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2-Minute Preview: Lawmakers to hear bills on prevailing wage for school construction, marijuana-infused massages

Michelle Rindels
Michelle Rindels
Riley Snyder
Riley Snyder
Megan Messerly
Megan Messerly
Legislature
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Photo of the Nevada Legislature building

Lawmakers on Wednesday will consider reversing a 2015 Republican-backed law limiting prevailing wage for school construction projects, vote on a physician aid-in-dying bill and discuss allowing marijuana-infused massages.

They’ll also hear a speech in the evening from Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, the third member of the state’s federal delegation to address lawmakers this week.

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 Wednesday at the Legislature:

Higher education, military, DMV budgets

A joint Assembly / Senate budget subcommittee will review budget accounts within the Nevada System of Higher Education.

A different budget subcommittee will discuss budgets from the Office of the Military and the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Both subcommittees meet at 8 a.m.

Prevailing wage on school construction projects

Lawmakers on the Assembly Government Affairs Committee will review AB190, a bill that reverses some changes to prevailing wage rules that were passed under Republican control in 2015.

The measure would eliminate the requirement that public schools and colleges pay 90 percent of the prevailing wage — a sort of minimum wage for construction work — and revert it to 100 percent. It would also lower the threshold at which prevailing wage kicks in, from projects that cost $250,000 and up to $100,000 and up.

The measure is sponsored Democratic Assemblyman Skip Daly. The committee meets at 8:30 a.m.

SB201 - Payday lending database

Proposed by Democratic Sen. Yvanna Cancela, SB201 would create a state-managed database to track various information on high-interest, short-term loans in Nevada.

The bill, which is scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee, would require the database track loan amounts, fees assessed on borrowers, default rates and all interest charged on loans. At least 14 other states have set up similar databases, which are funded by nominal charges typically between $0.49 to $1.24 per loan.

The bill also codifies parts of the federal Military Lending Act in state law (which prohibits loans with an interest rate higher than 36 percent for active-duty military) and allows high-interest lenders to include information on state welfare services at their branches.

The committee is scheduled to meet at 1 p.m.

Incorporating Laughlin, confidentiality for police in body cam video

Members of the Senate Government Affairs Committee will discuss SB213, which calls for the incorporation of the City of Laughlin.

They’ll also consider SB242, a bill from Democratic Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro, which requires that police agencies redact the faces of any police officers before any body camera footage is released pursuant to a public records request — unless the officer consents or has been arrested.

The committee will also vote on bills including one increasing the size of the Clark County Commission from seven to nine (SB127), allowing local governments to reduce their impact fees as a way to spur affordable housing construction (SB103), and creating a council to reduce food waste (SB178).

AB170: Out-of-network health care coverage

Proposed by Democratic Assembly members Ellen Spiegel and Maggie Carlton, AB170 would require insurers to cover out-of-network doctor’s visits at no additional cost to patients if no in-network physician is readily accessible.

The bill would specifically allow patients to obtain care from a provider outside of their health insurance network if they were unable to make an appointment with an in-network provider within 25 miles of where they live and within 30 days of requesting an appointment. The legislation would allow insurers one business day to assist patients in making an appointment with an in-network provider; if they can’t, the insurer would be required to cover the cost of an out-of-network visit at the same price the patient would have paid to see an in-network provider.

The bill will be heard by Assembly Committee on Commerce and Labor at 1:30 p.m.

SB228: Marijuana massages and work sessions

Members of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee will review SB228, a bill backed by Democratic Sen. Pat Spearman that would allow health-care professionals, massage therapists, nail technicians and others to administer marijuana as part of their practice, without retribution from a licensing board.

Also, the committee is expected to vote on: SB165, which would allow doctors to prescribe life-ending drugs to patients with terminal illness; SB198, which would allow for more seamless coverage of children on Medicaid; and SB235, which would codify federal protections for pre-existing conditions into state law.

The committee is scheduled to meet at 4 p.m.

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