Special Report: The 2010 Special Session Legislators make tough decisions, right solutions to save education, create jobs
Members in the State Assembly made tough decisions to balance the budget and fill the $880 million shortfall.
Legislators passed a jobs bill to create an estimated 8,000 new jobs in the construction industry, reduced cuts proposed by Governor Gibbons to K-12 and higher education and maintained a satisfactory level of vital services for children, the elderly and mentally ill.
Each legislative session, legislators face more than 1500 individual pieces of proposed legislation, generally referred to as “bills". Those bills are requested by individual legislators, governmental agencies, and interim committees which have studied the more complex issues.
Some measures simply make small updates or corrections to previously passed law. Other bills, running hundreds of pages, take on complex changes which are frequently hotly debated.
Here, Assemblyman William Horne discusses a few issues that he worked on during the 2009 legislative session:
Increasing Charges in Domestic Violence Cases (Assembly Bill 33)
As the two-term Vice Chairman, and likely incoming Chair, of the Judiciary Committee, William is well informed about the law and the protections it provides for Nevadans. William introduced AB 33, which increases the penalty from a misdemeanor to a felony for strangulation in domestic violence cases. “We need to protect families throughout Nevada. AB 33 increases this domestic violence charge from a misdemeanor to a felony. That means more jail time and larger fines, a much needed change for such heinous crimes.”
Protecting Our Children (Assembly Bill 238)
Teen prostitution is one of the most disturbing and disgusting crimes on the streets today. William strengthened the current law to protect our children by increasing the charge for solicitation of a prostitute under the age of 18 years from a misdemeanor to a felony.
Regulating Appraisals (Assembly Bill 287)
Appraisers are under increasing pressure from lenders, mortgage bankers and real estate agents to estimate the value of property at higher or “predetermined” values. William sponsored and passed in to law AB 287, which prohibits improper influence from lenders, mortgage bankers and real estate agents. The legislation increases regulation, requires mandatory registration of appraisal companies and increases continuing education requirements for appraisers.
William co-sponsored Assembly Bill 79, a law that would prohibit a public officer or employee from using governmental time, property or equipment for activities relating to a political campaign. It’s important that our public officials and employees are held to a high standard, and your tax dollars should not go towards political campaigns. “I am proud to be a part of this legislation, with so many scandals in the public arena I hope this is a step in the right direction to restoring the public trust in our elected officials.”
With Methamphetamine abuse on the rise in Nevada there is a great need for more resources to prevent people from using in the first place. William co-sponsored Assembly Bill 149, which helps fund the Division of Mental Health and Developmental Services in the Department of Health and Human Service for the prevention of the abuse of Methamphetamine.
William is proud to have been the chief sponsor of Assembly Bill 194, which further protects victims of domestic violence by prohibiting adverse parties from having a firearm. William was honored by the Southern Nevada Domestic Violence Task Force for his work on this bill.
William was the chief sponsor of a resolution honoring United States Air Force Major Nicole Malachowski, one of Nevada’s own Thunderbird pilots. William believes that ordinary people do extraordinary things everyday, and Major Malachowski is just one example.
William Horne Little Known Fact: Despite thinking he’s a sub-par long distance runner, he ran the fastest two-mile run at ROTC Officer’s Advanced camp (10:31)!
Issues
As the two-term Vice Chairman, and likely incoming Chair, of the Judiciary Committee, William is well informed about the law and the protections it provides for Nevadans. William introduced AB 33, which increases the penalty from a misdemeanor to a felony for strangulation in domestic violence cases. “We need to protect families throughout Nevada. AB 33 increases this domestic violence charge from a misdemeanor to a felony. That means more jail time and larger fines, a much needed change for such heinous crimes.”
Appraisers are under increasing pressure from lenders, mortgage bankers and real estate agents to estimate the value of property at higher or “predetermined” values. William sponsored and passed in to law AB 287, which prohibits improper influence from lenders, mortgage bankers and real estate agents. The legislation increases regulation, requires mandatory registration of appraisal companies and increases continuing education requirements for appraisers.
Honoring Exemplary Citizens:
