Lawmakers are tackling tougher topics this week as they head toward a deadline -- bills must pass out of a committee in the second house by Friday, with limited exceptions.

On Tuesday, committees will take up issues that received party-line votes in the past, including one to authorize marijuana consumption lounges and one to allow computers for prisoners.

They’ll also weigh in on some of Gov. Brian Sandoval’s legislative priorities, including the establishment of a new cyber defense office.

Here are some highlights from the agenda:

AB471: Office of Cyber Defense

A priority measure of Gov. Brian Sandoval creating a state agency focused on cyber security is scheduled for a vetting by a budget committee.

AB471, which Gov. Brian Sandoval announced during his January State of the State address, creates and allocates $3.5 million over two years to establish a state Office of Cyber Defense Coordination. The bill requires the office to develop a public strategic plan to protect the security of online information systems, and to appoint a “response team” to respond to possible hacks of state databases or other online information.

Personnel costs would land around $900,000 for the state’s two-year budget, and Sandoval is proposing spending the remaining $2.6 million on computer upgrades, hiring additional information technology professionals and other security-related spending.

Watch the hearing on the bill at 6 p.m. in the Assembly Committee on Ways and Means.

SB236: Vote on marijuana lounges

An Assembly committee is set to vote on a bill that authorizes counties to allow marijuana cafes and public marijuana use at special events.

The planned vote on Democratic Sen. Tick Segerblom’s SB236 comes after senators approved the measure on a 12-9 party line vote. Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval appears dubious of the concept.

“The Governor has called for Nevada’s recreational marijuana industry to be restricted, responsible, and ultimately respected,” his spokeswoman, Mari St. Martin, said in a statement Monday. “He is doubtful whether “pot lounges” would achieve these stated goals but will review the legislation should it arrive on his desk for signature.”

Question 2 legalized recreational marijuana consumption but generally bars its use in public places. SB236 authorizes permits that would allow public consumption in places restricted to people 21 and older.

Even Colorado, which has a mature recreational marijuana industry, has a tenuous relationship with marijuana clubs. The few that exist cannot sell marijuana on site and exist in a regulatory gray area; efforts to regulate them this year have faltered amid fears of a federal crackdown on marijuana.

Watch for the vote at 10 a.m. in the Assembly Government Affairs Committee.

AB420 - iPads for prisoners

After some initial bumps in getting out of the Assembly, state senators are set to hear details of a bill that would allow prisoners to use more telecommunications device while stuck behind bars.

Democratic Assemblyman James Ohrenschall’s AB420, which initially failed to cross the required two-thirds threshold in the Assembly before being reconsidered and passed 29-13, would allow prisoners to use a phone, cellphone or computer for accessing educational resources, searching for a job or corresponding with family members, if prison officials approve. It also allows the state prison officials to charge offenders to use videoconferencing equipment.

Republicans have largely opposed the measure, dubbing it the “iPads for prisoners” bill.

Watch the hearing on the bill at 1:30 p.m. in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Feature photo: Clark County Detention Center is seen on Thursday, April 27, 2017. (Jeff Scheid/The Nevada Independent)