The needs of southern Nevada’s medical sector are robust by just about every indicator out there: physicians per capita and resident vacancies, to name a few.

The top brass of UNLV and the Nevada System of Higher Education lobbied lawmakers today for $27 million in upfront funding for a medical school in Las Vegas, instead of the $8.3 million proposed by Gov. Brian Sandoval.

The Las Vegas Valley has a growing population of more than 2 million, yet the only allopathic medical school in the state is 450 miles away in Reno, a city with a population of about 234,000.

Southern Nevada lawmakers and leaders may disagree sharply along party lines, but there’s one point on which many of them are in lockstep.

Founding dean of the School of Medicine

The Nevada System of Higher Education Board of Regents approved a biennial budget request for about $843 million in 2016 and $888.9 million in 2017 for its seven schools. Within that budget is a $45 million request in state funding to establish UNLV’s medical school and expand the program at University of Nevada-Reno.