01 Jun Statement on Governor Lombardo’s Signing Education and State Government Budgets
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 31, 2023
Contact: Amber Falgout, afalgout@battlebornprogress.
Statement on Governor Lombardo’s Signing Education and State Government Budgets
Carson City, Nev. — Today, with five days left of the 82nd Legislative Session and after days of delay, Governor Lombardo signed Senate Bill 503, the education budget for the state of Nevada through 2025. The budget will provide nearly $12 billion in K-12 education spending. He also signed Senate Bill 504 to fund state government.
On the signing, Annette Magnus, Executive Director of Battle Born Progress, released the following statement:
“We are encouraged that Governor Lombardo decided to sign Senate Bill 503 to fund our education systems through 2025.
By signing this budget into law, Governor Lombardo has chosen to prioritize our state’s students over political squabbles. We are also grateful to our state’s hardworking legislators, including Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro and Speaker Steve Yeager, Chair Marilyn Dondero Loop of the Senate Finance Committee, and Chair Daniele Monroe-Moreno of the Assembly Ways and Means Committee.
This education budget will enable our schools to ensure every student has the opportunity to succeed in the state of Nevada, prioritizing student outcomes and teacher retention. With a 29 percent increase in per-pupil spending and $2 billion in new funding for the state’s public schools, our legislators fought hard to create a budget that reflects the importance of education for the future of our state.
Signing this budget is an important step forward for our state’s students over the next biennium, and we are glad that Governor Lombardo has opted to support the legislature’s education budget. There are still many critical bills awaiting the Governor’s signature, including the priorities we and our partner organizations have fought so hard for this legislative session. We expect the Governor to continue to work with the Legislature on bills that are important to Nevadans and sign them into law.
We are also happy to see Senate Bill 504 signed to fund Nevada’s government. Our agencies and state employees that make our state run can now focus on moving forward with a new budget for the next two years.”
In addition to these budget bills, Governor Lombardo also signed into law SB153, which would provide for rules and regulations to protect trans people who are incarcerated, SB351 to prevent extra regulations for a visitor to a correctional facility who has a felony conviction to be treated differently than other visitors, SB354 to require Justices of the Peace to pass a Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam, and AB131 to create the Urban and Community Forestry Program. All of which are important priorities for our organization.