JOBS AND THE ECONOMY
Melanie wants to make sure that all Nevadans have the ability to find good-paying jobs and that our economy is strong. Nevada was among the hardest hit of all states as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Melanie is committed to getting our workers and our businesses back on track. That’s why Melanie helped secure $100 million in grants to help Nevada’s small business weather the pandemic and come back stronger.
While Melanie is fighting to make sure our business sector recovers from the pandemic, she also wants to ensure that Nevada workers are able to come back prosperous as well. During the height of the pandemic, Melanie fought to cut red tape at DETR to help clear the backlog of unemployment claims and worked to establish a rental assistance fund for those struggling to make rent.
Most recently, Melanie helped pass legislation that granted frontline hospitality employees the right to return to their prior place of work at their previous level of employment, and in order of seniority, if they were laid off due to the pandemic.
Melanie understands that to protect Nevadans from boom and bust cycles in the future, it is critical that we continue to work to diversify Nevada’s economy. While tourism has been the economic driver in our state for many years, Melanie believes it’s important that we not rely solely on one industry to drive the state’s economy and job market. That’s why she will continue to fight to recruit more businesses to our state and create more good paying jobs in sectors outside the tourism industry.
Melanie knows that one of the best opportunities we have to create good-paying jobs and diversify our economy is to ensure Nevada continues to be a leader in the clean and renewable energy market. She will fight for Nevada to invest in wind, solar, and geothermal. In the last legislative session, Melanie voted for “Clean Energy for All” legislation in order to add necessary transmission lines to help achieve Nevada’s climate goals, and added Electric Vehicle charging infrastructure to ensure we have the ability to meet Governor Sisolak’s clean car program. This bill will also create jobs and invest in Nevada’s long term green industry future.
Melanie will always vote to protect Nevada’s business friendly climate to ensure we continue to attract new industries to the state while protecting the business community that’s already here. Melanie also understands that a strong workforce is key to that business friendly climate. That’s why she voted to increase the minimum wage to $12 an hour by 2024 and to provide five days of paid time off to Nevada employees. These measures not only provide benefits to Nevada workers, they also ensure we remain competitive with our neighboring states and maintain a strong workforce right here in Nevada.
Melanie understands that a strong economy is critical to our state’s future and success.