The Nevada Conservation League (NCL) is an organization that works for everyone in the state when it comes to environmental issues. I am fortunate to be a member of the board of directors for both the Nevada Conservation League and the Nevada Conservation League Education Fund. It is one more way I get to practice the art of Green Living. As Nevada’s leading environmental advocacy organization, NCL fights to protect our community’s air, water, wildlife and promote a clean energy economy. Through strategic planning, effective communication with policymakers and collaboration with a diverse group of community partners, NCL has a major impact on Nevada.
One important way that NCL makes a difference is to hold our state’s elected officials accountable by tracking their votes and publishing the results in a Conservation Scorecard. Nevada’s most recent legislative session was a huge success for environmental issues and the scorecard will help tell the story. The next version of the scorecard will be released soon. Here are details about it:
Nevada Conservation League Releases 2013 Legislative Scorecard,
Names Legislators of the Year
State legislators receive a glowing report card on environmental issues
With a legislative session that saw the end of coal in Nevada and the passage of a record number of pro-conservation bills, it’s no surprise that the environmental community gave lawmakers high marks for their work in Carson City this year. Expect to see high scores when the Nevada Conservation League (NCL), the state’s leading environmental advocacy group, releases its 2013 Conservation Scorecard on September 30th.
After each Legislative Session, NCL sits down to analyze how state legislators voted on various environmental bills. The organization releases its findings, including the final score assigned to each senator and assembly member on the basis of their environmental voting record in the Conservation Scorecard. NCL also uses the occasion to evaluate the Governor’s performance on conservation issues.
Average scores for both the Assembly and the Senate rose sharply this year. The Assembly average was 85%, compared to 73.8% in the 2011 Scorecard. The Senate’s average score went up even more dramatically, climbing to 91.4% from their 2011 average of 70.6%. Kyle Davis, NCL’s Political Director, says the dramatic increase demonstrates that more legislators are taking environmental considerations into account for their votes across the board. “Each bill has the same weight when we compute the score – there’s no extra credit,” said Davis. “The score averages are up because there were more pro-conservation votes. It’s a very good sign.”
Legislators of the Year
In the Scorecard, NCL names Senator Aaron Ford and Assemblyman Richard Carrillo as Legislators of the Year. They both earned stellar voting records on environmental issues, but it takes more than that to receive the honor, according to Davis. “Both Senator Ford and Assemblyman Carrillo went above and beyond for the environment,” he said. “They showed real leadership on priority issues.”
This is the sixth edition of the Conservation Scorecard. NCL’s Executive Director, April Mastroluca, points out that, with its non-partisan system for evaluating legislators’ records, the Scorecard has been an important tool for the environmental community.
“Environmental issues tend to have global consequences, and it can be hard for people who care about those issues to understand what a big impact the state legislature can have,” she said. “Through the work of the Nevada Conservation League and this Scorecard, Nevadans are starting to realize that effective state regulations are crucial, whether you want to put solar panels on your house, protect your drinking water, or make sure that your favorite hiking spot doesn’t become a highway.”
Celebrate the Official Release of the 2013 Scorecard
You are invited to join the celebration of the release of the 2013 Conservation Scorecard and to honor our 2013 Legislators of the Year. There will be events in both Las Vegas and Reno as detailed in the Conservation Scorecard Invitation (PDF). Your RSVP is requested and tickets will be $35 at the door.
Check out the Nevada Conservation League Facebook page for more information on the Conservation Scorecard.
Download a copy of the 2013 Nevada Legislative Scorecardard (once it has been released) to see how well your legislators did. You may also contact the Nevada Conservation League at [email protected] or by calling 702-505-9477.