Assemblywoman Heidi Kasama. 

Finally, we reached Dr. Sondra Cosgrove, who has spent decades engaged in Nevada politics. Cosgrove is the Executive Director of Vote Nevada and a professor of History at the College of Southern Nevada. 

"They need to address the merits of her bill draft requests. And, if they think something is wrong with them, address the merits. I tell my students if they're going to write an argument, do not attack the person. That's a logical fallacy; it's called an Ad Hominem attack. --- This is why so many people are frustrated and fed up with our politics. Answer the question that you were asked. Stop going negative, stop attacking the other person; we're all tired of it," said Vote Nevada Executive Director and History Professor Dr. Sondra Cosgrove.Â