Legislature Launches New Web Tool to Track Session

by BRANDON RITTIMAN - February 7, 2011

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Legislature Launches New Web Tool to Track Session

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Nevada Legislature

Full legislature coverage at SessionAccess.org

The latest way you can track developments in Carson City is a web-based program called "NELIS" (no association with the air force base.)

NELIS stands for "Nevada Electronic Legislative Information System."

Click here to go the NELIS tool online.

Lorne Malkiewich, who heads the nonpartisan staff for lawmakers, says it's the next step in making the people's branch more transparent.

Malkiewich: "Anything you ever wanted to know about the legislature is on our website somewhere, but what this will allow you to do is track specifically what you are looking for."

NELIS is modeled after a similar web tool used in Washington State.

It allows you to track bills and the working committees of the legislature and see the supporting materials handed to the lawmakers- something you couldn't get online before.

So if you're watching a meeting through the live web streams and the chairman asks everybody to look at page 22, you can look at it too from home on your computer.

It was actually designed to reduce the amount of paperwork lawmakers have to deal with. And it puts all that material they get into a central place.

Malkiewich: "The nice thing about it though is that all these benefits that are available to the legislators are available to the public as well."