Nevada has one of the highest populations of veterans and active duty military personnel in the country, and Nicole has a strong record of support for our veterans and military families. Since her election in 2016, Nicole has worked to pass more than a dozen pro-veteran bills.

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In her first session, Nicole worked to remove barriers for veterans with service-connected disabilities to receive state services. By recognizing the sacrifices our veterans make for our community, Nicole helped to open up access to state level services and benefits for our veterans, and worked to remove administrative hurdles. 

 

Nicole worked to provide more educational opportunities to Nevada veterans. She passed legislation that codified in-state tuition qualifications for active duty service members, veterans, and dependents of active duty service members. More importantly the bill expanded in-state tuition benefits for those military dependents who are recipients of the Fry Scholarship. Recently, Nicole worked with Democrats and Republicans to pass bi-paristan legislation to waive tuition and fees for the dependents of Purple Heart recipients.

Nicole wants to ensure that our veterans and military family are able to find employment. She helped pass legislation that created the position of Veteran Personnel Coordinator to recruit and hire veterans and widows or widowers of persons killed in the line of duty for jobs throughout Nevada. She also worked on legislation requiring expedited processing of teacher licensing for military spouses so that military families relocating here have the ability to more quickly access jobs in their professions. Nicole also worked to expand employment protections for members of the National Guard against any unlawful termination when called in defense of the Nation, this State, or in an emergency of another state.

 

Nicole also wants to ensure equal treatment for all of our veterans, which is why she helped pass legislation requiring LGBTQ+ service members to receive assistance from the Department of Veterans Services to upgrade the narrative of their discharge. The law prohibits denial of eligibility based solely on their sexual orientation for any program or benefit to which they may be otherwise entitled. She also took the lead on legislation that  allowed veterans who have experienced military sexual trauma to apply for assistance through the Nevada Victims of Crime Compensation Fund, and expanded protections and transparency for Military Sexual Assault/Trauma.

 

Nicole wants to make sure our veterans have access to the services they need, which is why she helped pass the CIP Bill, which grants $33 million for the Northern Nevada Veterans Home. She also worked to require the Statewide Program for Suicide Prevention to include suicide prevention training for family members of veterans and members of the military. 

 

Nicole understands that supporting our military veterans and their families is imperative, and she will continue to fight to make sure they have the resources they need.