Laxalt to Pahrump: I enjoy being your attorney general

Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt told Pahrump that he enjoys his role.

Laxalt stopped in Pahrump as part of his “AG for a Day” statewide tour on Wednesday afternoon. Several members representing various divisions in his office accompanied him to the meeting.

“First, I just want to say how much I enjoy being your attorney general,” Laxalt said in his opening remarks. “Hope you can tell from all the activities at our office how seriously we take our job and how seriously I took the commitment that we would make this office work harder, more efficiently, and do a lot more things that I thought we were capable of doing with this large statewide office of 400 employees.”

Laxalt followed a tradition set by his grandfather and then-Gov. Paul Laxalt, who created his “Capital for a Day” tour in 1968 and traveled the state with members of his cabinet to identify and address issues of concern.

“I stole this idea from my grandfather, who did this in the late 60s when he was governor of the state. He took state government county by county to try to make sure that Carson City was being more responsive to our local communities,” he told a small group of Pahrump residents and officials.

During the meeting, Laxalt touched on some of his initiatives since he took the office. He said his office came up with funds to test the backlogged sexual assault kits and created a military legal assistance program.

“When we launched (a military legal assistance program) in November, in less than a year, we were able to put together a program where each branch of our armed service signed off. … Launched the program in November and we’ve now served over 300 service members and their families in under a year. So, we are incredibly proud of that program,” he said.

He also mentioned his solicitor general’s office.

“When I got into office, there was no solicitor general’s office; there was no personnel that was waking up trying to defend the state of Nevada and our economy and our jobs from federal overreach,” he said.

Laxalt criticized the Bureau of Land Management’s initiatives to protect sage grouse, which would impose new land use regulations on mining, oil and gas industries.

He also reiterated his opposition to President’s Barack Obama’s executive actions on immigration. After taking the office in January 2015, Laxalt had Nevada join 25 other states that challenged Obama’s executive order to protect millions of illegal people from deportation.

Members of Laxalt’s office took turns addressing the audience.

Chief of Investigations Rod Swanson said the attorney general’s office has been instrumental in tackling the guardianship and elder exploitation issue.

“One of the biggest problems that is out there and attracts every jurisdiction around the state deals with guardianship and elder exploitation. That’s a very serious issue and it’s a national issue, but it’s a significant issue here in Nevada,” Swanson said.

“Any complaint or allegation regarding a guardianship matter or exploitation of an elderly person, those are the points (that) have to be filed in a jurisdiction where the abuse is occurring or has occurred. Then, it’s up to local jurisdiction law enforcement and the county DA’s office to investigate and prosecute those issues. But the attorney general’s office has resources that are available to assist local jurisdictions in getting those things done. All they have to do is reach out and ask for help.”

Other members of Laxalt’s office talked to the audience about phony IRS inquiries and other scams, Nevada’s Open Meeting Law, and domestic violence.

Contact reporter Daria Sokolova at dsokolova@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @dariasokolova77