|
What The 2002 Election
Results Mean For The Construction Industry
The general election of Nov. 5 brought some
significant changes to the 2003 State Legislature. Redistricting, retirement,
and hard-fought campaigns brings 16 freshmen to the state Assembly, and four
to the Senate.
While it appeared that the state Senate would maintain the same partisan split
– with Republicans holding a 12-9 majority over Democrats – Sen. Ray
Shaffer’s recent switch from Republican to Democrat gives the body a 13-8
advantage. Senator-elect Warren Hardy (R-Clark), president of the Associated
Builders and Contractors, along with Assemblymembers-turned-Senators Barbara
Cegavske (R-Las Vegas), Dennis Nolan (R-Las Vegas), and Sandra Tiffany
(R-Henderson), will join the freshman Senate class.
This increased majority will have a significant
effect on the Senate’s committee assignments, and Democrats will have a
difficult time pushing their agenda, although they can still hold up the
required two-thirds majority for tax increases.
The Democratic majority in the Assembly dipped to 23-19 from the pre-election
27-15. The Assembly will see 16 freshmen out of a 42-member body, more than a
38 percent turnover in membership – 11 Republicans, and five Democrats.
Some of these changes were the result of newly
created seats from the 2001 session’s redistricting efforts. Others were
from retirement, tough campaigns, and moves from the Assembly to the Senate.
This slim democratic majority will allow Speaker Richard Perkins (D-Henderson)
to drive his agenda, but will increase his need to keep caucus members in
line. Assembly Minority Leader Lynn Hettrick (R-Gardnerville) increased his
caucus significantly, but will have his hands full getting 11 freshmen up to
speed.
With much of the institutional memory changing hands in the Assembly, the
Coalition will need to educate new members on its issues. Democratic and
Republican legislators have expressed the need to fix the construction
industry’s litigation situation and the Coalition will work closely with all
legislators to ensure passage of meaningful legislation that will protect
consumer rights, allow problems to be fixed promptly and professionally,
further define a construction defect, and allow construction industry members
to get out of frivolous class-action suits.
For a complete listing of 2003 legislators, or to find out who your legislator
is, please visit the Nevada Legislature website at
http://www.leg.state.nv.us |
