The senate of the Associated Students of the University of Nevada, Reno met on Jan. 29 to get a first look at the new session of the Nevada Legislature, and fill three positions with new appointees. Here’s what happened:
Inside UNR’s lobbying efforts
Austin Daly, manager of Government Affairs at the university’s Government and Community Engagement office, visited the table to give senators the lowdown on the new session of the Nevada Legislature — and the university’s heavy involvement in watching and lobbying it.
The Nevada Legislature creates and votes on bills for the state much like Congress does for the whole country. Nevada is one of just four states nationwide with a legislature that only meets once every two years. One of those sessions is about to start Feb. 3, and end June 2.
Those 120 days this year will be a nonstop flurry of new bills — many of which will affect the university, according to Daly.
Daly told senators that his office was watching between 400-500 of the bill draft requests (BDRs) that have already been introduced. BDRs are early versions of bills that have been submitted for review, he added.
Those hundreds of BDRs include initiatives to expand the behavioral health workforce, address food and housing insecurity and possibly expand the nursing program. But it all depends on whether the BDRs make it to a final vote and get approved.
The university is throwing plenty of effort behind making that happen, Daly added. And students are welcome to be a part of it: the university is hosting an official ‘Day at the Legislature’ on April 29. Free transportation to Carson City, the state capitol, will likely be provided.
Students are also welcome to get involved in other ways. The Nevada Electronic Legislative Information System keeps track of all the BDRs, bills and votes that happen in the legislature. The Government and Community Engagement office also has a newsletter and an Instagram for regular updates.
Just like with any public body, you can give public comment on bills you care about, find out who represents you and watch how they vote.
New senators
Two new senators took their seats at the table Jan. 29 — with only a month and a half left in their terms before ASUN elections.
Matthew Hoang, a finance major and current intern with ASUN, told senators he wanted to focus on outreach and increase student participation.
“We get students who don’t even want to take our merch…,” Hoang said, “…who don’t even want the free coffee [at ASUN-sponsored events].
Hoang went on to argue that a lot of students simply don’t see how ASUN can add value to their lives.
Senators followed Huang’s presentation with a 24-minute debate over whether he was qualified for the seat, with some critiquing what they saw as the “vagueness” of Huang’s goals.
A few senators who’d mentored Huang during the internship abstained from the vote. The rest ultimately appointed him to the vacant College of Business seat unanimously.
Logan Miceli, a civil engineering major and Sigma Phi Epsilon member, stressed the need for more varied career options for engineering students.
Miceli told senators that he was also hoping to boost enrollment by establishing an ambassador program where students would visit local high schools. Senators appointed him to the vacant College of Engineering seat unanimously.
Senators also confirmed a new assistant director of Government Affairs, the ASUN department in charge of engaging students with local government. Juliauna Sullivan, a journalism, marketing and political science major, became the new assistant director with a unanimous vote.
Peregrine Hart can be reached via email at peregrineh@unr.edu or on Instagram @pintofperegrine.
