The industries that picked the regulators.
Nevada's regulatory boards — the Public Utilities Commission, the Gaming Control Board, the Gaming Commission — exist because lawmakers concluded that gambling, utilities, mining, and other industries are too dangerous to leave to themselves. Then we staffed those boards with the people the industries hired before, and want to hire again.
Public Utilities Commission of Nevada
Three commissioners regulate every electric, gas, water, and telecommunications rate in the state. NPE's regulatory-capture page documents the career arcs of all three currently sitting commissioners:
- Hayley Williamson — career arc, prior industry employment, post-PUC trajectory.
- Tammy Cordova — career arc, prior industry employment, post-PUC trajectory.
- Randy J. Brown — career arc, prior industry employment, post-PUC trajectory.
Nevada Gaming Control Board
The three-member board sets the day-to-day operating rules for every casino in the state. Its members historically include former casino operators, gaming-industry attorneys, and Strip-affiliated executives. Currently documented at NPE:
- Mike Dreitzer
- Judge George Assad (Ret.)
- Chandeni K. Sendall
Nevada Gaming Commission
The five-member commission has final say on every gaming license. Its members:
- Jennifer Togliatti
- Richard A. Schonfeld
- Brian Krolicki
- George Markantonis
- Abbi Silver
The full career arcs and industry connections for each are documented on the NPE regulatory-capture page.
The lobbyist-as-own-client-officer pattern
One specific capture mechanism deserves particular attention: a registered lobbyist who is also an officer of the corporation they represent. The lobbyist sits at the table arguing for "their client" — except they are also the corporate decision-maker on the other side of the same transaction. This is detector D3 (Adverse-Interest Representation) in our patterns taxonomy.
What "capture" means here
Capture is not bribery. It is selection bias compounded over decades. The regulated industries fund the candidates. The candidates appoint the board members. The board members were industry employees. The industry employees become board members. The board members rule on industry matters. The board members retire into industry consulting. The next generation comes from the same pool.
The cumulative effect is a regulatory apparatus that is sincere, professional, polite, and very rarely surprised on behalf of the people it's supposed to regulate for.
Other boards in the queue
NPE has flagged additional NV boards for future regulatory-capture audit, including the Public Employees' Retirement Board, the State Public Charter School Authority, the Commission on Mineral Resources, and the Nevada Real Estate Commission. As each is published, this page will cross-link.
Sources
- NV PUC commissioner biographies — puc.nv.gov
- NV Gaming Control Board / Gaming Commission rosters — gaming.nv.gov
- NV business entity registry (employment history of named individuals) — nvsos.gov/sos/businesses/search
- NPE regulatory-capture roster — nevadapoliticalestablishment.com/regulatory-capture/