to all ratepayers. At the end of July 2015, NV Energy proposed new rates for rooftop solar users. NV Energy specifically states in its proposal that the new rates could eliminate all savings for solar customers. On August 20, 2015, the controversial 235 MW net metering cap was hit. Immediately before the cap was hit, Vivint Solar pulled out of the state only two weeks after entering. This resulted in lay-offs of many recently hired Nevadans, signaling the future of the industry in Nevada without net metering. In December 2015, a solar company operating in Nevada filed a lawsuit against Governor Brian Sandoval to compel the release of public records the Governor's office withheld. The withheld public records included text messages between the Governor and his staff with NV Energy's lobbyists. The company claims that the public has the right to know the impact those relationships have had on critical policy decisions, including the rooftop solar debate. On December 22, 2015, Sandoval's Public Utilities Commission of Nevada, composed of Chairman Paul Thomsen, Commissioner David Noble and Commissioner Alaina Burtenshaw, voted to eliminate the state's net metering policy for rooftop solar. The aftermath of the decision resulted in widespread layoffs in the state and an outpouring of consumer backlash due to the direct penalization of current and future solar customers. President of University of Nevada, Reno On September 17, 2020, Sandoval was named as UNR's 17th president (following Marc Johnson). He is considered an unusual choice because his background does not include any experience in higher education administration. He is the first Hispanic president of the university. As UNR president, Sandoval has pushed to expand enrollment to 25,000 students by 2030 in what he calls the "Wolf Pack Way". Honors and awards Sandoval has received the following awards and certificates: the Hispanics in Politics' 1996 "Broche de Oro Award"; the Anti-Defamation League's 2003 "Torch of Liberty Award;" the Nevada State Bar's 2004 "Access to Justice Public Lawyer Award;" The Latino Coalition's 2004 "Most Influential Hispanic in the U.S. Award"; and the 2004 University of Nevada "Alumnus of the Year Award." Personal life Sandoval married Kathleen Teipner in 1990. Along with Kathleen, the program director for the Children's Cabinet in Reno, Sandoval has three children. He and his wife announced their separation in 2017 and finalized their divorce in 2018, stating the demands of public life as the main reason. Sandoval remarried