Equal Pay For Women's History Month

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Black & White Stripe Shirt - Old Navy
Pink Belt - Old Navy
Silver Link Necklace - Top Shop

March is Women's History Month. Perfect timing to talk about Senate Bill 190. 

SB 190 was introduced in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday, March 2nd. This bill will allow women to recover up to two years of back pay and benefits if they were the victim of pay discrimination. This bill will also prevent employer retaliation against employees who share information about their pay with coworkers.

The Sponsor of Senate Bill 190  has said to media outlets that "Passing a strong equal pay bill will send a message that we’re committed to fairness for all Nevadans".

According to a study by  Center for American Progress Action Fund, women in Nevada make around $.85 per dollar than a male.

Click HERE to watch a video of the actual hearing of the bill.

Click HERE for entire Bill text.

No Political Agenda

BeBe Dress (old)
Pink Belt - Old Navy
Black Suede boots (old)

With so many bills coming through everyday, its hard for me to decide what to blog about.

I want to blog about bills my audience will care about or I want to explain why you should care.   The "popular" bill of the day, might not be a bill that you guys are interested in.  I don't want to turn anyone off using big words and describing a bill that might not even make it through committee.

Yes, I know, you have heard about guns, construction defects, school bond, and taxes all over the news and social media. I don't think its time to bring out those issues just yet. I am still trying to figure them out  myself. At some point I will let you know what these bills mean to you and how you will be effected.

I have to be very careful on the bills I highlight, suggest or mention. I am not here to push the agenda of any political party.  The purpose is to make the Legislative process and potential laws understandable, in hopes to get you to care enough and get involved or vote!

Some might suggest "That's a Republicans bill, you should't be talking about that".  However, if a Republican  bill is a good bill and will help make Nevada better, than it will be mentioned.  On the other hand, if the Democrats are trying to pass a law that that would hurt us, I will show you the pro's and cons.

All is in effort to produce change (or not). You decide. I am just giving you some details to help you decide.

Feel free to click the links below for a list of bills and you can follow or look up yourself.

                               Senate Bills                                                             Assembly Bills

                                   As of today, here are the bills that have passes already. 

6am Flights, House of Cards, & The Governor's Mansion

What a busy week! Well, after exactly one month into Legislative Session, every week should be a  busy week. After three weeks in a row of waking up at 4am to catch a 6am flight I am tired! I am very impressed by the Senators, Assemblyman, Assemblywomen and Lobbyist who go home every weekend. It takes a lot out of you.

We waited almost a year for House of Cards to return. I managed to get through all 13 episodes in 48 hours. I even found a few Legislators as characters. ( I will never tell) In my opinion, season 3 wasn't as good as the previous one. But I still love me some Francis and Claire.

Receptions. The one guaranteed thing that doesn't change during Session. There are several receptions a week, Sometimes two in   one night.  I don't attend all of them, I will show my face at a few.   Its really hard to practice the "art of networking" after a 12 hour      work day. I do manage to freshening up my lipstick and work the room.  Some people go for the free food and wine. I can never eat, because I am too busy talking. and shaking hands.  It is nice to have a conversation outside of the office. Of course we try not to talk about work, but that is really why we all are there for is work.  This week I enjoyed the reception at the Governors Mansion. They are always classy (and I live directly across the street, which made it very easy).

The Difference Between State Senate & State Assembly

Senate - Upper House

Assembly - Lower House

I have worked for both a State Senator and a State Assemblyman.  During the transition between the two, I was often asked:

 What is the difference between a Senator and Assemblyman?

                                   

	SENATE	ASSEMBLY
Presiding Officer	Lieutenant Governor	Speaker of the Assembly
Members	21	42
Terms	4 years	2 years
House Leaders	Majority  Floor Leader	Speaker of the Assembly

• There are two Assembly Districts in one Senate District.  (Senate District 1 has 2 Assemblyman/Assemblywoman. 
• Each house has the power to establish its own rules and select its own officers.
• At the Legislature blue is used for Senate and red is used for Assembly. 

Who is My Senator and Assemblyman?

I have come across many people who have no idea who their local Legislators are. Many people are comfortable in just knowing who the President is. It is very important to know who your local leaders are and also how to contact them. Believe it or not; they do want to hear from you. If you live in Nevada it's simple. Follow the steps below. 

Click Here: Who is My Legislator?  

• Enter your address
• Click the blue pushpin

And that easy, you now know your District, Assemblyman, Senator and Congressman.

Click on their name for their contact information. If nothing else, at least check out their website. 

Legislative Session - First Week In Review

Today concludes week one of the 78th Session of the Nevada Legislature.

Week one is definitely not what anyone expected. This week included extremely long hours, high emotions, lots of closed doors and horrible eating. But, I will say week one has been very productive.

Opening Day started with the swearing in of 20 new Legislatures. 

(Three in Senate &  17 in Assembly) Right after the congratulations and photos the law makers immediately went to working hearing over 100 pre-filed Bills.

Out of exhaustion from the week, I only included the link to the actual bills. However, moving forward I will go into detail and break the bills down to everyday language. I am interested to see if anyone reads the actual bill. 

Hot Topic of the Week:

Senate Bill 119 - Prevailing Wage Exemption

The good stuff will come later in this blog. Trust me! Right now, I just need a good cup of tea and my temporary bed.

Suit:Ann Taylor Loft
Shoes: Vince Camouto

10 Simple Nevada Legislative Session Facts

10 Facts about Nevada Legislative Session

-Legislative Session is a period of time where law makers come together to make laws-

· Session of the Nevada Legislature is held every two years (odd number years)
· Two-House Legislature (Senate & Assembly)
· 63 Members (21 Senate & 42 Assembly)
· Begins on the first Monday in February
· 120 straight days
· Laws become effective October 1st (if no other date is given)
· Legislative activities, including committee hearings, are open to the public
· Only members of the Legislature or standing committees can introduce legislation
· The Legislature meets at the Legislative Building in Carson City (state capital)
· www.leg.state.nv.us

The 78^th Session of Nevada Legislature will begin on Monday, February 2, 2015

The Calm Before the Storm

Stay tuned for top bills & how to participate in the process

Nevada State Senate Chambers

The Senate Floor is where part of the votes, discussion, and debates, will happen over the next 120 days.

Nevada State Assembly Chambers

The Assembly Floor will host the debates, votes and discussion just as important. 

State of the Union & State of the State

If you didn't watch the State of the Union, I am sure with all the social media post you understand just what went down. This was one of my favorite addresses from our President. He was honest and included some humor. It wasn't dry and boring. I understood exactly what he was saying. President Obama kept my attention.

   

Now the State of the State is a different story. Unless you are really into Nevada politics, you didn't watch. Twitter provided lots of entertainment and commentary with #NVSOTS. But we should really care about what our Governor has to say.

This is our state. We can't complain if we are unaware of the plans for our state. The State of the State provided a a detailed transcript of what Governor Brian Sandoval plans for Nevada. This shows Nevada residents who we voted for or didn't vote for. This is what #NewNevada (if you watched the speech you get it) will look like during the next two years.  

Here are some key points from The State of The State:

•  Governor Sandoval welcomed 20 Freshman Legislatures (more on that in another post)
• Education, job creation and the economy are his priorities this term  

Education:

• Improving public education system is very important (K-12)
• Expansion of all day kindergarten (still pushing from last term)
• Improve reading skills - read by three ($3 million dollar budget to support literacy efforts)
• Digital devices for middle school ($50 million invested)
• Over $20 million available to our high schools
• Higher Education - new operating funds ($76 million invested)
• UNLV Hotel School will be funded with $24 million
• $9.3 million for establishing the new UNLV Medical School
• A total of $882 million will be  invested in education over the next two years

Economy

• No more furloughs for state employees
• The Department of Transportation’s Project NEON will invest $250 million to improve I-15, reduce congestion, and create construction jobs
• Nevada’s job growth is third strongest in the country

Want more of what the Governor has to say, click the link below

                                                    http://gov.nv.gov/About/Photos/Speeches/

Let's Talk Politics

Over the last few elections, I noticed the lack of knowledge of our generation when it comes to politics, laws and legal rights. I would hear conversations where people were repeating what they heard someone else say on the news or what they read on Facebook. Falling to dig deeper and even stay current. I came across many who didn't vote, many who didn't understand the issues or cause and those who faked as if they knew the issues just to be apart of the conversation. 

I was fortunate to work on a winning political campaign and twice for  Nevada Legislative Session. I found the experience to be extremely educational. Of course I have to share all this information.  Both experiences created a hunger of knowledge  for what is going on not only in my state, but in my country. 

Politics became cool again when Obama became President. We talk about politics on a date, after church and during happy hour.  However, do we really know the process and the issues? I wanted to create a conformable, relaxed environment to share  the process.

  

This blog is bi-partisan (not taking any sides).  I won't favor a Democratic or a Republican. This is my blog, but I don't want it to be all about my opinion.  I want to give you the facts, the truth and create a better understanding.  Yes, you can Google it, but will really understand and how it applies to you?