On the last day of school for Clark County, Joe Lombardo’s report card revealed that he received failing grades for addressing the ongoing housing crisis, lowering costs, keeping our communities safe, and helping students succeed. Lombardo did however receive stellar marks when it came to obeying special interests and ethic scandals.
See teachers’ additional comments below:
Addressing the Housing Crisis:
Lombardo vetoed AB298, which would have capped rent prices for seniors and Nevadans with disabilities. When asked if he regretted vetoing bills that would have made housing more affordable for Nevadans, Lombardo replied, “No, I don’t.” He also vetoed SB335, which would have extended a 2021 law that expired June 5 that paused eviction proceedings for 60 days if a rental assistance application was pending, as well as AB340, which would have put Nevada in line with the rest of the county and required landlords, rather than tenants, to be the first to file a case with the courts after receiving a pay or quit notice.
Lowering Prescription Drug Prices:
As health care costs continue to rise, Lombardo vetoed AB250, a bill that would have lowered the price of prescription drugs to the Medicare-negotiated rate for all Nevadans, not just those on Medicare.
Helping Students Succeed:
While food insecurity increased across Southern Nevada last year with an estimated one in five children uncertain where their next meal is coming from, Lombardo chose to leave our children hungry and less likely to succeed when he vetoed AB139, which guaranteed universal breakfast and lunch in public schools – then he flat-out lied about it. A fact check found Joe Lombardo’s claims that he vetoed universal free meals for Nevada students because they are “thrown away” to be false. Lombardo also vetoed SB340, a bill that would have provided all public school students with access to summer school if they want or need it.
Keeping our communities safe:
Joe Lombardo vetoed AB354, a bill that would have made our communities safer by cracking down on untraceable, unregulated weapons known as ghost guns. Lombardo claimed he vetoed that Democrat-led legislation because it and other bills like it “don’t pass constitutional muster,” but Nevada’s Supreme Court has since upheld AB286, another bill tackling ghost guns, proving that Lombardo’s excuse was a flimsy, politically-motivated cover up — and exactly the type of rhetoric that one might expect from someone beholden to the gun lobby like Joe Lombardo.
Obeying Special Interests:
After siding with the slumlord billionaire who bankrolled his gubernatorial campaign and vetoing several bills that would have lowered housing costs for Nevada residents, Joe Lombardo hired as his chief of staff a former lobbyist who worked for a corporate landlord that also stood to benefit directly from Lombardo’s anti-tenant vetoes. Lombardo also protected the interests of the big drug companies when he vetoed AB250, which would have lowered prescription drug costs to the Medicare-negotiated rate for all Nevadans. The big drug companies then rewarded Lombardo with nearly $100,000 in campaign cash.
Ethics Scandals:
Lombardo was censured and fined by the Ethics Commission for violating ethics law during his gubernatorial campaign. He’s now suing to eliminate the Ethics Commission altogether after his cronies – who he appointed days before his ethics hearing – couldn’t protect him from the law. And one of Lombardo’s first acts after being elected was establishing a dark money inaugural committee, breaking with bipartisan precedent so he could keep Nevadans in the dark about who is giving him money and how that money is being spent.
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