Nevada State Sen. Robin Titus gives members of the Churchill Entrepreneurial Development Association a quick overview of the upcoming legislative session at their monthly breakfast last week.
Photo by Steve Ranson.
With the start of the Nevada Legislature on Monday, Churchill County’s two representatives gave a quick overview of the upcoming session last week to the members and guests of the Churchill Entrepreneurial Development Association.
State Sen. Robin Titus and District 38 Assemblyman Greg Koenig spoke at the CEDA monthly breakfast before heading to Carson City for budget hearings.
Titus serves as the Senate Republican leader and previously as the Assembly Republican leader. The Wellington physician represents District 17 which includes Churchill, Douglas, Esmeralda, Lyon, Mineral, and parts of Nye counties. She is a member of the Senate Education Finance and Health and Human Services committees.
The longtime legislator, who served in the Assembly seat before Koenig, completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Nevada, Reno and her doctorate at the University of Nevada School of Medicine. She returned to serve Lyon County as a family practice physician for 37 years.
Titus said she enjoys coming to Fallon, adding she’s been involved with two weeks of hearing to determine the funding for new and existing programs.
“The sky is not falling,” she said. “Let’s be accountable for this money.”
Titus said legislators will look at programs like school money for lunches and other social programs but assured “people won’t go hungry.”
According to Titus, she represents the true demographics of the state ranging from the casinos in Douglas County at Lake Tahoe to the farms and ranches of central Nevada to the mining operations. Naval Air Station Fallon and the Naval Aviation Warfighting Development Center is also in Titus’ district.
“I represent every component of what you think of Nevada,” she said. “I represent 110,000 people in a district that has different needs.”
In her allotted time, Titus mentioned a number of items she’s looking at. Titus said she wants more access to medical care in the rural areas, and was more accountability with education funding. Furthermore, because of state law, she said Nevada must have a balanced budget and 5% of the budget in reserves.
“The state is in good shape,” she said.
Titus, though, said she would like to see the Senate pass fewer bills.
During the session, she said both political sides need to solve “real” issues affecting Nevadans.
A Fallon resident, Koenig was first elected to the Assembly District 38 seat in 2022, and he ran unopposed in 2024. The Republican lawmaker previously served on the Churchill County Board of Commissioners for one term and the Churchill County School Board for three terms with half that time as board president.
Koenig attended schools in Fallon and did some of his undergraduate work at the University of Nevada, Reno. He attended Pacific University College of Optometry near Portland, and returned to Fallon to start his own practice after graduation. In 2024, Koenig was named the Nevada Optometry Association’s state optometrist of the year.
Koenig sits on the Education, Health and Human Services and Assembly Ways and Means committees.
“We are there representing you,” he said, emphasizing Titus is the No. 1 ranked Republican in the Senate, and he’s the No. 2 ranked Republican in the Assembly.
More than two weeks ago, he said Gov. Joe Lombardo presented his budget, but a deficit of $300 million was discovered. Koenig said Assembly members working on the finances had to meet with the governor’s team to iron out a final balanced budget.
Koenig assured the county’s business leaders and owners he represents them and rural Nevada, but he also emphasized the Democrats control the Assembly and decide which bills are heard.
“The chances of getting some bills heard are zero,” he lamented.
With that said, Koenig stressed he and the other legislators can find common ground on about 70% of the legislation. Koenig said he can grandstand without getting anything done or compromise in the middle and “get a lot of things done.”
“It’s a lot of work, but it’s a lot of frustration,” he said.
Koenig had established a similar approach when he served on the school board and county commission.
During the past election, he said the Assembly avoided the Democrats from picking up one extra seat to create a super majority. If that had happened, he said the Democrats could’ve overridden most o Lombardo’s vetoes from the last session.
“We need to ensure his veto is safe,” Koenig added.