The article mentions AB 342 which proposes a hybrid system for state employees (public employees) hired after July 1, 2014. The proposal would create individual trust accounts paid into by the public employer at a 6 percent rate. The bill was introduced by Randy Kirner a Republican Assemblyman from Reno.

Why in the world would the legislature change a retirement system that currently pays its way and is well run? PERS is not broken as so many public employee haters will say so let’s not fix it.

The system has over 28 billion dollars in it, and the unfunded liability is being reduced each year as PERS promised. This is done by increasing contribution rates, and having an investment team focused on financial success. Even with the recent economic melt down, PERS is still healthy and earns over 8 percent on its investments overall.

The conservative Chicken Littles in Nevada would have everyone believe there is a crisis when there is none. Creating a defined contribution plan will mean lower retirement benefits and increased administrative costs. Most shockingly (or not), those who benefit the most from defined contribution plans are administrators, lawyers and financial managers, the very people who caused the nation’s financial meltdown in 2008. For them, Nevada’s public employee retirement plan would be just another fund with which to gamble.

This article does not discuss or refer to state employees but it does explain how statistical arguments are not necessarily accurate or relevent. Our detractors like to use studies and questionable  numbers and statistics to attack our benefits, wages and pensions.  Remember, just because there are numbers in an argument or discussion does not mean their position is correct or even accurate.

Nevada has been dumping mentally ill patients on California communities. There are undoubtedly other states which receive Nevada patients, but California like Nevada can cannot handle the cases already in their system. An investigation will show patient dumping as a normal thing for Nevada’s mental health system. Mental health problems have never been important in Nevada, and they rarely are an issue in political races.

That is not to say other states have not done their fair share of dumping onto Nevada, especially onto the Las Vegas and Reno communities but just because some patients or paroled prisoners from other states are dumped here is no excuse for the dumping we do.

Besides and most importantly, Nevada’s “Greyhound bus therapy” is just wrong and inhumane. It mistreats and dehumanizes a vulnerable population and shows Nevada’s mental health care system is broken. How we handle the most vulnerable shows how the state is really run.

Shame on Brian Sandoval, Mike Willden and every legislator. Shame on all of you.

Mental health is not something Sandoval understands. Sure, he will superficially address it now because it is in the news and he has to do something, anything fast.

Firing employees will not be enough because it solves nothing in the long term. Firing employees only looks good to shallow people ignorant of how government works.

Social programs such as mental health, public health, prisons, education in general are cut first in a budget crunch. Now, we must get rid of political rhetoric and end patient dumping. Unfortunately, solutions will not be found in the governor’s office or in the lobbyist tainted legislative madness going on right now.

Let’s grow up and solve problems.

“The pitfalls and perils of Carson City for newbies”, by Steve Sebelius, Las Vegas Review Journal, April 17, 2013

The article starts this way:

“An open letter to Odis “Tyrone” Thompson, who was unanimously appointed to the Nevada Assembly on Tuesday by the Clark County Commission:”

I think he clearly defines what motivates the legislative process: Money.

Oh, my!

This of course will not be the narrative at the legislature in public hearings or in the back rooms where deals are made. So, to annoy them again I offer the following whine-worthy good news:

• The System has earned an average of 9.4 percent per year on its investments for the past 28 years. PERS’ strategy is to take the least risk as possible to preserve the system’s financial integrity. It has been very successful in this.
• The system has $25.9 billion in assets as of June 30, 2012. Now that is a BIG chunk of money. Investments are the cornerstone of its success and pays retirement benefits.
• The system is 71 percent funded. In part, increases in retirement contribution rates have insured solvency. For example, state employees will pay 13.25 percent of their income into the retirement system starting July 1, 2013. This is about double the amount a Social Security participant pays.

This attitude goes back to the late governor Kenny Guinn. His philosophy was, “Okay, let’s find a way to get rid of as many old timers as we can, shall we?” He did and every governor since that time has had the same and unwavering attitude toward old-time employees…. the fewer the better. Fewer older employees mean salaries are reset lower and there will be fewer longevity payments. Salary costs go down. Think lower retirement costs too.

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SB 483 AN ACT relating to state employees; extending the temporary suspension of the semiannual payment of longevity pay during the 2013-2015 biennium; extending the temporary suspension of merit pay increases during Fiscal Year 2013-2014; requiring state employees to take a certain salary reduction and, with certain exceptions, a number of days of unpaid furlough leave during the 2013-2015 biennium; and providing other matters properly relating thereto. http://www.leg.state.nv.us/Session/77th2013/Reports/history.cfm?ID=1081

As of April 3^rd, it was exempt. Which means normal procedural rules do not apply. If passed, would become effective July 1, 2013. Here are some explainations from LCB website (complicated as most laws are):

Existing law provides for a plan to encourage continuity of service in State Government, under which semiannual payments are made to state employees rated standard or better with 8 years or more of continuous service, commonly known as “longevity pay.” (NRS 284.177) Existing law also provides for state employees who are rated standard or better and have not attained the top step of their grade to receive a merit pay increase annually. (NRS 284.175, 284.335; NAC 284.194, 284.196) Those longevity payments and merit pay increases were temporarily suspended by the Legislature during the 2009-2011 and 2011-2013 biennia. (Chapter 276, Statutes of Nevada 2009, p. 1164, as amended by chapter 465, Statutes of Nevada 2009, p. 2642; Chapter 475, Statutes of Nevada 2011, p. 2888) Section 1 of this bill continues the suspension of the longevity payments for the 2013-2015 biennium and continues the suspension of the merit pay increases for the Fiscal Year 2013-2014. During the 2009-2011 biennium, with certain exceptions, state employees were required to take a certain amount of unpaid furlough leave. (Chapter 391, Statutes of Nevada 2009, p. 2159) During the 2011-2013 biennium, state employees were required to take a salary reduction of 2.5 percent and an amount of unpaid furlough leave that was equivalent to a 2.3 percent salary reduction or, if exempted from the furlough requirements for the protection of the public health, safety or welfare, an additional equivalent salary reduction. (Chapter 374, Statutes of Nevada 2011, p. 2219) Sections 2-5 of this bill require state employees to take a 2.5 percent salary reduction and an amount of unpaid furlough leave that is equivalent to a 1.15 percent salary reduction or, if exempted from the furlough requirements for the protection of the public health, safety or welfare, an additional equivalent salary reduction.

Here is an article: http://www.mynews4.com/news/local/story/Former-Assemblyman-Steven-Brooks-is-arrested-again/NNhEVxcf8kSQvpJPYhWhAA.cspx

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Yesterday the Nevada Assembly voted to expel Steve Brooks. This is welcomed … they did what they had to.

But, Steve Brooks isn’t finished.

Like I said in the beginning, I hope he gets help but that appears unlikely. He is lost in a world driven by paranoia and sincerely believes “they” are out to get him. What makes this explosive are his violent tendencies and a love of weapons whether they be a gun or a sword. This is a bad combination. In Nevada, brandishing a weapon WILL get you killed.

Brooks’ notoriety might help if a confrontation develops, at least “they” will know who he is and take a moment before reacting. But I see more craziness and violence with a bad ending either for him or his target.

I am happy Brooks will not be a legislator nor will he be allowed into the Legislative building. To some extent, this protects state employees and the public.

In Nevada there are no significant legal and social barriers to their profit. Mining companies know money buys loyalty and even fealty to them from their employees and communities near mines. Additionally, money is not a problem when there are millions of ounces of gold waiting to be extracted with a high net profit.

The state constitution written by and for mining more than a century ago works favorably for them today. It is their shield and strength.

Over the decades many have voiced their dismay at the way mining easily deceives communities with money gifts. For their successful ingratiation, they spread some of their wealth to balance county budgets, to buy a school bus or help with a community project. Further their employee wages are much higher than average which deepens the bond between people and mines. The that fact mines care more about gold and profit than they do for people is lost in any discussion.

The ingratiation process creates dependency one could call mining welfare. Counties and employees and their families will not bite the hand that pays them. And neither does the State which gets a small amount of taxes.

Nevada’s favorable legal environment means mining companies do not ask state government for anything except to keep things the same. They hire lobbyists to make sure nothing changes. This is their goal.

Mining companies are not afraid of efforts to change the state’s constitution. They know the dysfunctional and fragmented Nevada legislature will keep their legal and tax environment the same. Besides, a few lawsuits will ensure proposals will not make it to the ballot. A myriad of court delays and rulings dilutes efforts for change. Their legal obstruction is money well spent and is also a deductible business expense.

It is profitable to keep things the same and a heavy dose of mining welfare keeps the population quiet and compliant to their will.

Corruption is a skill set mines and casinos like, and they give money to candidates who have it.  Look at Jim Gibbons, a candidate paid for by casinos. After he started being a governor, his casino benefactors distanced themselves from him. His ineptness overshadowed anything he had to offer them.

Gaming and mining will guarantee Sandoval’s re-election. It IS that simple. There is no political choice in Nevada, and your vote is simply a formality.

Let us go back and look at Sandoval’s world.

Heidi Gansert, an ex-Assemblywoman and Sandoval’s Chief of Staff  left the governor’s office to become a “special assistant” at UNR for $180,000 a year. Now, her handling of political donations is under suspicion. Lucky for her, she found a neat way to give $74,000 in donations to a political action committee called Nevadans First PAC. The PAC is under her control and so is the money. The law requires her to use the money for her political campaign within two months.

Reference: http://ralstonreports.com/blog/dems-file-complaint-against-ex-gop-assemblywoman-gansert-say-she-illegally-disposed-campaign#.UUzH5Rzvt8c

On Wednesday, ex-Democratic party chairman, W. Chris Wicker filed a complaint against her. Note: Wicker is an attorney at the firm “Woodburn and Wedge” in Reno. He believes she broke the law by setting up a PAC so she could get her hands on the money in her campaign account. Gansert is a Republican, and Wicker a Democrat, so many will blow this off as just Nevada politics. That is probably true to some extent, but this issue should be made public and debated. Time will tell.

The people who work for you reflect who you are. When you look at Sandoval, think of Gansert.

Note: Laws do not apply to well-connected people like Gansert so the complaint will disappear. What she did was probably legal but not ethical.

If it weren’t for Steve Brooks there would be little to write about. I started this blog when Gibbons was Governor. His level of dumbness and incompetence drove me to write about him. Since then, his successor, Brian Sandoval has been keeping a low profile and staying out of trouble. This is the best way to handle things especially when you are a governor bought and paid for by mining and casinos. For him, it’s less drama the better.

This year’s silence of the legislature makes me uneasy. It is like when your child is playing and suddenly the kid noises stop. This compels you to see what is going on because silence is never a good sign.

The legislature might be up to something such as doing their job without fanfare. Maybe they are working together despite party affiliation. Yeah, right.

There has been little effort to tax mines more. You know, the big gold and silver mines that take out billions of dollars of non-renewable gold and silver each year and pay about 2.3 percent of their gross revenues in taxes compared to casinos which pay 6.6 percent. Yeah, those guys. Why is there nothing going on about this from Democrats? It could be they had a change of heart after receiving generous campaign contributions from mines. Politicians bought with a few thousand dollars is disheartening. It shows the lack of character we have come to expect from our legislators. It is more of the same.

Surprisingly, it is Republicans calling for tax reform as a counter measure to the teachers business tax proposal. Specifically Senate Joint Resolution 15 seeks to change the taxing scheme. It “Proposes to amend the Nevada Constitution to remove the separate tax rate and manner of assessing and distributing the tax on mines and the proceeds of mines. (BDR C-1151)” http://www.leg.state.nv.us/Session/77th2013/Bills/SJR/SJR15_76.pdf

As for Brooks. The legislature hopes he will go away, and is working slowly to deal with him. Little has been done besides baring him from the building. Now the State Supreme court wants the legislature to explain why Brooks cannot be allowed to work as a legislator.

http://www.lvrj.com/news/district-attorney-files-charges-against-assemblyman-194979571.html

I see nothing good coming out of this and feel “something” is going to happen if Brooks is allowed back or if he is not. It’s a no win situation. He won’t go away. That something won’t be political but physical. OSHA will not be of any help either. Rules cannot protect employees from a mentally disturbed person. I saw this when I was a regular state employee working with mentally ill coworkers acting out. It’s very hard to discipline mentally ill employees and it is hard to tell them to stay away and get help. Usually they don’t see a need to change and a protection order has no real value in stopping a mentally ill person from acting out. They cause a hostile work environment by their mere presence. Brooks will be no exception.