Past Events

The League of Women Voters of Southern Nevada had their best ever turnout for their Ballot Question Bonanza on September 15, with nearly 70 in attendance. We presented a neutral overview of all six initiatives and LWV invited advocates for the Yes and No camps on each measure to answer questions after the overview.

Students and faculty from the William S. Boyd School of Law joined us on September 13 for a presentation on all six ballot initiatives that will be on the November ballot. This was a great question and answer session, with the group having special interest in why some initiatives are statutory and some are constitutional.

Guinn Center hosted a public forum for candidates running for Nevada’s education boards on May 23, 2018 at The Public Education Foundation in Las Vegas. The event was co-sponsored by Honoring Our Public Education (HOPE) and Las Vegas Latin Chamber of Commerce Mujeres Group.

Over 50 community members attended to learn how candidates felt about governance, education funding, and student success.

VIEW PHOTOS FROM THE EVENT.

The Guinn Center has presented information on federal revenue streams (and grants) to a number of audiences in southern Nevada. Last week, the Guinn Center spoke at the Southern Nevada Forum’s Good Governance meeting.

A copy of the presentation can be found here: Combined SNF Good Governance.

To celebrate its 4th Anniversary, the Guinn Center welcomed Governor Brian Sandoval and Rob Roy, CEO & Founder Switch, in a salon-style conversation with Marybel Batjer, Secretary of the California Government Operations Agency and former Chief of Staff to Governor Guinn.

The event was held on Thursday, March 15 at the Nevada Museum of Art.

Click HERE to view pictures from the event.

Parents, teachers, and community members are invited to join us for a free breakfast and casual conversation with Dr. Steve Canavero, Superintendent of Public Instruction, to discuss Nevada’s new 2017 school accountability framework (star-rating system), how to use the information, and find out how  your child’s school is doing.

When: Saturday, 23 September 2017

Time: 8:30 am – 10:30 am

Where: Democracy Prep at the Agassi Campus, 1201 W Lake Mead Blvd.

Cosponsors:  Opportunity 180, Nevada Department of Education, Democracy Prep at the Agassi Campus

Join fellow business leaders for a preview and discussion of Nevada’s New School Performance Framework led by Dr. Steve Canavero, Superintendent of Public Instruction. We will hear about Nevada’s 2017 school accountability framework, find out how our schools and students are performing, and learn about the state’s plans to roll out and act upon the results.

When: 19 September 2017

Time: 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm

Where: Las Vegas Metro Chamber of Commerce

Cosponsors: Opportunity 180, Las Vegas Metro Chamber of Commerce, Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance & Nevada Department of Education.

The Kenny Guinn Center for Policy Priorities and the Nevada Institute for Children’s Research and Policy (NICRP) partnered to host “Legislative Training 101” in mid-November 2016.

This training provided information on Nevada’s legislative process, how to communicate with legislators, and how to get involved in community advocacy efforts. Attendees learned how to navigate the legislative process and discover how this process can help bring an issue to the attention of the legislators and legislative committees.

The event was the second in the Guinn Center’s Capacity Building Workshop Series, which provide a variety of trainings for nonprofits and community advocates on how to increase their impact in Nevada. The inaugural Capacity Building Workshop took place in September 2016. The focus of this event was “Data Basics.” The topics discussed at the workshop included developing a logic model, data collection techniques and analysis, and grant writing.

Leading up to the elections in November, the Guinn Center hosted two candidate forums for Nevada’s education boards on October 4, 2016 in Reno and October 5, 2016 in Las Vegas with co-host, Switch. Candidates from the Clark and Washoe County School Districts Boards of Trustees, the Nevada System of Higher Education Board of Regents, and the State Board of Education attended the events.

In 2015, Nevada’s political leaders passed legislation that invested over $400 million per year into Nevada’s education system. In order to ensure Nevada’s taxpayers would receive a positive return on investment from these reforms, the Legislature included stronger measures of accountability in many of the education bills.

The quality of governance of these State and local education boards can also impact the return on investment of these new programs. The Guinn Center is hosting these candidate forums to raise awareness about the roles and responsibilities of these positions and the individuals seeking these offices.

Dr. Tyrus “Ty” Cobb hosted the Washoe County area forum, which took place at the Terry Lee Wells Nevada Discovery Museum, and Dave Berns hosted the Las Vegas area forum at the Innevation Center powered by Switch.

In May 2016, the Guinn Center hosted three candidate forums throughout the Las Vegas area for education board candidates before the primaries in June 2016.

In partnership with the Elko Area Chamber of Commerce, the Guinn Center for Policy Priorities hosted a luncheon to present fact sheets on the  statewide questions on Nevada’s 2016 General Election Ballot at the Elko Convention Center on October 3, 2016.

Experts from the Guinn Center gave in-depth presentation on the following ballot initiatives:

• The Background Check Initiative, which would require an unlicensed person who wishes to sell or transfer a firearm to another person conduct the transfer through a licensed gun dealer who runs a background check on the potential buyer or transferee. Currently, private firearm sales made online, in-person or at gun shows are not usually conducted using a FFL dealer, and thus are not subject to a background check.

• The Initiative to Tax and Regulate Marijuana, which would regulate and tax the cultivation and sale of recreational marijuana in Nevada in a manner similar to alcohol.

• The Medical Patient Tax Relief Act, which would provide a sales and use tax exemption across the state for durable medical equipment, oxygen delivery equipment and mobility enhancing equipment prescribed for human use by a licensed healthcare provider.

The purpose of the luncheon was to provide Elko residents with information on the ballot initiatives, including data on both sides of the issues.  Each of the accompanying fact sheets is designed to provide a summary of the initiative as it is written, a history of the related legislation, a summary of the comments that support and oppose the law, a status report on how other states and the federal government address the issue. For more information on the fact sheets or to read them in full, visit the Guinn Center’s website.

In September, the Guinn Center for Policy Priorities presented on Fact Sheets on the ballot initiatives voters in Nevada will consider this November at weekly public forums as part of the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law’s Voter Education Program 2016.

The Fact Sheet presentations addressed the following:

• The Background Check Initiative, which would require an unlicensed person who wishes to sell or transfer a firearm to another person conduct the transfer through a licensed gun dealer who runs a background check on the potential buyer or transferee.
• The Initiative to Tax and Regulate Marijuana, which would regulate and tax the cultivation and sale of recreational marijuana in Nevada in a manner similar to alcohol.
• The Medical Patient Tax Relief Act, which would provide a sales and use tax exemption across the state for durable medical equipment, oxygen delivery equipment and mobility enhancing equipment prescribed for human use by a licensed healthcare provider.
• Clark County Question 5: Fuel Revenue Indexing, which asks Clark County registered voters if they wish to continue tying fuel taxes to the inflation rate. Fuel taxes in the County have been indexed to inflation since January 2014. This program—Fuel Revenue Indexing (FRI)—is set to expire at the end of 2016, unless voters in Clark County approve the ballot initiative.

Each of these fact sheets is designed to provide a summary of the initiative as it is written, a history of the related legislation, a summary of the comments that support and oppose the law, a status report on how other states and the federal government address the issue. They conclude with several policy considerations for stakeholders.

The Guinn Center does not have an official position on the ballot initiatives. Rather, the purpose of these Fact Sheets is to discuss the initiative, the possible implications should it pass into law, and outline possible impacts.  For more information on the Fact Sheets or to read them in full, visit the Guinn Center’s website.

The Guinn Center for Policy Priorities co-hosted a half-day data workshop aimed at providing hands-on learning related to data practices for nonprofits. The event, “Data Basics” was the first in a series of Capacity Building Workshops  The event took place on September 23, 2016 at the Innevation Center and was co-hosted by the Young Nonprofit Professionals of Southern Nevada (YNPN) and UNLV’s Nonprofit, Community, and Leadership Initiative (NCLI).

The topics discussed at the workshop included developing a logic model, data collection techniques and analysis, and grant writing.

The Guinn Center’s capacity Building Workshops aim to address many of the needs of Nevada’s non-profits. Earlier this year, the Guinn Center hosted another workshop for nonprofits, during which participants completed an informal survey that asked about how effectively their organizations used data to advocate and raise awareness about the needs they are addressing. Many participants said that finding and using data, as well as tracking their own data, often hinder efforts by their organizations to apply for government and private grants. Approximately 65 percent of survey respondents said that their nonprofits did not know where to find relevant, current data to use in grant applications. Similarly, 65 percent of survey respondents said that their organizations do not use comprehensive data to inform the scope and delivery of services.

The second workshop in the Capacity Building Series took place on on Friday, November 18, 2016 from 1:00 to 2:30p.m. at the Innevation Center, powered by Switch (6795 S. Edmond Street, 3rd Floor, Las Vegas, 89118).  The workshop is co-sponsored by the Nevada Institute for Children’s Research and Policy (NICRP) and the topic will be “Legislative Training 101.”  It provided information on Nevada’s legislative process, how to communicate with legislators, and how to get involved in community advocacy efforts.

The Kenny Guinn Center for Policy Priorities hosted a half-day workshop today aimed at helping Nevada’s nonprofits strengthen their advocacy capacity. The workshop, entitled “Building Advocacy Capacity among Nevada’s Nonprofits,” took place at the CSN Cheyenne Campus on June 28.

Heather McLeod Grant, co-author of the best-selling book, Forces for Good: The Six Practices of High-Impact Non-Profits, served the event’s keynote speaker. She also led a session on network mapping. The workshop covered a variety of other topics, including:

• The Nevada legislature with longtime lobbyist Erin McMullen.
• Nonprofit Lobbying: Advocating without Jeopardizing Your Tax-Exempt Status with Eric Franklin, UNLV professor of law and owner of the Nonprofit Legal Clinic.
• Social Media 101: Engaging Millenials with the Guinn Center’s Megan Rauch.
• Using Data to Tell Your Story and Influence Others with the Guinn Center’s Executive Director Nancy Brune.
• Effective Advocacy Strategies with Elisa Cafferata, President & CEO of Nevada Advocates for Planned Parenthood Affiliates.

Leading up to the primary elections in Nevada in May 2016, the Guinn Center hosted three candidate forums for Nevada’s education boards:  Clark County School District Board of Trustees, Nevada State Board of Education, and the Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education.

In 2015, Nevada’s political leaders passed legislation that invested over $400 million per year into Nevada’s education system. In order to ensure Nevada’s taxpayers would receive a positive return on investment from these reforms, the Legislature included stronger measures of accountability in many of the education bills.

The quality of governance of these State and local education boards can also impact the return on investment of these new programs. The Guinn Center partnered with Nevada Succeeds and H.O.P.E. (Honoring Our Public Education), a parent advocacy group, to host a series of candidate forums to raise awareness about the roles and responsibilities of these positions and the individuals seeking these positions.

A key topic of concern addressed at all three meetings were the troubling number of teacher vacancies across the state, especially in Clark County.  In the video below, candidates discuss how to best solve this growing crisis:

For more information on the teacher vacancies in Nevada, please see the Guinn Center’s maps that illustrate the vacancies in Clark and Washoe Counties and read the Guinn Center’s OpEd from May 28th in the Las Vegas Sun.

Community leaders from the city’s historic westside also pressed candidates to address crumbling facilites in the neighborhood’s older school buildings at the final candidate forum on May 31st at the West Las Vegas Library. For more information on school facilities construction and maintenance, read the Guinn Center’s policy report for the Spending and Governance Efficiency  Commission (SAGE).

The first two forums, held on the 17th in Henderson and the 25th in Centennial Hills, were moderated by Las Vegas Review-Journal political columnist, Steve Sebelius.  The final forum was moderated by thinkLaw creator and CEO, Colin Seale.