Gansert: NPRI lawsuit is ‘meritless’

State Sen. Heidi Gansert said a lawsuit is “meritless” in its claim that she is violating Nevada’s separation-of-powers clause by working for a university and serving as a state legislator.

Nevada Policy Research Institute filed suit Tuesday saying Gansert, who is director of external relations for the University of Nevada, Reno, is in violation of the state constitution.

“The NPRI lawsuit is meritless,” Gansert said in a statement on Thursday. “I have been fully transparent in demonstrating that I have taken an unpaid leave of absence from the University to serve in the Legislature. Nevada has an unambiguous precedent of legislators taking time off from their jobs in higher education to serve the people of the state.”

Other lawmakers have come to Gansert’s defense, including, Sens. Joe Hardy and Becky Harris.

“Many of our legislators come from diverse backgrounds and industries, and Heidi has been reelected by the people to serve our great state,” Hardy said in a statement. “She is knowledgeable about much more than higher education and provides immense value to her constituents. We are grateful to have her again in the Legislature and I fully endorse her continuing to serve in her office as senator.”

Contact Natalie Bruzda at nbruzda@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3897. Follow @NatalieBruzda on Twitter.