Becky Harris (born 1968) is the former chairwoman of the

Nevada Gaming Control Board The Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB or SGCB), also known as the State Gaming Control Board, is a Nevada state governmental agency involved in the regulation of gaming and law enforcement of Nevada gaming laws throughout the state, along with th ...

and a former state senator.

Biography

Harris was born in

Provo, Utah Provo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Utah County, Utah, United States. It is south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front, and lies between the cities of Orem, Utah, Orem to the north and Springville, Utah, Springville to the south ...

. She graduated with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

from

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

in 1989, with a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from J. Reuben Clark Law School at BYU in 1992, with a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

from the

University of Nevada, Las Vegas The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the ...

in 2000, and with a LL.M. in Gaming Law and Regulation from the

William S. Boyd School of Law The William S. Boyd School of Law is the law school of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) and the only law school in Nevada. It is named after William S. Boyd, a Nevada attorney and co-founder of Boyd Gaming Corporation who provided the ...

at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 2016. She is a Distinguished Fellow of Gaming and Leadership at the International Gaming Institute (IGI) at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and she is a non-executive director on the board of PointsBet Holdings, an Australian and United States sportsbook operator. A former

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

, Harris unsuccessfully ran for the

Nevada Assembly The Nevada Assembly is the lower house of the Nevada Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Nevada, the upper house being the Nevada Senate. The body consists of 42 members, elected to two-year terms from single-member distri ...

in 2012, losing to Andy Eisen. She ran for the Senate in 2014, defeating incumbent Justin Jones. Regarding her party switch, Harris said, "I just evolved and became very fiscally conservative as we began to employ people and take care of other people’s families and looked at what that cost in providing benefits for people and all that kind of thing.” During the 2015 legislative session, Harris sponsored Senate Bill 262, which gives courts the ability to appoint a nonresident guardian for an adult or child ward. Previously state law required a co-guardian to be a resident of Nevada. The bill ignited the guardianship reform movement in Nevada and resulted in the creation of the Nevada Guardianship Commission along with additional reform legislation. During the 2017 legislative session, Harris served on the Senate Judiciary, Finance and Education Committees. Harris received the Nevada Chapter of the Community Associations Institute's Legislator of the Year in 2015, Nevada Association of School Boards' Executive Director's Award in 2015, and the National Education Association Republican Educators Caucus' Pacific Region Legislator of the Year in 2015. In January 2018, Harris was named chair of the

by Governor

Brian Sandoval Brian Edward Sandoval ( ; born August 5, 1963) is an American politician, academic administrator, and former federal judge who served as the 29th Governor of Nevada from 2011 to 2019. A graduate of the University of Nevada, Reno, Sandoval began ...

. She is the first woman to hold the position. Harris resigned from her state senate seat to accept the appointment.

Personal life

Harris and her husband, R. Garth Harris, have two children: Sydney and Mallory. She is a member of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

Electoral history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Becky 1968 births Brigham Young University alumni J. Reuben Clark Law School alumni Latter Day Saints from Nevada Living people Republican Party Nevada state senators Nevada Democrats Politicians from Las Vegas People from Provo, Utah University of Nevada, Las Vegas alumni Women state legislators in Nevada 21st-century American women politicians Members of American gaming commissions Candidates in the 2012 United States elections Candidates in the 2014 United States elections 21st-century members of the Nevada Legislature