A Bridge to Somewhere: Nevada’s Summit on Federal Priorities January 27, 2009 University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Purpose of Summit

 Summit was a follow-up to the UNLV Brookings Institution “Mountain Megas” Forum held in October 2008.

 Provided a more in-depth discussion of Nevada’s priorities for federal policy changes and/or funding in the areas of Transportation, Water, Health Care, Energy, Immigration, and Education.

Session Leader Transportation

Jacob Snow General Manager Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada

TRANSPORTATION

Modernize federal highway funding to reflect the changing fuel efficiency of new vehicles. The Federal Gasoline Tax does not generate sufficient funding and is not indexed to inflation. The formula also creates disincentives to mass transit.

TRANSPORTATION

A renewed commitment to maintain the integrity of the federal interstate system is needed. The system is vital to the nation’s economy, and declining revenues are making it difficult to keep up with the shifting population and goods movements in the western U.S.

TRANSPORTATION

The federal environmental process is cumbersome (up to 40 months for permits), lengthens the time it takes to construct a project, and increases the final cost. The process must be streamlined to allow communities to build projects faster and more economically.

TRANSPORTATION

Modernize federal funding for transit to promote innovative programs such as the Regional Transportation Commission’s ACE rapid transit system, which provides many of the benefits of a light rail system but does not qualify for the large funding that rail projects often receive.

TRANSPORTATION

Dedicated rights-of-way are needed to complete rail and bus projects and make them more efficient and appealing to users.

TRANSPORTATION

Federal investment in the expansion of high-speed rail is critical. High-speed rail is an option for connecting Las Vegas with Southern California and possibly Phoenix.

Session Leader Water

Kay Brothers Deputy General Manager of Engineering & Operations Southern Nevada Water Authority

WATER

Investment in the science and research of climate change is needed to provide information that can be downscaled and applied at regional levels and River Basins. Close coordination and specific direction at the national level is needed to avoid fragmentation and duplication.

WATER

Federal policymakers must discuss how adequate water supplies can be provided at national, regional, and local levels with stable funding mechanisms. A targeted assessment of the country’s water supply under new climatic conditions is needed.

WATER

Invest in new and existing infrastructure projects that will maintain current supplies and allow for inter-basin water transfers. Continue to support regional water conservation efforts in order to maximize water supplies.

Session Leaders Health Care

Maurizio Trevisan Executive Vice Chancellor and CEO Nevada Health Sciences System Marcia Turner Vice Chancellor for Operations & Chief Operating Officer Nevada Health Sciences System

HEALTH CARE

Increase Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) funding and revision to FMAP formulas.

Increase funding for State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).

HEALTH CARE

Increase funding for care of undocumented immigrants and change federal policies that force immigrants to emergency rooms, where care is most expensive.

Oppose potential reductions in Medicaid outpatient hospital service coverage.

HEALTH CARE

Support funding and policy changes to promote growth of Graduate Medical Education programs & oppose cuts to Indirect Medical Education funding.

Foster health research initiatives and funding for education and biomedical research facilities.

HEALTH CARE

Fund and promote health professional workforce education & development.

Provide incentives to health professionals to stay in Nevada and work in under-served areas of the state.

HEALTH CARE

Improve the disease surveillance system.

Fund programs/systems to monitor and improve quality of care in Nevada.

Develop electronic medical records systems throughout Nevada.

Session Leaders Energy

Tony Sanchez Corporate Senior Vice President of Public Policy & External Affairs NV Energy Oliver Hemmers Interim Director, Harry Reid Center for Environmental Studies Director, Office of Strategic Energy Programs

ENERGY

Secure Federal Stimulus Package funding for new renewable projects and improvements to the national transmission system. A new smart grid should be efficient, secure, reliable, and tie into new power lines to transmit from sources throughout Nevada and the nation.

ENERGY

Establish a one-stop permitting process for renewable development and associated transmission, including single agency review and specific timetables with attendant resources provided.

ENERGY

Provide ability to exchange production tax credits for investment tax credits on renewable projects, including long-term extension of geothermal and wind, similar to solar.

ENERGY

Increase energy efficiency efforts to reduce demand as well as increase supply.

Innovative energy policies (i.e., decoupling) are needed to ensure energy regulators reward companies for aggressive conservation plans and investments in renewable energy.

ENERGY

Develop Solar Thermal Energy Storage Technologies to allow for 24/7 operations and hydrogen production. A beam-down demonstration facility is needed for research and training.

ENERGY

Solar Hydrogen Generation Research shows promising results and needs to be further pursued, including a full-scale hydrogen production facility. Hydrogen fuel cell technologies that use less expensive materials and catalysts are important to creating a hydrogen economy.

ENERGY

Micro-Algae for carbon capture is a powerful approach for cleaning fossil energy producers. More research funding is needed to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere from industrial facilities and fossil fuel power plants.

Session Leaders Immigration

Thom Reilly Harrah’s Foundation Leticia Saucedo Associate Professor of Law & Co-Director, Immigration Clinic William S. Boyd School of Law

IMMIGRATION

Compensate state & local governments for impacts of public service provision (i.e., health, social and income maintenance programs) to Nevada’s immigrant populations.

IMMIGRATION

Remove time barriers that block legal permanent residents from medical and social services for their first 5 years in the country.

IMMIGRATION

Invest in education, especially English Language Learners programs, to assist immigrants and create pathways to upward mobility.

Increase number of H-1B visas for highly skilled workers graduating from universities.

IMMIGRATION

Fully reimburse state and local governments for costs associated with undocumented children in the foster care system per Section 235(d) of the Trafficking Victims Protection and Reauthorization Act of 2008, HR 7311.

IMMIGRATION

Enhance support for the enforcement of workplace protections regarding safety and hour-and-wages laws to ensure that immigrant workers have a full opportunity to succeed in the workforce.

IMMIGRATION

Pass the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act (DREAM Act) to provide achieving undocumented high school graduates the opportunity to earn permanent residency through completion of college education or military service.

Session Leaders Education

Walt Rulffes Superintendent Clark County School District Neal Smatresk Executive Vice President and Provost University of Nevada, Las Vegas

EDUCATION

Fund technology to provide electronic instruction when there is an insufficient supply of qualified teachers.

Fund programs to encourage entry into high demand teaching disciplines, perhaps coupled to regional service requirements.

EDUCATION

Retool and recruit college students trained in STEM disciplines to enter into fast-track pathways to P-16 teaching.

Jump start University/K-12 partnerships (e.g., FIRST Robotics competition) to expand into lower grade levels current college readiness programs like GEAR-UP and others.

EDUCATION

Promote STEM achievement and careers at lower grade levels (outreach programs, summer programs, dual enrollment programs, empowerment or charter schools etc.) .

Fund transformational research on overcoming math and science phobias.

EDUCATION

Promote entrepreneurship and innovation into more University programs and build R&D infrastructure for a more stable and diversified economy.

Create better community support structures to improve graduation rates and college-going rates (e.g., one-stop UNLV/CCSD outreach center, Mid-Town UNLV).

EDUCATION

Develop a database to measure skills gaps of entering college students in math and language, to feed the information back to school districts.

Place increased focus on funding for gifted education programs to motivate and retain highly skilled students.

EDUCATION

Provide financial aid and loan forgiveness programs to allow unemployed workers to retool their careers by entering and completing college.

Dedicate additional funding of unemployment benefits for education.

EDUCATION

Target UNLV/CCSD programs (perhaps as service requirements) to increase students’ awareness of career paths that are critical to our region (e.g., renewable energy, water, transportation, social systems, education, and the new demands of our destination city).

Next Steps

• Each of the intermountain states will hold forums like Nevada’s summit.

• Brookings Institution will coordinate a Spring 2009 meeting in Las Vegas of key opinion leaders and decision makers in the 5 states.

• The intent is to discuss and negotiate a common set of priorities for the intermountain region.