Nevada’s Legislature is under new management

The backlash against the improbable red tide of 2014 — which swept the GOP into every statewide office in Nevada — was inevitable. But Republicans had a chance to at least hold their slim 11-10 majority in the state Senate.

But it was not to be: With the election of Nicole Cannizzaro in Las Vegas’ District 6 and the re-election of Joyce Woodhouse in Henderson’s District 5, Democrats took back the upper house. (And, to add insult to injury, one Republican incumbent — state Sen. Patricia Farley of Las Vegas — changed her party registration to nonpartisan and agreed to caucus with Democrats.)

So instead of state Sen. Michael Roberson, R-Henderson, calling the shots, we’ll see state Sen. Aaron Ford, D-Las Vegas, in charge.

Ford, who spoke with me during an interview for 8NewsNow’s “PoliticsNOW” program that will air at 5:30 p.m. tonight, made clear a few things would be different. He said bills would get hearings before votes, a not-so-veiled reference to several occasions in 2015 when bills were passed by Roberson’s sheer muscle. (The measure that reorganized the Clark County School District, for example, spent all session in the Assembly before appearing in the Senate with just minutes to go on the last day of the session. It passed over Ford’s loudly stated objections.)

But don’t think that means Ford is a pushover: If it comes down to it, he said he’s fine passing bills with an 11-10 majority (or, thanks to Farley’s defection, 12-9).

On some matters, Ford was definite: There will be an increase in Nevada’s minimum wage, which is now constitutionally fixed at $7.25 for those businesses that offer health insurance for their employees, and $8.25 for those that do not. Efforts to impose some form of voter identification requirements in Nevada are dead, Ford said.

And on one of the most controversial issues of the 2015 session, Education Savings Accounts, Ford was not optimistic.

The ESA program diverts the state’s portion of per-student school funding to an individual account controlled by parents, who may use the money for a wide variety of educational expenses, from tuition at private schools to tutoring to books. It was hailed in 2015 as one of the most far-reaching school choice programs in the country after it passed without a single Democratic vote.

Unfortunately for ESA advocates, the Nevada Supreme Court intervened, holding that the mechanism which funded the program was unconstitutional. But the ruling offered a way forward if lawmakers paid for the program separately from the public schools budget. Republican state Treasurer Dan Schwartz, acting on advice from Attorney General Adam Laxalt’s office, is continuing to sign up would-be ESA parents and Gov. Brian Sandoval has said ESAs will be part of his legislative priority list.

But Ford said there’s no appetite among Democrats to proceed, no matter how funding is structured. Democrats prefer instead to boost spending for public schools to ensure equity between schools in poorer areas and those in wealthier suburbs, Ford said.

Notably, Ford wasn’t unequivocal in his opposition — he did not pledge that ESAs were dead. But in order to get Democrats on board, Republicans will clearly have to come with some inducements. Watch for ESAs to become the bargaining chip of the session.

One other change: After the 2015 session, in which Roberson divided the chamber between Republicans sitting on one side of the room and Democrats on the other, Ford has re-integrated the parties in his seating chart. It’s a small change, but in a hyper-partisan age, it may turn out to be a significant one.

Steve Sebelius is a Review-Journal political columnist. Follow him on Twitter (@SteveSebelius) or reach him at 702-387-5276 or SSebelius@reviewjournal.com.