Upon my first day as a State Senator, I will urge the governor to declare a state of emergency in Nevada due to the housing crisis. This may seem extreme, but it is necessary since this issue has gotten so incredibly out of hand. And let’s be honest, it is an emergency.

This will allow shelters to be approved at the state level, to prevent not-in-my-backyard obstruction of new shelters. We need to bring everyone everywhere inside so that all of our backyards can stay clean.

I also will work with community and religious based institutions on providing shelters within each of the communities in Nevada, and to approve the funding to get the job done.

I am an ardent supporter of the Housing First Initiative as a long-term answer to homelessness and this will include the state setting a target for 10% of rental units available in all communities to be voluntarily secured for this program. New incentives will be introduced in working with private landlords to lease housing to community organizations that will manage it using the scattered site model, to prevent the concentration of too many subsidized units in any one neighborhood.

I will also introduce new bond measures for the state to fund residential development. The bonds will be lent out to community organizations at a marginal profit to the state, for the acquisition and development of affordable housing.