Local officials from Carson City and Story County told the Assembly Ways and Means Committee they want the Legislature to commission a study of the Virginia & Truckee (V&T) Railway Commission to examine reorganization, long‑term finance and possible termination.

Cameron Gresch, Carson City government affairs liaison, described AB32 as a request to “direct the 2025–2026 joint interim standing committee on growth and infrastructure to conduct a study of the commission for the V and T Railway” to consider “reorganizing the structure of the commission or modifying the duties or powers of it, improving its long term financial viability, or terminating the commission and addressing related issues, including without limitation disposition of the assets of the commission.”

Why it matters: Carson City and Story County fund the railway through local taxes while the commission manages an aging tourist railroad. Supporters said the commission lacks rolling stock, repair facilities and a clear path for growth, and they want legislative guidance on options ranging from structural changes to asset disposition.

Story County Commissioner and V&T Railway Commission Vice Chair Clay Mitchell said local jurisdictions are willing to “provide staff resources to help with research or collection of data and analysis to help that committee study go forward.” He added that local governments are unclear whether any proceeds from asset disposition would flow to the state or to the local jurisdictions that funded the railway.

Diane Thornton, acting director for the Legislative Counsel Bureau, told the committee that the bureau could not provide a definitive fiscal estimate because the joint interim committees are budgeted for six meetings each; if the study required additional meetings there could be added per diem and travel costs. “Whether or not this study could take place within the scope of the joint interim committee, it may or it may not,” Thornton said.

Public testimony in Carson City included nonprofit and preservation‑oriented speakers. Donna Inverson, president of Historic Virginia and Truckee Trail, said her group has built 45 miles of a rail trail from Reno to South Carson City and would be “a good partner” should the commission be revamped to create a rail trail. Kim Faggart, a long‑time local volunteer, described early projections that the operation could carry 160,000 riders annually but said recent ridership “hovers around between 8 and 12,000 riders a year,” arguing the commission has been “managed as expediency almost from the start.”

Committee members asked questions about whether similar work could have been performed by the interim committee during the prior interim. Assemblymember Torres Fawcett suggested stakeholder conversations might accomplish some goals; Commissioner Mitchell responded that localities need guidance from the Legislature because the commission is a state body funded in part by local taxes and the legal relationship is unclear.

The committee closed the hearing without a recorded vote and invited the sponsors to provide additional materials if requested.