Nevada’s chief officers disclose sponsored trips to foreign lands, Burning Man

Nevada’s constitutional officers journeyed to foreign lands and Burning Man last year for what they claim is better governance, state financial disclosure reports show.

Attorney General Aaron Ford, a Democrat, led the pack of six officers with $45,000 in travel expenses paid by outside groups. He went to South Africa, Poland, Israel and South Korea, trips sponsored primarily by the Attorney General Alliance (AGA), according to his financial disclosure report for 2023.

Trips with the AGA, whose members include U.S. states and territories, are essentially paid for by corporations and lobbyists, who then get an opportunity to rub elbows with officials who regulate their businesses, the Associated Press reported in August.

Companies that have picked up the bill and sent representatives in recent years have been from the pharmaceutical, auto, financial, online gaming and tech industries, among others, the AP reported.

Ford “makes decisions based on the impact they will have on the lives of Nevadans and these trips help him stay abreast of current or prospective issues or concerns that might affect the state,” John Sadler, the communications director for the Office of the Attorney General, wrote in an email to the Review-Journal. “There is nothing untoward occurring on these trips, and the AGA itself is an organization that helps facilitate necessary bipartisan cooperation in tackling issues that affect Americans across state lines.”

Ford, chair of the AGA, reported that the purpose of a $15,000 trip to South Africa sponsored by the AGA centered on “AI, gender violence, animal trafficking.” A $15,000 trip to Poland and Israel, also sponsored by the group, was to “study antisemitism & Palestinian issues.” The purpose of a $15,000 trip to South Korea, sponsored by the AGA and the Korea Foundation, was “intellectual property & Democracy issues.”

Nevada law requires filing the annual report disclosing gifts and meetings, events and travel paid for by outside groups.

Travel, tickets disclosed

Lt. Gov. Stavros Anthony, a Republican, traveled to Germany, Mexico and Greece — as well as Iowa and Illinois — at a cost of $15,000 paid by a variety of sponsors: the National Lieutenant Governors Association, Travel Nevada, the Hellenic Council and the Republican Lieutenant Governors Association, according to his disclosure report.

The American Hellenic Council is a non-partisan political advocacy organization with the stated goal of informing the American public and government about issues in southern Europe and the eastern Mediterranean, according to its website.

The purpose of the Mexico trip was listed as “tourism” and the rest as “informational.”

Most of the costs listed in the constitutional officers’ disclosure forms are not funded by tax dollars. However, Travel Nevada — a state agency promoting tourism that is funded by a lodging tax — paid for a $3,000 trip to Mexico for Anthony, who chairs the Nevada Commission on Tourism.

Meanwhile, Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar, a Democrat, stayed closer to home. He disclosed a $575 day visit to Burning Man, sponsored by organizers of the week-long counterculture event in the Nevada Black Rock Desert. The stated purpose was to learn about the festival.

Aguilar also disclosed an $875 ticket to the men’s semifinal of the U.S. Open Tennis Championships in New York City, provided by ESPN, to “visit a Nevada ESPN broadcaster.” He reported a total of $10,660 in meeting, event and trip expenses, primarily for government or charity dinners and events, as well as one ticket to a UNR football game and another to a UNLV game.

Controller Andy Matthews, a Republican, disclosed $2,060 for travel expenses for a public policy conference in Florida sponsored by Young Americans for Liberty, a libertarian student activism organization. He also reported $2,600 in travel expenses to public policy conferences in New Hampshire and Texas sponsored by the State Financial Officers Foundation, a conservative, free-market organization.

State Treasurer Zach Conine, a Democrat, disclosed $1,695 in travel expenses for a Vegas Chamber event in Washington, D.C. He disclosed $474 in travel expenses to speak on a conference panel in Seattle sponsored by the Washington CannaBusiness Association. He also reported as a gift a $650 ticket from Republic Services for event access to the Formula One race in Las Vegas last November.

Earlier this year, four Clark County commissioners confirmed to the Review-Journal that they had received a notice of investigation from the Nevada Commission on Ethics in connection with accepting F1 race tickets.

Gov. Joe Lombardo, a Republican, reported no sponsored events, meetings or travel and no gifts.

Contact Mary Hynes at mhynes@reviewjournal.com or at 702-383-0336. Follow @MaryHynes1 on X. Hynes is a member of the Review-Journal’s investigative team, focusing on reporting that holds leaders and agencies accountable and exposes wrongdoing.