Nevada’s largest share of funding comes from the federal government, and with efforts to curb spending in Washington, D.C., those pending cuts could affect programs in the Silver State.

A Nevada nonpartisan policy research center released a report last week detailing how much federal funding the Silver State receives and the programs it covers, raising questions about programs’ sustainability.

The Kenny Guinn Center for Policy Priorities found that 27.7 percent of Nevada’s 2023-2025 funding came from federal sources, or roughly $14.8 billion out of the $53.4 billion state budget.

Most of those federal dollars support programs within the Department of Health and Human Services. About 65 percent of the department’s budget goes to the state and federally funded Medicaid program, which provides coverage to nearly 822,000 Nevadans, according to the report.

Federal funding also supports at least 40 percent of the budgets for other state agencies, including the Department of Agriculture and Veterans Services. Federally-funded programs include the children’s health insurance program Nevada Check Up and the Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer Program, which provides food to approximately 310,000 children during summer months.

The report’s authors conclude that changes at the federal level to funding received by state and local agencies present a challenge to Nevada policymakers over the continuation of the programs that rely on federal funding.

President Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans have prioritized cutting federal spending to curb the nation’s $1.8 trillion deficit and make room for extending Trump’s tax cuts and enacting his other policy proposals.

Already Nevada has seen some impacts, including cuts to funds for food banks, the announced closure of a health service office for rural Native Americans, and the planned move of a Social Security Administration office into a federal space.

A Medicaid expansion program in Nevada could also be on the chopping block.

A House Republican budget plan directs the House Energy and Commerce Committee — which oversees Medicaid — to find ways to cut the federal deficit by at least $880 billion over the next decade. Though Republicans said they have no intention of cutting Medicaid, Democrats claim it would be impossible to meet that $880 billion goal without cutting the service that provides free health care to low-income people.

Other budget proposals from Congressional Republicans call for between $1 billion and $2 trillion in cuts.

What could happen to Nevada programs if federal funds wane?

Legislators recently passed the halfway point of Nevada’s 120-day legislative session, where they’ve been hearing bills that may require additional funds that the state may not have the ability to spend if federal cuts go through.

Nevada lawmakers could meet again for a special session if Republicans in Congress successfully implement the cuts, according to Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro.

“The hard reality is that if these cuts happen, the Governor will be calling the Legislature into special session later this year to present his plan to kick people off their health care and cut services for working families, seniors, students, and people who need food assistance,” Cannizzaro, D-Las Vegas, said in a statement.

She urged Nevada Republicans to speak out against the administration’s plans and stop the cuts before they’re enacted.

Senate Minority Leader Robin Titus, R-Wellington, thinks a special session can be avoided.

The state has known these cuts could be coming, since Trump campaigned on them, she said. Titus and other legislators have spent the session looking at additional funding requests and which ones are the most necessary while making sure agencies spend all the money appropriated to them through the American Rescue Plan Act.

Nevada will see an impact with federal cuts, but it is prepared to cover programs affected that are necessary through the state’s Rainy Day Fund, Titus said.

“We don’t want kids to go hungry; we don’t want people to go without health care, and the people that are truly in need of these services, we’re going to figure out how we can take care of these folks,” she said.

Nevada’s Rainy Day Fund, which is projected to reach $1.6 billion by the end of the 2025 to 2027 biennium, would cover three months of operating expenditures if Nevada’s revenues were a net-zero. The financial reserve can be tapped into during revenue shortfalls, unexpected deficits or if the Nevada Legislature deems appropriate. Funding in the account can’t exceed 26 percent of operating appropriations, and any allocation would be one-time appropriation.

Contact Jessica Hill at jehill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @jess_hillyeah on X.

A report from the Guinn Center found nearly 28 percent of Nevada’s budget comes from federal funds and provides support for health and human services programs. With looming cuts, legislators may have to meet to deal with a smaller budget.

RENO, Nev. (KOLO) – Private investigator David McNeely, who was hired to track Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve and former Washoe County Commissioner Vaughn Hartung, must reveal his client’s name in the next 25 days, according to a Nevada Supreme Court ruling on Wednesday after a petition for confidentiality was denied.

“We conclude that the conduct at issue was non-expressive in nature and not subject to First Amendment protection,” according to the Nevada Supreme Court ruling. “For this reason, the district court did not abuse its discretion in affirming the discovery commissioner’s recommendation. Accordingly, we order the petition denied.”

The client, known as John Doe, again unsuccessfully argued revealing his name would violate his First Amendment right.

The justices agreed with Washoe District Court Judge David Hardy’s ruling on Aug. 8, 2024, that said spying is not a protected right.

Leading up to the 2022 election, McNeely attached GPS trackers on Schieve’s and Hartung’s personal vehicles.

After the device was found on Schieve’s vehicle in December 2022, she sued.

A police investigation showed McNeely also tracked Hartung.

For KOLO TV’s previous coverage on this case, click here.

Copyright 2025 KOLO. All rights reserved.

• Reno’s metro area population grew by 8,124 residents, becoming the 101st largest in the U.S.
• Las Vegas remains the 29th largest metro area, adding 44,586 residents.
• The fastest-growing metro areas are primarily located in the South, particularly in Florida, South Carolina and Texas.

The Reno metropolitan statistical area grew by 8,124 residents between July 1, 2023, and July 1, 2024, according to the latest estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The latest estimates now put the area’s population at 575,100 residents. That figure pushed the Reno area past the metro areas of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and Portland, Maine, to be the 101st-largest metro area in the United States.

About one out of every six Nevadans lives in the Reno metro area, which is comprised of Washoe and Storey counties. The region represents about 17.6% of the state’s population.

Reno-Sparks has added an estimated 25,285 residents since the 2020 census — a 4.6% increase. Overall, the U.S. grew by 2.6% during that same span.

Las Vegas metro continues population boom

Southern Nevada’s Las Vegas metro area held fast as the 29th-largest metro area in the country following an estimated 44,586-resident increase during the year. Its population now stands at 2,398,871. That puts it just ahead of the Cincinnati and Kansas City metro areas and just behind the Pittsburgh and Sacramento metro areas.

Las Vegas’ metro area is comprised of all of Clark County and includes Las Vegas, Henderson and North Las Vegas, as well as the unincorporated town of Paradise along the Las Vegas Strip.

Since the 2020 census, the Las Vegas metro area has added more than 132,000 residents for a growth rate of 5.8%.

Carson City population stays flat

The population of Carson City, the smallest metro area in the U.S. as defined by the Census Bureau, remained essentially flat at No. 387. The city’s population dropped by an estimated 78 to 58,148.

Since the 2020 census, Carson City’s population has fallen an estimated 494 residents.

The city was recently named one of the top retirement spots in the Western U.S. by Travel and Leisure magazine.

Fastest-growing metros located in the South

While the Las Vegas area grew at a healthy 1.9% in the past year and the Reno area tacked on 1.4%, the most rapid growth in the country was centered on metros in the American South, with four Florida metros, two South Carolina metros and two Texas metros landing in the top 10. The top growth rates from July 2023 to June 2024 were:

1. 4.0%: Ocala, Florida, metro area
2. 3.8%: Panama City, Florida, metro area
3. 3.8%: Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, metro area
4. 3.5%: Lakeland-Winter Haven, Florida, metro area
5. 3.0%: Provo-Orem-Lehi, Utah, metro area
6. 3.0%: Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, Alabama, metro area
7. 2.9%: Port St. Lucie, Florida, metro area
8. 2.8%: Midland, Texas, metro area
9. 2.8%: Odessa, Texas, metro area
10. 2.7%: Spartanburg, South Carolina, metro area

The metro areas that added the most residents from July 2023 to June 2024 were:

1. New York metro area, 213,403
2. Houston metro area, 198,171
3. Dallas metro area, 177,922
4. Miami metro area, 123,471
5. Washington, D.C., area, 90,608
6. Phoenix metro area, 84,938
7. Orlando metro area, 75,969
8. Atlanta metro area, 75,134
9. Chicago metro area, 70,762
10. Seattle metro area, 66,666