The Nevada Policy Research Institute is a private non-profit, free-market and limited-government policy research organization based in Las Vegas, Nevada. NPRI seeks to promote private, rather than government solutions to issues facing Nevada and the western region of the United States.
History
In 1990, Judy Cresanta supported Soviet pro-democracy leaders educating them in the principles of the free market economy and free elections. The year after, in 1991, she founded the Nevada Policy Research Institute which addresses public problems through solutions that foster freedom and introducing new ways of problem solving in fields such as government spending, taxation, the restriction of union powers, federal ownership of state owned land as well as energy policy and education. Since 2013 the NPRI's "Solutions" publication for lawmakers has been published every two years. The NPRI supports lawmakers in an advisory capacity and through assessment of legislation. Their staff is often asked to give evidence before legislative committees. The national press relies on their advice and evaluations on breaking news and reports on their research, campaigns and litigation attempts. The Institute works towards an increased transparency in government publishing records of government employee compensation and retirement data on TransparentNevada.com and has successfully campaigned for public-sector workers and school district employees to make use of their opt-out rights of their union membership. This led to the inauguration of the National Employee Freedom Week successfully establishing priority of workers' rights over the preferences of the politically motivated unions. The Institute forged an alliance with more than 100 national and state-based organisations, including Mackinac Center for Public Policy, Buckeye Institute and The Heritage Foundation.
NPRI supports a balanced budget with controlled growth in government spending, such as a TABOR's or TASC amendment. NPRI claims Nevada's 2008-2009 budget deficit was the result of excessive growth in government spending. NPRI has also argued that Nevada's history as a low-tax state has been slowly eroded by a growing number of fees on Nevada's residents. NPRI opposes tax hikes on individual taxpayers and corporations within Nevada, including a tax hike on the gaming industry.
Labor issues
NPRI supports protecting secret ballot boxes and paycheck protection and opposes defined benefit plans for union and government workers.
LVCVA
On November 30, 2008 the Las VegasReview Journal published an article regarding some investigative journalism conducted by the Nevada Policy Research Institute on the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. According to NPRI's investigation it appears the LVCVA has an inappropriate relationship with a private marketing firm, R&R, that has overbilled the LVCVA but the LVCVA has never attempted to ''recoup these losses. Through public records request NPRI found that the LVCVA not only knew about these irregularities but literally gave R&R the rubber stamp to approve expenditures above $5,000 without any oversight from the LVCVA. According to NPRI vice president, "In the days following the release of this project, multiple private investigators visited the institute's offices requesting our financial statements and claiming to be working for "the other side." Some of our board members have been approached with broad hints about retaliation if the institute's look into convention authority financing proceeds."
Assets
As of 2017 the Nevada Policy Research Institute had total assets of $580,617.
