CARSON CITY, Nev. — Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval acknowledges he faces a challenge getting his lofty plans for a $1.1 billion tax increase and a major expansion of education programs through the Legislature.
It’s a bold agenda for a state that has consistently rejected moves to add money to its education system, has one of the lowest high school graduation rates in the nation and ranks near the bottom in per-pupil funding.
But University of Nevada, Las Vegas political science professor David Damore says widespread Republican wins that gave Sandoval GOP majorities in both houses in the Legislature, a rebounding state economy and the political capital the popular governor accumulated through his first term combine to give him a chance to make his mark.
Sandoval’s ambitious proposals drew the ire of anti-tax conservatives, who condemned them as job killers and a breach of trust.
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