Each biennium, UNLV students engage in the legislative process in a variety of ways, including participating in policy development and the bill draft process, as well as serving as legislative interns and externs to assist lawmakers with various duties such as tracking bills, conducting research, and meeting with constituents. The experience takes the classroom to the community, empowering students to have real-world impact on some of Nevada’s most critical issues. The opportunity is open to all UNLV majors, though most participants are political science and law majors.
Each week during the legislative session, we will introduce you to one of the many UNLV students engaging in the legislative process during the Session. This week, we are highlighting a student from the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV:
Name:
David Bandbaz
Hometown:
North Las Vegas
Major:
UNLV undergraduate Bachelor of Biology, graduated 2019. UNLV M.D. Doctor of Medicine graduating May 5th 2023. I begin General Surgery residency at the University of Utah this summer.
Role in Session:
Dr. Anne Weisman at UNLV was my research advisor and asked me if I’d like to begin any projects myself. I was interested in motorcycle licensing so she guided me through starting a research project. However, the research project turned into a policy project as I learned the systematic issues related to motorcycle licensing and as I ran into subsequent barriers to me researching this issue, as a sequela to the systematic problems. Once it became a policy project, she then connected me with various individuals at UNLV she knew could guide me in the legislative process. My role specifically: I presented my project to the Nevada Advisory Committee on Traffic Safety, I coordinated discussions with government traffic safety groups, Nevada Highway Patrol, various people at the UNLV medical school, and eventually wrote the preliminary language for the bill once it was decided and agreed upon what would be in the bill. Senator Harris has guided me through the process since she jumped on board, and has recently been working on discussions with the Office of Traffic Safety, the DMV, and the legislative counsel bureau to cooperatively determine the final language. This is happening right this moment. The hope is the bill will be ready for this legislative session; the deadline for this is March 27th. If it isn’t finalized by then, it will be pushed to the next session. I’ll be emailing her then to see if it was finalized for this session. If it does go for this session, Senator Harris told me I’d be speaking in support of the bill in Carson City.
What excites you most about the legislative session?:
I’ve never been interested in legislation or being involved in policy work, but during my research I discovered major inadequacies in the way we license and/or train motorcyclists in Nevada, and also the way we research the efficacy of these licensing and training methods in reducing fatalities or injuries. And I wondered why this isn’t being worked on. So I wanted to fix things, and the thought that my work can become a real change that hopefully reduces death and injury, and inspires research projects related to motorcycle licensing, makes me realize that identifiable problems related to healthcare and safety can be actively worked on as a physician.
What do you hope to learn?
I hope this gives me the tools and knowledge to be able to work on health policy and safety policy as I continue my career as a surgeon during residency, fellowship, and beyond that. As a doctor, especially if I pursue a trauma fellowship, I want to advocate for policy related to my field of work that would benefit my community.
Which legislative proposal do you find most interesting and why?
I don’t know the other proposals other than my bill, to be honest.