VICTOR JOECKS: Republicans need to fight for school choice, not Hollywood

The biggest unfinished business in Nevada politics concerns school choice. If Gov. Joe Lombardo wants to call a special session, that should top the agenda.

“At some point over the next few months, I intend to call the Legislature back for a special session,” Lombardo said in a statement last week. “The goal will be to finish what the Legislature left unfinished.”

Given that Lombardo will set the agenda, there is an unusual amount of ambiguity in his statement. Reporting soon suggested that Lombardo is considering several items: massive handouts for Hollywood, a crime bill and a health care bill. All three of those items had some legislative momentum.

My read is that Lombardo’s cryptic pronouncement is part of a furious behind-the-scenes lobbying effort for the film studio tax credits. Those transferable credits may cost around $1.5 billion. Transferable credits often exceed the amount a company pays in taxes. Companies sell the credits for cash.

On the merits, film tax credit programs are a disaster. This year, the Governor’s Office of Economic Development released reports on two film tax credit proposals. They found the projects would be a money loser for state and local governments.

The notion that this is primarily a jobs bill is ridiculous. If Lombardo wants to shovel money toward construction projects, he should put it toward building single-family homes. Instead, these subsidies would artificially boost the demand for homes, driving up prices.

Plus, Nevada Republicans finally have a voter registration advantage, and Lombardo wants to subsidize Hollywood, a notoriously liberal industry, to attract film and TV production?

Giving money to out-of-state corporations is such bad policy that even some Democrats oppose it.

Conservatives should be ticked at Lombardo. In 2023, he threw school choice supporters overboard at the end of the session. He then called a special session to shower money on the Oakland A’s, a move supported by the Culinary union.

Lombardo still hasn’t expanded school choice. But once again, it looks as if he’s doing the bidding of labor unions.

It would be a mistake for Republican legislators to blindly follow Lombardo’s lead. He and his political team had a terrible record in 2024. Sure, his legislative candidates won their primaries. But in competitive races, most lost in the general election. Those candidates should have copied Donald Trump and run aggressively on protecting women’s sports and school choice.

Republicans should oppose film tax credits on principle. But those who don’t should demand a conservative priority first. Any film tax credit should be matched dollar-for-dollar with ongoing tax credits for Opportunity Scholarships.

Nevada might have universal education savings accounts today if Republican legislators had held out for a similar deal during the 2016 special session for the Raiders stadium. School choice would have actually improved Nevada education, too.

GOP legislators shouldn’t outsource their votes to Lombardo. They should use every scrap of leverage they have to fight for conservative priorities — with school choice topping the list.

Contact him at vjoecks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4698. Follow @victorjoecks on X.