Bills to offer compensation to people wrongly convicted of crimes, increase penalties for DUIs and ban coyote-hunting competitions are all on deck for Nevada lawmakers.

With a little more than two weeks to go before the deadline for bills to make it out of their first committee, legislative panels will tackle a significant number of bills on Thursday, including taxes on vaping products, banning annoying or obscene communications from electronic devices and amending certain conditions under which candidates may skip a primary election and proceed to a general election.

For more information on the status of bills working their way through the Legislature, check out The Nevada Independent's bill tracker. And for the bills in committee today, check out the Legislature's website for committee times and links to watch live committee meetings and floor sessions.

Here's what to watch for on Thursday at the Legislature:

AB267: Compensation for wrongful convictions

Proposed by Democratic Assemblyman Steve Yeager, AB267 would allow individuals found to be wrongfully convicted in Nevada to receive monetary compensation from the state, based on the amount of time incarcerated.

If approved, the bill would set a compensation schedule for anyone found by a court to be wrongfully convicted, starting at $50,000 for each year if the individual had spent one to 10 years in prison, $75,000 a year if the person spent between 10 to 20 years in prison and $100,000 for each year if the person was in prison for 21 years or longer. The measure also authorizes a court to order the state pay for other costs, such as health care or tuition.

The bill also requires a court to seal any records related to the original charge and conviction if it finds a person was wrongfully convicted. It also sets limits on the amount a wrongfully convicted individual can collect from the state if they bring a civil lawsuit related to their wrongful conviction.

The bill is scheduled to be heard at 8 a.m. in the Assembly Judiciary Committee.

AB422: Court exemptions for certain victims

This bill would create several protections for victims of domestic violence or sexual assault during court cases, including prohibiting a judge from deeming them in contempt of court if they do not respond to subpoena.

The bill, which is sponsored by the Assembly Judiciary Committee, also prohibits judges from requiring bail to such victims if they are required to appear as a witness and it is impracticable to secure their presence with a subpoena. It also prohibits a court from issuing a warrant for failure to appear in court for victims of those crimes.

The bill will be heard in committee at 8 a.m.

SB328: Annoying electronic communications

A bill by Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro would make it a misdemeanor for any person to send obscene or annoying messages through electronic devices such as a computer or cellphone.

The bill, SB328, would add electronic devices to the state's current prohibition on using a telephone call to make an obscene representation or suggestion to another person, as well as any threat of injury to another person or property or with the intent to annoy another person.

The measure will be heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee at 8:00 a.m.

AB353: E-waste recycling

This bill by Democratic Assemblywoman Heidi Swank would require most state agencies and school districts to include electronic waste — such as televisions or other electronic devices — in their current requirements for recycling.

The measure allows state agencies to opt out of recycling if it's considered too burdensome and requires an existing report on recycling efforts in the state to include the amount of material recycled by state agencies.

The bill will be heard at 8:30 a.m. in the Assembly Government Affairs committee.  

SB297: Greater penalties for DUI

A bill proposed by Republican Sen. Scott Hammond would greatly increase the penalties for driving under the influence, including increasing the minimum sentence for a conviction from two days to 30 days.

The bill would also increase from seven to 10 years the length of time in which a person who is convicted of a second or additional DUI faces greater penalties and increases the minimum fine for an initial conviction from $400 to $600. It also removes the requirement that a person have at least three impaired driving or DUI convictions to be convicted of vehicular homicide, which is a Category A felony.

The bill will be heard in the Senate Growth and Infrastructure Committee at 1:30 p.m.

SB346: Increasing legal driving limit for marijuana

Proposed by Democratic Sen. Dallas Harris, SB346 would substantially raise Nevada's legal limit for operating a vehicle under the influence of marijuana.

The measure would raise the legal limit of marijuana concentrate in a bloodstream while operating a vehicle to 100 nanograms per milliliter of blood, far above the current limit of 2 nanograms per milliliter of blood.

The bill also would require the Nevada Commission on Minority Affairs to study whether unlawful discrimination or racial disparity exists in marijuana dispensary ownership or in employment. It also would create an interim study on marijuana intoxication levels established in state law.

It'll be heard in the Senate Growth and Infrastructure Committee at 1:30 p.m.

AB123: Vote on school vaccination bill

Members of the Assembly Education Committee will take a vote on several bills including AB123, a measure sponsored by Democratic Assemblywoman Connie Munk that requires more reporting to schools, school districts and health districts of which students are unvaccinated. The bill attracted much public comment during its initial hearing, largely from opponents of vaccinations.

AB468: Women's suffrage license plates

Members of the Assembly Growth and Infrastructure Committee will consider AB468, which calls for a special license plate commemorating the 100th anniversary of women's suffrage. Proceeds will benefit the Nevada Commission on Women.

AB316: Statewide sobriety monitoring program

This bill, sponsored by Republican Assemblywoman Jill Tolles, would create a statewide program to which courts could assign DUI offenders. Participants would have to abstain from alcohol and would be tested at least twice every day plus subjected to random tests at least two times a week.

If their licenses were suspended or revoked, they could get a restricted driver's license that would allow them to drive to and from the testing location, to work or to medical care.

The bill is up for discussion in the Assembly Growth and Infrastructure Committee at 12:30 p.m.

SB263, SB32: Tax on vaping products, marijuana transparency

Members of the Senate Revenue and Economic Development Committee will consider taxing and regulating vaping products in the same way they tax and regulate tobacco products. Proceeds would go to a new Account for Public Health Improvement and at least half of that money must be spent on tobacco prevention and treatment.

A similar bill from the 2017 session died in committee amid concerns that taxing vaping products would kill the industry in Nevada.

The committee will also take a vote on SB32, which requires the disclosure of the business name and scores of applicants for marijuana licenses. That information is currently kept confidential.

The committee meets at 1:30 p.m.

SB487: Banning coyote-hunting competitions

Hunting coyotes as part of a contest or tournament would be banned under SB487, which would make participating in or organizing such an event a felony offense.

The bill, which is sponsored by the Senate Committee on Natural Resources, also requires anyone participating in such a competition to transport any injured coyote to a veterinarian if attempts to treat the animal fail, with the failure to do so a separate felony offense. At least one coyote hunting contest is held annually in Lemmon Valley.

AB259: Primary election changes

If approved, AB259 would revise the circumstances in which candidates of the same political party either appear on the ballot in primary or general elections.

The bill would make it so that if more than one candidate of a major political party runs for an office, but no other candidates file to run, the candidates may skip the primary election if there are less than twice the number of candidates running for a certain office. If there are more than twice the number of candidates for a specific office, they're required to appear on a primary election ballot with the top vote-getters advancing to the general election.

The bill also amends a provision allowing candidates for judicial office to win outright in a primary election if they receive more than 50 percent of the vote, and instead requires the top two vote-getters in a judicial primary proceed to the general election.

The measure will be heard in the Assembly Committee on Legislative Operations and Elections at 4 p.m.

ACR6 + ACR7: Studies on brothels and driving under the influence of marijuana

Members of the Assembly Committee on Legislative Operations and Elections are set to hear details of two measures that would create interim studies on working conditions at brothels (ACR6) and on driving under the influence of marijuana (ACR7).

The committee meets at 4 p.m.