When I worked in the campaign world, Labor Day often marked the unofficial beginning of the Get Out the Vote campaign. By then, the final plans were being put in place, volunteers were being mobilized, and campaigns were building the capacity needed for the final push toward Election Day.

In the legislative world, the beginning of September starts a different kind of countdown.

As August comes to a close, Nevada’s interim committees are beginning to wrap up their work. Bill Draft Requests are being developed, voters and candidates are preparing for the midterm elections, and the 84th Session of the Nevada Legislature will convene in February 2027.

That might sound like a long way away, but the work has already begun.

Throughout the interim, legislators have been meeting in committees, hearing presentations, studying policy and beginning to develop the Bill Draft Requests (BDRs) that will eventually become legislation.

Lutheran Engagement and Advocacy in Nevada (LEAN) has been following that work, along with developments across our state, to identify some of the issues that could become important during the 2027 Legislative Session.

This isn’t our final legislative agenda. There are still months to go, hundreds of bills have yet to be written, and Nevada will undoubtedly surprise us.

Housing Affordability

Housing continues to be one of the biggest challenges facing our neighbors.

Nevada made significant investments in housing during the 2025 Legislative Session and special session. That was important progress.

But building more housing doesn’t automatically make housing affordable.

As rents, home prices, insurance, utilities and other costs continue to increase, Nevada must wrestle with another question: Who can actually afford to live here?

LEAN will be watching senior rent stabilization, tenant fees and transparency, eviction protections, affordable-housing funding, supportive housing and homelessness, manufactured housing, zoning and ADUs, institutional and out-of-state investors, and implementation of Nevada’s 2025 housing package.

Housing is more than an investment or economic commodity.

It is where we sleep, raise our families, care for one another and build community.

Nevada doesn’t just need more housing. We need housing our neighbors can afford.

Hunger and Food Insecurity

Housing isn’t the only part of Nevada’s affordability crisis.

When rent, utilities, child care and health-care costs increase, food is often one of the few expenses families can reduce.

That makes hunger an affordability issue.

Changes to federal SNAP policy are also creating new challenges for Nevada. Changes involving eligibility, work requirements, administrative costs and the sharing of SNAP costs between federal and state governments could have significant consequences for Nevada families and our state budget.

LEAN will be watching SNAP access and implementation, school meals, summer food programs, food banks and pantries, nutrition access in rural and Tribal communities, local food systems and the growing connections between hunger, housing and household affordability.

Our congregations know this issue.

We see our neighbors at food pantries, community meals and ministries across Nevada.

Charity matters. But we cannot food-drive our way out of hunger.

What does it say about our priorities when our neighbors must choose between groceries, rent, medicine and keeping the electricity on?

Health Care and Maternal Health

Health-care access is also becoming an increasingly important issue.

The recent announcement that Henderson Hospital will end maternity and NICU services comes while Nevada already struggles with maternity-care deserts and health-care workforce shortages, particularly in rural communities.

Where you live should not determine whether you can safely have a baby or receive basic health care.

LEAN will be watching potential maternal health “momnibus” legislation, Medicaid reimbursement and coverage, child-welfare funding, children’s behavioral health, workforce shortages, rural health, insurance affordability and Nevada’s public-health infrastructure.

We will continue asking a simple question:

Can our neighbors actually get the care they need?

Data Centers, Energy and Affordability

Nevada’s rapidly growing data-center industry is becoming much more than a technology issue.

It is an energy issue.

It is a water issue.

It is a tax issue.

And increasingly, it is an affordability issue.

Data centers promise jobs and economic investment, but their enormous electricity and infrastructure needs raise questions about who pays for that growth.

LEAN will be watching data-center tax abatements, utility infrastructure costs, residential ratepayer protections, NV Energy demand charges, renewable-energy requirements, water consumption, local control, community-benefit agreements and utility wildfire liability.

Economic development can be good for Nevada.

But economic development should also be good for Nevadans.

Who receives the benefits of Nevada’s growth, and who is being asked to pay for it?

Water and the Colorado River

Nevada is a desert.

Water has always mattered here, but the Colorado River situation is making the conversation increasingly urgent.

Nevada, Arizona and California face difficult decisions as demand for Colorado River water continues to collide with a shrinking supply.

Water also connects almost every other issue on this list.

Housing needs water.

Agriculture needs water.

Businesses need water.

Data centers need water.

Our communities and ecosystems need water.

As Nevada confronts these choices, LEAN will continue asking:

Who bears the burden when a scarce common resource becomes even scarcer?

Creation Care

Water is only one part of our responsibility to care for creation.

Nevada’s public lands, wildlife, growing communities, energy needs, extreme heat and wildfire risks mean environmental stewardship will remain an important part of the 2027 conversation.

LEAN will watch public-land policy, proposals involving the sale or transfer of federal lands, wildfire prevention and recovery, extreme heat, renewable-energy development, environmental impacts of data centers, groundwater, wildlife habitat, climate resilience and environmental justice.

Growth and stewardship do not always have to be enemies.

But growth requires us to think beyond the immediate economic benefit.

What responsibilities do we have to our neighbors, to the land and water entrusted to our care, and to generations who will inherit the Nevada we leave behind?

Public Education

Nevada made historic investments in public education beginning in 2023.

Now another conversation is beginning.

What should Nevada expect from that investment?

LEAN will be watching district accountability, teacher recruitment and retention, literacy, chronic absenteeism, the Pupil-Centered Funding Plan, special education, school choice and Opportunity Scholarships, charter schools, early childhood education and declining enrollment.

Accountability matters.

But accountability should help students and schools succeed, not simply punish communities that are already struggling.

So instead of only asking:

How much are we spending?

or

What results are we getting?

LEAN also wants to ask:

Are Nevada’s children receiving the resources and opportunities they need to flourish?

Criminal Justice

Public safety matters.

Accountability matters.

But justice must also leave room for rehabilitation, restoration and the possibility that people can rebuild their lives.

Nevada’s criminal justice system affects more than the person who is incarcerated. It affects children, spouses, employers, victims and entire communities.

LEAN will be watching sentencing and criminal-justice reform, prison and detention conditions, reentry services, housing and employment after incarceration, behavioral health and substance-use treatment, juvenile justice, diversion programs, public defense, fines and fees, educational opportunities, victim services and restorative justice.

We can hold people accountable for harm while still recognizing their human dignity.

The question isn’t simply:

How do we punish wrongdoing?

It is also:

How do we prevent harm, restore communities and help people build a different future?

Immigration and Welcoming Communities

Immigration policy is largely determined by the federal government.

But federal immigration decisions are experienced locally.

They affect Nevada families, workplaces, schools, congregations and communities.

Changes involving immigration enforcement, Temporary Protected Status, humanitarian protections and detention have consequences for people who have sometimes lived, worked, worshiped, paid taxes and raised families in our communities for years.

LEAN will watch state and local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, protections for immigrant families, access to services, language access, workplace protections, detention conditions, legal services, refugee resettlement and the Nevada impacts of changes to federal humanitarian programs.

Lutherans have a long history of accompanying refugees, immigrants and displaced people.

That history continues to shape our advocacy.

How do we welcome our neighbor and protect human dignity in a rapidly changing immigration landscape?

Voting Rights and Democracy

Democracy will also return to the Legislature in 2027.

Interim committees are already considering proposals involving election administration, ballot processing and the relationship between state and federal authority over Nevada elections.

There is also unfinished business involving proposed constitutional protections for Nevada’s mail-ballot laws that could return to lawmakers.

LEAN will watch mail voting, ballot processing, voter access, election-worker protections, Tribal voting access, drop boxes and other proposals affecting how Nevadans participate in our democracy.

Our commitment isn’t to a political party or candidate.

LEAN is nonpartisan.

But nonpartisan does not mean disengaged.

Our democracy is stronger when our neighbors can participate, when voting is accessible and when people can trust the systems administering our elections.

Economic Justice and Nevada’s Budget

Finally, underneath almost everything on this list is money.

Housing requires investment.

Schools require investment.

Medicaid requires investment.

Behavioral health requires investment.

Food assistance requires investment.

Water infrastructure requires investment.

And eventually every policy conversation reaches the same question:

How are we going to pay for it?

LEAN will be watching Nevada’s budget, revenue projections, corporate tax incentives and abatements, wages, worker protections, paid leave, unemployment, household affordability and how state resources are distributed.

Budgets are more than spreadsheets.

They tell a story about priorities.

When Nevada provides a tax incentive, cuts a program or makes a new investment, we are making choices about what — and whom — we value.

That makes the state budget a moral document as much as a financial one.

LEAN Into 2027

This list will change.

Some issues will become major legislative fights. Others may disappear before February. New issues will emerge that aren’t even on our radar today.

That’s why LEAN will continue following Nevada’s interim committees, BDRs, state agencies, community partners and developments across our state.

And throughout the 2027 Legislative Session, we will try to do what we always do:

Learn. Listen. Ask questions. Show up.

Our advocacy isn’t about telling everyone how to vote or pretending every complicated policy question has an easy answer.

It is about bringing our Lutheran voice into the public square and asking how the decisions made in Carson City affect our neighbors — particularly those whose voices are too easily overlooked.

The Legislature doesn’t begin until February.

But faithful advocacy doesn’t begin when the first gavel falls.

It begins now.

The federal government has announced a new plan for managing the Colorado River, and beginning in 2027, Nevada, Arizona, and California will be required to use less water.

For Nevada, that means a reduction of 50,000 acre-feet of Colorado River water each year in 2027 and 2028.

Nevada already receives the smallest share of Colorado River water among the seven basin states, just 300,000 acre-feet annually. And while Nevada has become a national leader in water conservation and reuse, the larger reality remains:

There is less water in the Colorado River system than communities have historically planned around.

That raises some important questions for Nevada.

• How do we continue building desperately needed housing while protecting our limited water resources?
• What should we expect from water-intensive industries and new development?
• How do we ensure conservation doesn’t disproportionately burden low-income families?
• How do we respect Tribal water rights and sovereignty?
• And how do all seven Colorado River Basin states share responsibility for protecting a river millions of people depend upon?

These questions are especially important as Nevada continues conversations about rapid growth, data centers, housing, energy production, agriculture, and development across our state.

For people of faith, water is more than a commodity.

Water sustains life.

Water connects communities.

Water reminds us that creation is not simply something to consume, but something entrusted to our care.

Nevada has recently decided to sue the Federal Government.

As Nevada looks toward the 2027, LEAN will continue following the intersection between water, development, affordability, and care for creation. Nevadas response and advocating for policy positions that are aligned with Caring for Creation: Vision, Hope, and Justice.

Because the question isn’t simply how much water Nevada gets.

It is also:

How do we faithfully and equitably share what we have?

If you are watching television in Nevada right now, you have probably seen the campaign ads.

One ad tells us what Joe Lombardo has done for education. Another reminds us that Aaron Ford was a teacher and supports public education.

But campaign ads are not always the most reliable way to understand public policy.

So instead of focusing on the ads, LEAN wanted to take a closer look at what Nevada has actually done.

During the 2025 Legislative Session, Nevada passed one of the largest education overhauls in state history. Senate Bill 460, an omnibus education bill nearly 200 pages long, made sweeping changes to public education, from literacy and teacher recruitment to school choice, governance and accountability.

A year later, Nevada is reaching an important next step.

Beginning this month, the Nevada Department of Education is piloting a new framework for evaluating the performance of entire school districts, not just individual schools.

The idea is to identify problems earlier.

Is a district financially stable?
Can it recruit and retain enough teachers?
Is its leadership effective?
Most importantly, are students succeeding?

Eventually, districts that continue to struggle could face increasing levels of state intervention and oversight. But the full system is not expected to be in place until at least 2028 or 2029.

For Lutheran Engagement and Advocacy in Nevada, this raises an important question:

What does meaningful accountability look like?

Accountability matters. Nevada families deserve strong public schools, qualified educators, responsible leadership, and systems that help every child thrive.

But accountability cannot simply mean identifying which schools and districts are struggling.

We also have to ask why they are struggling.

Teacher shortages, poverty, housing instability, chronic absenteeism, special education needs, transportation challenges, and the realities facing rural communities all affect what happens in a classroom.

As Nevada continues implementing SB 460 and prepares for the 2027 Legislative Session, LEAN will be watching closely.

Will Nevada’s new accountability system simply identify which districts are struggling—or will we also invest in the educators, resources, families, and communities necessary to help them succeed?

Public education is about more than numbers on a dashboard.

It is about Nevada’s children, families, educators, and the future of our communities.

Data centers and energy costs: 

Ford supports requiring data centers to provide their own power so their energy demands do not increase costs for residential ratepayers. He recently announced a new policy on data centers.

Lombardo did not give a direct yes/no answer, arguing Nevada already has mechanisms through the PUC and economic-development incentives to protect ratepayers. 

Education funding: 

Ford supports bringing Nevada’s per-pupil funding to the national average, an estimated $2 billion increase, but says he would do it without raising taxes.

Lombardo has not committed to reaching the national average and says future proposals depend partly on state revenue projections.

Both support retaining third graders who do not meet reading-proficiency requirements, though Ford says adjustments could be considered. 

Housing: 

Ford supports limiting corporate purchases of single-family homes and targeting predatory landlords.

Lombardo has not directly endorsed a numerical state cap; he vetoed a corporate-purchase cap in 2023 and has since discussed other approaches to corporate ownership.

Voting: 

Lombardo supports requiring photo identification to vote.

Ford opposes the requirement, arguing there is insufficient evidence of voter fraud to justify adding another requirement.

Editiorial note: Nevada voters approved the constitutional voter-ID question in 2024, and it must pass again in November 2026 to take effect.

Criminal justice: 

Lombardo favors lowering Nevada’s felony-theft threshold from $1,200 to $750 and supports retaining the death penalty.

Ford supports keeping the $1,200 threshold and says he would sign legislation repealing the death penalty.

Resources Used:

The Nevada Independent

Joe Lombardo

Aaron Ford

As Nevada experiences the contained growth in data center proposals, one question deserves more attention:

A new investigation by The Nevada Independent found that several companies are seeking zoning changes, permits, and other approvals while holding only purchase options or agreements, not ownership of the land itself.

This raises important questions for communities across Nevada.

When counties approve projects before a developer has made a long-term commitment, local governments may begin planning for roads, utilities, emergency services, and other infrastructure without knowing whether the project will ultimately move forward. It also opens the door for development approvals to become assets that can later be transferred or sold.

As people of faith, we believe stewardship means carefully considering how land, water, energy, and public resources are used. Decisions of this scale should be guided by transparency, accountability, and meaningful public participation.

Nevada’s rapid data center expansion is reshaping our state. That makes it all the more important that our policies keep pace—ensuring communities have a voice, public resources are protected, and development serves the common good rather than speculation.

Thoughtful planning today will help ensure Nevada’s future is both innovative and sustainable.