Roberson on Sandoval’s education reforms, 2015 tax vote, gun safety
Democrats want to roll back Gov. Brian Sandoval’s education reforms, the commerce tax should stay in place and Nevada’s gun-safety laws were strengthened in 2015. That’s according to Sen. Michael Roberson, R-Henderson, who’s running for lieutenant governor in tandem with Republican attorney general Adam Laxalt. He made his comments while on Nevada Politics Today.
“There is no daylight between attorney general Laxalt and myself and Gov. Sandoval on continuing funding education at existing levels and continuing with the historic education reforms of 2015,” said Roberson. “As opposed to the Democrats on the other side, who would dismantle much of that.”
A portion of the funding for those programs came from the commerce tax, a gross receipts tax Sandoval and Roberson championed. Laxalt has said he opposes the tax. Roberson said he stands “behind all of my votes.” He disagreed with Sandoval’s previous assertion that repealing the commerce tax would hurt K-12 education.
“You’re talking about two different things,” said Roberson. “One is the rollback of a tax. The other is the reduction of funding for education.
“If we cut education by $300 or $400 million, that would not be good for our education system.
Both Adam Laxalt and I are pledging that we’ll see education funding levels stay consistent and be at least as much as they have been in the past going forward.”
Kate Marshall, the likely Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor, has attacked Roberson for his positions on gun control. Roberson, however, pointed out that he was the sponsor of a gun bill in 2015 “that provided more public safety protection around firearms than any time in the last decades.” Those reforms included outlawing straw purchasers and strengthening background checks by requiring government officials send reports of mental illness and criminal convictions to the central repository.
“That’s more than my opponent has done in your lifetime or mine,” said Roberson. He noted that his reforms earned support from “the NRA and also Everytown. I’ve been the one guy to bring both sides of this debate together to increase public safety around firearms in this state while at the same time protecting the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Nevadans.”
Roberson said he supported the recalls run against Democratic Sens. Joyce Woodhouse and Nicole Cannizzaro.
“I will tell you that what has occurred this year is historic,” said Roberson. “There has never been a legislator have a recall qualified against them. We’ve had two this year against these Senate Democrats. I think it’s a reflection of the fact that voters are fed up with the most anti-business, pro-felon legislative session run by Democrats.”
Roberson also said he didn’t support Department of Education regulations on transgender students that would mandate teachers and students use a student’s preferred pronoun.
“These regulations go way beyond Senate Bill 225, which was passed last session,” said Roberson. “I’m going to work to try and make sure these regulations don’t go into effect in this form.”
What’s happening in California shows the need for a ballot initiative to prevent Nevada from becoming a sanctuary state, said Roberson. He’s helping to lead that effort. He’s also hoping for support from Sandoval.
“I would hope that he endorses both Adam Laxalt and me. I’ve certainly been supportive of him in the past.”
