Gov. Steve Sisolak has asked for a complete list of lobbyists hired by Nevada’s boards and commissions saying the state shouldn’t be paying people to lobby against his administration and the Legislature.
“The concern is with some of these at the Legislature these individuals will be testifying against changes in what we want to do,” he said.
He said that could put the state in the position of “lobbying against ourselves.”
Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske agreed, saying the board is entitled to know how many lobbyists different boards and commissions are paying and how much.
But Finance Director Susan Brown told them a significant number of those boards don’t have to report to her office contracts funded by fees they collect.
“We have no control over their budgets,” she said.
She said her office has prepared a list of contracts that have come before the Board of Examiners but that it’s not complete.
Attorney General Aaron Ford said they need to figure out, “whether we as a board have the ability to declare those contracts null and void.”
“We’re back to the boards running without due oversight,” said Sisolak. “That’s a problem.”
All three members of the Board of Examiners requested not only a list of all lobbyists employed by Nevada boards and commissions but an agenda item for the next meeting to discuss how to get the issue.
Concerns about the operation of some boards and commissions has come up several times since Sisolak took office, most recently highlighted by a highly critical audit of the Board of Dental Examiners followed by resignations of several members of that board.
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