Nevada
Carson City lowers expectations for Nevada revenue projection report
CARSON CITY — Nevada lawmakers are anxiously awaiting a May 1 forecast of how much money the state will have to fund services and new programs for its next two-year budget cycle.
There is already a consensus that revenues will fall below predictions used to create the state budget. But just how far below is a question being raised in budget hearings, in hallway conversations and at press conferences in the days leading up to Thursday’s Economic Forum.
Assembly Minority Floor Leader Gregory Hafen, R-Pahrump, said expectations were “already bad” during a Monday meeting of the joint Assembly Ways and Means and Senate Finance committees.
“Heaven forbid the Economic Forum come back much worse than most of us are projecting it to be,” he said.
$12.4 billion question
The Economic Forum is a panel of experts who forecast the state’s general fund revenues, including the sales and use tax, gaming percentage fee, live entertainment tax, commerce tax, modified business tax and real property transfer tax. Its most recent forecast from December was used by Gov. Joe Lombardo’s staff to craft Lombardo’s proposed budget for the 2026-2027 biennium.
That forecast predicted the state could count on $12.4 billion in revenue during the next two-year budget cycle, about 3.4 percent more than it is expected to receive over the entire the 2024-2025 biennium.
The state’s economic outlook has changed since then, and expectations of lowered revenue are already playing out.
Alexander Marks, deputy executive director of field and communications for the Nevada State Education Association, said the education lobbying group can see the economy’s impact in the governor’s recommended per-pupil spending increase of only $2 in the 2026 fiscal year and $70 for the 2027 fiscal year.
“Why does it appear that way? I mean, I hate to just say vibes, but I mean, certainly the comments that are being made by some of them, the budget meetings,” Marks said. “The $2 per pupil budget increase – it’s like, if we had the money, (Gov. Joe Lombardo would) be offering more.”
Uncertainty driving the conversation
The source of many of the concerns is far outside of lawmakers’ control, including trade tensions that has led to a softening of international travel and increased uncertainty about the impact of tariffs on the domestic economy.
“We know our economy is deeply reliant on tourism,” said Sen. Rochelle Nguyen, D-Las Vegas, at a Wednesday press conference in Carson City. “When trade wars disrupt the global economy, it directly impacts disposable income of tourists, both domestic and international.”
Efforts to pare back the federal government’s $1.3 trillion budget deficit could have an outsized impact on the 28 percent of the Silver State’s budget that comes from the U.S. taxpayers. Most of that money supports the Department of Health and Human Services, which manages the state- and federally-funded Medicaid program, which provides coverage to some 822,000 Nevadans, according to a report from the nonpartisan Kenny Guinn Center for Policy Priorities.
Marks said his group is advocating for changes suggested by the Commission on School Funding, including changes to the state’s property tax structure by resetting depreciation to capture more property taxes, as described in Assembly Joint Resolution 1, but it’s a long-term fix; that reform would require the approval of the legislature, governor twice before being put before voters in 2028.
Bracing for bad news
A Wednesday meeting gave some insight into what to expect from the next Economic Forum report.
Fiscal analysts gave the Technical Advisory Committee on Future State Revenues a preview on non-major revenue sources. The discussion on smaller taxes, including the liquor tax, gaming penalties and the “transportation network tax” on rideshares and cabs, suggested a slowing economy would affect the state’s revenue sources.
“All of the forecasters did reduce their forecasts to some degree because of expectations of softening of tourism and the year-to-date actuals not coming in as predicted to this point,” Michael Nakamoto, a fiscal analyst in the Legislative Counsel Bureau, said during the meeting.
Forecasters projected a $16 million drop in non-major revenue sources each budget year compared with the previous economic forum report. They also reported a $102 million reduction in general fund revenue in the first nine months of the 2025 fiscal year compared with the same period in 2024, which Nakamoto said was skewed by revenue collected when Las Vegas hosted the Super Bowl.
“If they are visitors, or would-be visitors to Nevada, they might be rethinking it for any number of reasons,” he said when talking about the nearly 11 percent decline in liquor tax revenue projected for the 2025 fiscal year. “Or if they live here, they might be foregoing buying alcohol because they need to buy something else.
“And that’s kind of one of the uncertainties, and it’s the great unknowns that we’re sitting and looking at, and it’s honestly one of the things that keeps me up at night as a forecaster.”
Contact McKenna Ross at mross@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mckenna_ross_ on X.
Nevada
Oregon lands commitment from Nevada punter
Oregon has found its next Australian punter.
Bailey Ettridge, who averaged 44.66 yards on 47 punts at Nevada this season, committed to transfer to the Ducks on Sunday. He has three seasons of eligibility remaining.
From Lara, Australia, Ettridge had 15 punts over 50 yards and 18 inside opponents’ 20-yard lines this season. He also had two carries for 26 yards, both of which converted fourth downs.
Ettridge replaces James Ferguson-Reynolds, who is averaging 41.64 yards on 33 punts for UO this season. Ferguson-Reynolds and Ross James are both out of eligibility after the season.
Ettridge is the first scholarship transfer to Oregon this offseason and his addition gives the Ducks 81 projected scholarship players in 2026. He is the lone punter presently on the roster.
No. 1 Indiana (14-0) vs. No. 5 Oregon (13-1)
- When: Friday, January 9
- Time: 4:30 p.m. PT
- Where: Mercedes Benz Stadium, Atlanta
- TV: ESPN and ABC
- Stream: You can watch this game on DIRECTV (free trial) or with Sling (a Sling day pass to watch this game and more is just $4.99). Streaming broadcasts for this game will be available on these streaming services locally in Oregon and Washington, but may not be available outside of the Pacific Northwest, depending on your location.
Nevada
‘Winnemucca Day’ helps fuel Backus, Wolf Pack to 58-40 win over Utah State
RENO, Nev. (Nevada Athletics) – Nevada Women’s Basketball returned to Lawlor for the first game of 2026, hosting Utah State.
The Pack picked up its first conference win of the season with the 58-40 victory over the Aggies.
Freshmen showed out for the Pack (5-9, 1-3 MW) with Skylar Durley nearly recording a double-double, dropping 12 points and grabbing nine rebounds. Britain Backus had five points to go along with two rebounds and a season high four steals.
Junior Izzy Sullivan also had an impactful game with 17 points, going 6-for-11 from the paint and grabbing five boards. She also knocked down Nevada’s only two makes from beyond the arc, putting her within one for 100 career threes.
The Pack opened up scoring the first four points, setting the tone for the game. It was a close battle through the first 10 as Utah State (6-7, 2-2 MW) closed the gap to one.
However, Nevada never let them in front for the entire 40 minutes.
Nevada turned up the pressure in the second quarter, holding Utah State to a shooting drought for over four minutes. Meanwhile, a 5-0 scoring run pushed the Pack to a 10-point lead.
For the entire first 20, Nevada held Utah State to just 26.7 percent from the floor and only nine percent from the arc, going only 1-for-11.
For the Pack offense, it shot 48 percent from the paint. Nevada fell into a slump coming out of the break, only scoring eight points.
It was the only quarter where the Pack was outscored.
The fourth quarter saw the Pack get back into rhythm with a 6-0 run and forcing the Aggies into another long scoring drought of just under four and a half minutes.
Durley had a layup and jumper to help with securing the win.
Nevada will remain at home to face Wyoming on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.
Copyright 2026 KOLO. All rights reserved.
Nevada
EDITORIAL: Nevada’s House Democrats oppose permitting reform
Politicians of both parties have promised to fix the nation’s broken permitting system. But those promises have not been kept, and the status quo prevails: longer timelines, higher costs and a regulatory maze that makes it nearly impossible to build major projects on schedule.
Last week, the House finally cut through the fog by passing the Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development Act. As Jeff Luse reported for Reason, the legislation is the clearest chance in years to overhaul a system that has spun out of control.
Notably, virtually every House Democrat — including Reps. Dina Titus, Susie Lee and Steven Horsford from Nevada — opted for the current regulatory morass.
The proposal addressed problems with the National Environmental Policy Act, which passed in the 1970s to promote transparency, but has grown into an anchor that drags down public and private investment. Mr. Luse notes that even after Congress streamlined the act in 2021, the average environmental impact statement takes 2.4 years to complete. That number speaks for itself and does not reflect the many reviews that stretch far beyond that already unreasonable timeline.
The SPEED Act tackles these failures head on. It would codify recent Supreme Court guidance, expand the projects that do not require exhaustive review and set real expectations for federal agencies that too often slow-walk approvals. Most important, it puts long-overdue limits on litigation. Mr. Luse highlights the absurdity of the current six-year window for filing a lawsuit under the Environmental Policy Act. Between 2013 and 2022, these lawsuits delayed projects an average of 4.2 years.
While opponents insist the bill would silence communities, Mr. Luse notes that NEPA already includes multiple public hearings and comment periods. Also, the vast majority of lawsuits are not filed by members of the people who live near the projects. According to the Breakthrough Institute, 72 percent of NEPA lawsuits over the past decade came from national nonprofits. Only 16 percent were filed by local communities. The SPEED Act does not shut out the public. It reins in well-funded groups that can afford to stall projects indefinitely.
Some Democrats claim the bill panders to fossil fuel companies, while some Republicans fear it will accelerate renewable projects. As Mr. Luse explains, NEPA bottlenecks have held back wind, solar and transmission lines as often as they have slowed oil and gas. That is why the original SPEED Act won support from green energy groups and traditional energy producers.
Permitting reform is overdue, and lawmakers claim to understand that endless red tape hurts economic growth and environmental progress alike. The SPEED Act is the strongest permitting reform proposal in years. The Senate should approve it.
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