Nevada Assembly

Nevada Assembly
Nevada Legislature
Type
Type
Term limits
6 terms (12 years)
History
New session started
February 2, 2015
Leadership
Speaker of the Nevada Assembly
John Hambrick (R)
Since February 2, 2015
Majority Leader
Paul Anderson (R)
Since February 2, 2015
Minority Leader
Structure
Seats 42
Political groups

Majority

Minority

Length of term
2 years
Authority Article 4, Nevada Constitution
Salary $146.90/day + per diem
Elections
Last election
November 4, 2014
(42 seats)
Next election
November 8, 2016
(42 seats)
Redistricting Legislative Control
Meeting place
Assembly Chamber
Nevada State Capitol
Carson City, Nevada
Website
Nevada Legislature

Coordinates: 39°09′42″N 119°45′58″W / 39.161643°N 119.766139°W / 39.161643; -119.766139 The Nevada Assembly is the lower house of the Nevada Legislature, the state legislature of the US state of Nevada. The body consists of 42 members, elected to two-year terms from single-member districts. Each Assembly district contained approximately 64,299 people as of the 2010 census.[1] Term limits, limiting assembly members to six 2-year terms (12 years), took effect in 2010. Twelve members of the Assembly were termed out with the 2010 election serving their last legislative session in 2011.

The Assembly met at the Nevada State Capitol in Carson City until 1971, when a separate Legislative Building was constructed south of the Capitol. The Legislative Building was expanded in 1997 to its current appearance to accommodate the growing Legislature. The lower house of the Legislature is referred to as an "Assembly" rather than the more common "House of Representatives."

Since the 2012 session, Assembly districts have been formed by dividing the 21 Senate districts in half, so that each Assembly district is nested within a Senate district.

Meetings

The Assembly, like the Senate, is composed of citizen legislators, receiving a relatively small ($130) per diem fee for the first 60 days of a given session. This tends to self-selection, with legislative service difficult for those without flexible jobs and/or large outside incomes, such as doctors and lawyers. The Assembly, again like the Senate, meets however long is necessary for the completion of all its business, up to a maximum of 120 days, beginning the first Monday in February of every odd-numbered year. While this is designed to limit the amount of time a legislator is away from their first job, in recent years 120 days has often not been enough time to complete legislative business, and after four straight regular sessions, special sessions had been called to finish up legislative business. This trend ended in 2011, which was not followed by a special session.

Leadership of the Assembly

The Speaker of the Assembly presides over the Assembly in the chief leadership position, controlling the flow of legislation and committee assignments. The Speaker is elected by the majority party caucus, followed by confirmation of the full Assembly on passage of a floor vote. Other Assembly leaders, such as the majority and minority leaders, are elected by their respective party caucuses according to each party's strength in the chamber.

Assembly Chamber

The Nevada Assembly convenes in the south chamber of the Legislative Building. The carpet in the Assembly chamber is mainly red, in comparison to the Senate chamber, which is blue. The chamber galleries reflect the same carpet schemes. Many legislative documents and binders are colored red and blue to distinguish them between the Assembly and the Senate. Although the chamber is separated by a center aisle, the Assemblymen are not seated by party. Rather they are seated at the discretion of the Speaker. The Speaker's desk is always the first desk in the front row to the right, if you are looking out at the chamber from the Speaker's rostrum. Above the Speaker is a large gavel, which is engraved with the name of Speaker Joe Dini; the longest serving Speaker of the Nevada Assembly. Above the gavel is a portrait of Abraham Lincoln, who was President when Nevada became a State in 1864. To the left of the main door to the chamber is a podium with a Bible, which is changed to different passages by the Assembly Sargeant-at-Arms.

Since 2003, one floor session has always been held in the Old Assembly Chambers in the State Capitol. The session usually begins with a presentation from the State Archivist regarding the history of the chamber, and then legislative business proceeds as usual. Because there are no screens or voting equipment in the old chamber, all business is hand-written on a chalk board, as it would have been done when the Assembly still met in the Capitol.

All joint-meetings and joint-sessions are held in the Assembly chamber, including the State of the State Address, the State of the Judiciary Address, and addresses from Nevada's federal delegation. Unlike in Congress, where the Speaker of the House presides over all joint-meetings and sessions (except when Congress counts the Electoral Votes after a Presidential election), the President of the Senate presides over joint-meetings and sessions instead of the Speaker of the Assembly.

Composition

Affiliation Party
(Shading indicates majority caucus)
Total
Democratic Republican Libertarian Vacant
Begin 77th Legislative Session (2012-2014) 27 15 0 42 0
End 25 14 39 3
78th Legislative Session (2014-2016) 17 25 0 42 0
August 19, 2015[2] 16 25 0 41 1
January 8, 2016[3] 16 23 1 40 2
January 10, 2016[4] 16 22 1 40 3
Latest voting share 41.026% 56.41% 2.564%

Leadership of the Assembly

The Speaker of the Assembly presides over the Assembly in the chief leadership position, controlling the flow of legislation and committee assignments. The Speaker is elected by the majority party caucus, followed by confirmation of the full Assembly on passage of a floor vote. Other Assembly leaders, such as the majority and minority leaders, are elected by their respective party caucuses according to each party's strength in the chamber.

Position Name Party District
Speaker John Hambrick Republican 2
Speaker pro tempore John Ellison Republican 33
Majority Leader Paul Anderson Republican 13
Assistant Majority Floor Leader Ira Hansen Republican 32
Majority Whip Jim Wheeler Republican 39
Assistant Majority Whip Jill Dickman Republican 31
Assistant Majority Whip Victoria Seaman Republican 34
Minority Leader Irene Bustamante Adams Democratic 1
Co-Assistant Minority Leader Teresa Benitez-Thompson Democratic 27
Co-Assistant Minority Leader Maggie Carlton Democratic 14
District Name Party Residence First elected Term
1 Vacant - - - -
2 John Hambrick Republican Las Vegas 2008 4th
3 Nelson Araujo Democratic Las Vegas 2014 1st
4 Michele Fiore Republican Lone Mountain 2012 2nd
5 Vacant
6 Harvey Munford Democratic Las Vegas 2004 6th
7 Dina Neal Democratic North Las Vegas 2010 3rd
8 John Moore Libertarian Spring Valley 2014 1st
9 David M. Gardner Republican Spring Valley 2014 1st
10 Shelly M. Shelton Republican Las Vegas 2014 1st
11 Olivia Diaz Democratic North Las Vegas 2010 3rd
12 James Ohrenschall Democratic Sunrise Manor 2006 5th
13 Paul Anderson Republican Las Vegas 2012 2nd
14 Maggie Carlton Democratic Sunrise Manor 2010 3rd
15 Elliot Anderson Democratic Winchester 2010 3rd
16 Heidi Swank Democratic Las Vegas 2012 2nd
17 Tyrone Thompson Democratic North Las Vegas 2013 2nd
18 Richard Carrillo Democratic Whitney 2010 3rd
19 Chris Edwards Republican Sunrise Manor 2014 1st
20 Ellen Spiegel Democratic Henderson 2008 3rd
21 Derek Armstrong Republican Paradise 2014 1st
22 Lynn D. Stewart Republican Henderson 2006 5th
23 Melissa Woodbury Republican Henderson 2008 4th
24 Amber Joiner Democratic Reno 2014 1st
25 Vacant - - - -
26 Randy Kirner Republican Reno 2010 3rd
27 Teresa Benitez-Thompson Democratic Reno 2010 3rd
28 Edgar Flores Democratic Las Vegas 2014 1st
29 Stephen Silberkraus Republican Henderson 2014 1st
30 Michael Sprinkle Democratic Sparks 2012 2nd
31 Jill Dickman Republican Sparks 2014 1st
32 Ira Hansen Republican Sparks 2010 3rd
33 John Ellison Republican Elko 2010 3rd
34 Victoria Seaman Republican Las Vegas 2014 1st
35 Brent A. Jones Republican Enterprise 2014 1st
36 James Oscarson Republican Pahrump 2012 2nd
37 Glenn E. Trowbridge Republican Las Vegas 2014 1st
38 Robin L. Titus Republican Wellington 2014 1st
39 Jim Wheeler Republican Minden 2012 2nd
40 Philip "P.K." O'Neill Republican Carson City 2014 1st
41 Victoria A. Dooling Republican Henderson 2014 1st
42 Irene Bustamante Adams Democratic Spring Valley 2010 3rd

See also

References

  1. "Nevada State Assembly - 2011 Districts : Population Report" (PDF). Leg.state.nv.us. Retrieved 2016-02-19.
  2. "Legislative Biography : Marilyn Kirkpatrick" (PDF). Leg.state.nv.us. Retrieved 2016-02-19.
  3. Neal Morton (2016-01-12). "Assemblyman Pat Hickey tapped to fill seat on state Board of Education | Las Vegas Review-Journal". Reviewjournal.com. Retrieved 2016-02-19.
  4. "Legislative Biography : Erven T. Nelson" (PDF). Leg.state.nv.us. Retrieved 2016-02-19.

External links

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