BY SEAN WHALEY, NEVADA NEWS BUREAU
CARSON CITY — A state lawmaker has requested a bill be drafted to implement a “Buy American Act” in Nevada for public works projects.
Assemblywoman Maggie Carlton, D-Las Vegas, said today that details will have to be worked out in the 2013 legislative session, but the idea is to create some level of preference for bidders on state government construction projects who use American made products and materials.
“There is some model legislation out there and it’s worth having the conversation,” she said. “There are two or three different ways of doing it and our legal staff is looking at the best option.”
Carlton said she heard a brief presentation on the concept at a recent National Conference of State Legislatures meeting in Chicago.
If creating a Buy American law in Nevada helps grow jobs around the country, then the state’s tourism-dependent economy will benefit, she said.