Las Vegas council told about federal and state legislative issues that may affect city

A slew of upcoming federal and state legislative issues are likely to affect Las Vegas — from sanctuary city status and public lands to property taxes and public records — and the city is hoping any forthcoming regulations sway in its favor.

City Council members heard Wednesday about the array of topics lawmakers in both Washington and Carson City are expected to take up that could affect Las Vegas.

Las Vegas isn’t a designated sanctuary city, but multiple bills have been introduced that define sanctuary in different ways.

“If they change the definition, that may capture us somehow in a very broad definition,” said lobbyist Victoria Cram, who advocates for Las Vegas issues in Washington. “We’re keeping a very close eye on that.”

The sanctuary city issue has gotten more heated with President-elect Donald Trump’s strict immigration proposals, with some cities and public universities declaring themselves sanctuaries in response.

The City Council hasn’t voted on a sanctuary city designation, but council members said they’ve heard Las Vegas referred to as a sanctuary city at times.

Yucca Mountain, urban area security initiatives, public lands, municipal bonds, transportation and infrastructure and tax reform are among the federal issues.

With President-elect Trump’s continued calls during his campaign to get rid of a number of federal regulations, Councilman Stavros Anthony said it could be a good time to compile the regulations that hinder how the city and its residents do business, and lobby for those to be changed or abolished.

Councilwoman Lois Tarkanian questioned whether the turbulent political climate would mean the city has a hard time getting an audience for its requests.

“My concern is they won’t even pay attention to us,” Tarkanian said.

Many of the priority topics for the 2017 state Legislature are the same as they were for the last session, Government Affairs Officer Kelly Martinez said.

Among the priority topics: annexation, body cameras for police officers, business licensing, collective bargaining, marijuana policy, property taxes, public records, transportation, infrastructure and elections and voter registration.

Contact Jamie Munks at jmunks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0340. Find @JamieMunksRJ on Twitter.