What the Guinn Center ACTUALLY Does for Nevada Policy with Jill Tolles

During each biennial session, Nevada's legislature processes up to 1,500 bills in just 120 days, yet 85 to 97 percent pass with bipartisan support — a statistic that contradicts nearly every national headline about political gridlock. Jill Tolles, former three-term Nevada Assembly member and current Executive Director of the Kenny Guinn Center for Policy Priorities, breaks down how nonpartisan policy research is quietly reshaping the way state lawmakers make decisions. Her perspective bridges the gap between lived legislative experience and rigorous, evidence-based analysis produced for both elected officials and the public.The conversation covers how the Guinn Center selects its research agenda through statewide surveys, legislative caucus meetings, and community policy forums — without ever lobbying for or against specific legislation. Tolles explains the center's methodology for hiring researchers driven by intellectual curiosity rather than ideological agendas, and how peer review teams of deliberate "rivals" ensure credibility across partisan lines. Host Kristopher Sanchez, Director of the Nevada Department of Business and Industry, draws parallels between the center's comparative state analysis and the questions his own agency faces during legislative testimony.Since Tolles took the helm in January 2023, the Guinn Center has published 50 policy reports spanning education, housing affordability, economic and fiscal policy, and governance. During the most recent legislative session, the center was cited 342 times in hearings, and 11 of its specific policy recommendations were enacted into law. An upcoming report on the legislative history of Nevada tax abatements signals the center's continued alignment with emerging interim committee priorities heading into the next session.The Guinn Center operates as a University of Nevada, Reno affiliate with partnerships extending to UNLV's Lied School of Real Estate, Boyd Law School, and the Center for Business and Economic Research — channeling academic expertise into Nevada-specific policy solutions available free at guinncenter.org.