Nevada Assembly

Nevada Assembly
Nevada Legislature
Type
Type
Term limits
6 terms (12 years)
History
New session started
February 6, 2017
Leadership
Speaker of the Nevada Assembly
Jason Frierson (D)
Since February 6, 2017
Majority Floor Leader
Teresa Benitez-Thompson (D)
Since November 9, 2016
Minority Leader
Paul Anderson (R)
Since November 9, 2016
Structure
Seats 42
Political groups

Majority

Minority

Length of term
2 years
Authority Article 4, Nevada Constitution
Salary $146.90/day + per diem
Elections
Last election
November 8, 2016
(42 seats)
Next election
November 6, 2018
(42 seats)
Redistricting Legislative Control
Meeting place
Assembly Chamber
Nevada State Capitol
Carson City, Nevada
Website
Nevada Legislature

Coordinates: 39°09′42″N 119°45′58″W / 39.161643°N 119.766139°W / 39.161643; -119.766139 The Nevada Assembly is the lower house of the Nevada Legislature, the state legislature of the US state of Nevada. The body consists of 42 members, elected to two-year terms from single-member districts. Each Assembly district contained approximately 64,299 people as of the 2010 census.[1] Term limits, limiting assembly members to six 2-year terms (12 years), took effect in 2010. Twelve members of the Assembly were termed out with the 2010 election serving their last legislative session in 2011.

The Assembly met at the Nevada State Capitol in Carson City until 1971, when a separate Legislative Building was constructed south of the Capitol. The Legislative Building was expanded in 1997 to its current appearance to accommodate the growing Legislature. The lower house of the Legislature is referred to as an "Assembly" rather than the more common "House of Representatives."

Since the 2012 session, Assembly districts have been formed by dividing the 21 Senate districts in half, so that each Assembly district is nested within a Senate district.

Meetings

The Assembly, like the Senate, is composed of citizen legislators, receiving a relatively small ($130) per diem fee for the first 60 days of a given session. This tends to self-selection, with legislative service difficult for those without flexible jobs and/or large outside incomes, such as doctors and lawyers. The Assembly, again like the Senate, meets however long is necessary for the completion of all its business, up to a maximum of 120 days, beginning the first Monday in February of every odd-numbered year. While this is designed to limit the amount of time a legislator is away from their first job, in recent years 120 days has often not been enough time to complete legislative business, and after four straight regular sessions, special sessions had been called to finish up legislative business. This trend ended in 2011, which was not followed by a special session.

Leadership of the Assembly

The Speaker of the Assembly presides over the Assembly in the chief leadership position, controlling the flow of legislation and committee assignments. The Speaker is elected by the majority party caucus, followed by confirmation of the full Assembly on passage of a floor vote. Other Assembly leaders, such as the majority and minority leaders, are elected by their respective party caucuses according to each party's strength in the chamber.

Assembly Chamber

The Nevada Assembly convenes in the south chamber of the Legislative Building. The carpet in the Assembly chamber is mainly red, in comparison to the Senate chamber, which is blue. The chamber galleries reflect the same carpet schemes. Many legislative documents and binders are colored red and blue to distinguish them between the Assembly and the Senate. Although the chamber is separated by a center aisle, the Assemblymen are not seated by party. Rather they are seated at the discretion of the Speaker. The Speaker's desk is always the first desk in the front row to the right, if you are looking out at the chamber from the Speaker's rostrum. Above the Speaker is a large gavel, which is engraved with the name of Speaker Joe Dini; the longest serving Speaker of the Nevada Assembly. Above the gavel is a portrait of Abraham Lincoln, who was President when Nevada became a State in 1864. To the left of the main door to the chamber is a podium with a Bible, which is changed to different passages by the Assembly Sargeant-at-Arms.

Since 2003, one floor session has always been held in the Old Assembly Chambers in the State Capitol. The session usually begins with a presentation from the State Archivist regarding the history of the chamber, and then legislative business proceeds as usual. Because there are no screens or voting equipment in the old chamber, all business is hand-written on a chalk board, as it would have been done when the Assembly still met in the Capitol.

All joint-meetings and joint-sessions are held in the Assembly chamber, including the State of the State Address, the State of the Judiciary Address, and addresses from Nevada's federal delegation. Unlike in Congress, where the Speaker of the House presides over all joint-meetings and sessions (except when Congress counts the Electoral Votes after a Presidential election), the President of the Senate presides over joint-meetings and sessions instead of the Speaker of the Assembly.

Composition

Affiliation Party
(Shading indicates majority caucus)
Total
Democratic Republican Lib Vacant
Begin 77th Legislative Session 2012 27 15 0 42 0
End 25 14 39 3
Begin 78th Legislative Session 2014 17 25 0 42 0
August 19, 2015[2] 16 41 1
January 8, 2016[3] 24 1
January 12, 2016[4] 23 40 2
February 10, 2016[5] 22 39 3
September 27-30, 2016[6] 17 24 42 0
November 9, 2016[7] 27 15 0 42 0
Latest voting share 64.3% 35.7%

Leadership of the Assembly

The Speaker of the Assembly presides over the Assembly in the chief leadership position, controlling the flow of legislation and committee assignments. The Speaker is elected by the majority party caucus, followed by confirmation of the full Assembly on passage of a floor vote. Other Assembly leaders, such as the majority and minority leaders, are elected by their respective party caucuses according to each party's strength in the chamber.

Members

District Name Party Residence First elected Term
1 Daniele Monroe-Moreno Dem 2016 1st
2 John Hambrick Rep Las Vegas 2008 5th
3 Nelson Araujo Dem Las Vegas 2014 2nd
4 Richard McArthur Rep 2016 1st
5 Brittney Miller Dem 2016 1st
6 William McCurdy Dem 2016 1st
7 Dina Neal Dem North Las Vegas 2010 4th
8 Jason Frierson Dem 2016 1st
9 Steve Yeager Dem 2016 1st
10 Chris Brooks Dem 2016 1st
11 Olivia Diaz Dem North Las Vegas 2010 4th
12 James Ohrenschall Dem Sunrise Manor 2006 6th
13 Paul Anderson Rep Las Vegas 2012 3rd
14 Maggie Carlton Dem Sunrise Manor 2010 4th
15 Elliot Anderson Dem Winchester 2010 4th
16 Heidi Swank Dem Las Vegas 2012 3rd
17 Tyrone Thompson Dem North Las Vegas 2013 3rd
18 Richard Carrillo Dem Whitney 2010 4th
19 Chris Edwards Rep Sunrise Manor 2014 2nd
20 Ellen Spiegel Dem Henderson 2008 4th
21 Ozzie Fumo Dem 2016 1st
22 Keith Pickard Rep 2016 1st
23 Melissa Woodbury Rep Henderson 2008 5th
24 Amber Joiner Dem Reno 2014 2nd
25 Jill Tolles Rep 2016 1st
26 Lisa Krasner Rep 2016 1st
27 Teresa Benitez-Thompson Dem Reno 2010 4th
28 Edgar Flores Dem Las Vegas 2014 2nd
29 Lesley Cohen Dem 2016 1st
30 Michael Sprinkle Dem Sparks 2012 3rd
31 Skip Daly Dem 2016 1st
32 Ira Hansen Rep Sparks 2010 4th
33 John Ellison Rep Elko 2010 4th
34 Shannon Bilbray-Axelrod Dem 2016 1st
35 Justin Watkins Dem 2016 1st
36 James Oscarson Rep Pahrump 2012 3rd
37 Jim Marchant Rep 2016 1st
38 Robin L. Titus Rep Wellington 2014 2nd
39 Jim Wheeler Rep Minden 2012 3rd
40 Al Kramer Rep 2016 1st
41 Sandra Jauregui Dem 2016 1st
42 Irene Bustamante Adams Dem Spring Valley 2010 4th

See also

References

  1. "Nevada State Assembly - 2011 Districts : Population Report" (PDF). Leg.state.nv.us. Retrieved 2016-02-19.
  2. Democrat Marilyn Kirkpatrick (District 1) resigned upon being appointed to the Clark County Commission.
  3. John Moore (District 8) switched parties from Republican to Libertarian.
  4. Republican Pat Hickey (District 25) resigned to be appointed to the State Board of Education.
  5. Republican Erven T. Nelson (District 5) resigned after moving outside his legislative district.
  6. Appointments to fill Hickey, Kirkpatrick and Nelson's seats in advance of a special session.
  7. Election results. Nevada legislators assume office the day after the election.
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