Elections · Nevada
Nevada Independent finds claim that Cannizzaro gave $26 million to her husband's client is inaccurate
A website linked to the Republican Attorneys General Association says the attorney general nominee steered $26 million to her husband's client. The Nevada Independent found the bill behind the claim was vetoed.
Listen to this brief · 4 min
Read aloud by an AI voice from the text below. Download MP3
What happened
The Nevada Independent has reviewed a claim that Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro gave $26 million in taxpayer dollars to a client of her husband. The outlet concluded that the claim is inaccurate and that Cannizzaro did not give her husband's client $26 million. Cannizzaro, a Democrat from Las Vegas, is her party's nominee for attorney general.
According to The Nevada Independent, the claim is featured on a new website linked to the Republican Attorneys General Association. The outlet published its review as a fact brief, a short check of a trending claim.
What the claim refers to
A 2023 bill on state worker raises
The Nevada Independent reported that the claim is based on a bill Cannizzaro sponsored in 2023. That bill would have provided about $25 million in raises to state worker unions. The unions included the Nevada Police Union and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 4041, known as AFSCME.
The family connection
Cannizzaro's husband, Nathan Ring, is a lawyer who has represented AFSCME, the outlet reported. That link is why the claim describes the union as her husband's client.
Why the claim does not hold up
The governor's veto
The central problem with the claim is that the bill never took effect. Gov. Joe Lombardo, a Republican, vetoed it, according to The Nevada Independent.
The arbitration deal behind the bill
The bill was intended to pay for an earlier arbitration agreement that the unions and the state had negotiated. The Nevada Independent reported that the Legislature never appropriated money for that agreement. The reason, according to the outlet, is that the deal came after the legislative session had ended.
A lawsuit that did not succeed
AFSCME, with Ring representing it, sued to force the state to fund the agreement. The outlet reported that the lawsuit failed.
How the fact check was produced
The Nevada Independent partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs, which the outlet describes as bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. The outlet said this brief responds to conversations about the claim. It also points readers to its published methodology for how it checks claims.
The dollar figures in the claim and in the outlet's description of the bill are not the same. The website cites $26 million, while The Nevada Independent described the vetoed bill as providing about $25 million in raises.
Readers can follow more statewide races in our election coverage, and can read how this site handles sourcing and attribution on our standards page.
What to watch next
- Cannizzaro's campaign as the Democratic nominee for Nevada attorney general, where claims about her 2023 legislative record are circulating.
- The new website linked to the Republican Attorneys General Association that featured the $26 million claim, which The Nevada Independent found inaccurate.
