Nevada State Senator Marilyn Dondero Loop is facing renewed criticism after disclosing a corporate-sponsored trip to Hawaii in 2025, according to her 2026 Annual Financial Disclosure Statement filed with the Nevada Secretary of State.
Records show Dondero Loop accepted more than $5,800 in special interest-funded travel last year. Among the listed expenses was a trip to Maui, including events held September 3 to 7 in Kona, Hawaii, as part of the Senate Presidents’ Forum 2025 Fall Forum.
The Senate Presidents’ Forum receives support from Amazon, Apple, Google, Eli Lilly, Novartis, PhRMA, Altria, Diageo, and Walmart. The organization describes itself as a nonpartisan platform for state legislative leaders to discuss public policy issues.
According to forum materials, sessions covered topics including Medicaid management, budget resiliency, trans-Pacific trade, Pacific Rim security, disaster mitigation lessons from the 2023 Lahaina wildfires, workforce development, and the evolving federal landscape surrounding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
Critics have questioned the optics of the trip, noting that Dondero Loop represents Senate District 8 in Las Vegas, where many residents rely on public assistance programs. They argue that accepting corporate-funded travel—particularly to a destination such as Hawaii—raises concerns about special interest influence and priorities in state government.
The disclosure comes amid lingering scrutiny over Dondero Loop’s role in the final days of the 2023 Nevada legislative session. As chair of the Senate Finance Committee at the time, she was involved in shaping Assembly Bill 525 and Senate Bill 341, sometimes referred to as “Christmas tree” bills, which directed more than $110 million in pandemic-era funds to over 70 nonprofits and organizations.
A Las Vegas Review-Journal investigation reported that at least 13 lawmakers had connections to recipient groups that collectively received more than $33 million. Dondero Loop was among those named. One recipient, the United Way of Southern Nevada, received $1.2 million. Her legislative biography previously listed her as “current” with the organization, but was later removed.
No formal charges came from the 2023 funding allocations. However, the episode prompted calls from some lawmakers and advocacy groups for stricter ethics rules and expanded transparency requirements for the Legislature, which remains exempt from certain public records laws. Republican-sponsored transparency measures introduced in subsequent sessions did not advance in the Democratic-majority Legislature.
Dondero Loop, a former educator and UNLV graduate, currently serves as Senate President Pro Tempore. Nevada law requires elected officials to disclose gifts and sponsored travel, which she did in her annual filing.
As lawmakers continue debating budget priorities and social safety net programs such as SNAP, the Hawaii trip has renewed discussion over the role of privately funded travel in state policymaking and the influence of corporate-backed policy forums.
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