Assembly Republican Caucus requests Sisolak reopen state’s economy

Robert Perea, The Fernley Reporter

A week ago, the Nevada Assembly Republican Caucus sent Governor Steve Sisolak a list of recommended steps toward opening the state’s economy.

Wednesday, the group urged him to begin to act.

In a letter to Sisolak dated Wednesday, the group of Assembly Republicans told Sisolak “the time has come to start getting Nevadans safely back to work.”

The lawmakers argued that many businesses will be forced to permanently close if clearly communicated steps are not taken to safely and systematically re-open all businesses. They also urged Sisolak to allow rural counties to open at a swifter rate and to work with county commissioners and local government officials to optimize county resources.

“If the small business owners and their employees are not allowed to get back to work soon, our economy will never recover,” said Assemblyman Glen Leavitt.

The letter laid out three steps the Assembly Republicans said the governor should consider.

• Hire additional call center staff that are trained to answer both general and specific questions about Nevada’s unemployment laws and policies.
• Temporarily transfer state employees or alter their job functions to assist with unemployment claims.
• Lift restrictions to allow more Nevadan’s to qualify for unemployment and create policies that allow businesses to hire and retain more employees.

“In addition to these steps, the best way to help the 24% of Nevadans who have filed for unemployment is to safely get people back to work as quickly as possible,” the lawmakers wrote.

 Republican Assembly Leader Dr. Robin Titus, who is a doctor in Smith Valley and is Lyon County’s Health Officer, warned of a “second health care crisis” to come.

“Practices and hospitals have been economically overwhelmed because they have not been able to treat most patients outside of those affected by the COVID-19 resulting in a major departure of normal revenue streams for our healthcare providers,” Titus said. “Many of those private practices are going to be forced to shut down, further straining our already vulnerable healthcare system and patient access to care. We are about to have a new emergency on our hands.”

Sisolak has said he will be unveiling his plan to re-open the economy on Thursday.