2-Minute Preview: Private prison ban, prevailing wage and PERS confidentiality all up at Legislature

With 29 days left to go in the session, lawmakers have scheduled another packed day of hearings on Monday, scheduling hearings on bills to ban private prisons, reverse a major 2015 change to prevailing wage on school construction projects and grant new protections to government employees during shutdowns.
Legislators have also scheduled hearings on bills that would make the names of PERS recipients confidential, create a ward-only ballot question for Henderson residents and prohibit employers from not hiring a job applicant because they test positive for marijuana.
Lawmakers are also scheduled to hear a speech from Rep. Steven Horsford on Monday, the last of the state's six congressional representatives to address the body.
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 Monday at the Legislature:
AB183: Private Prison Ban
If approved, this bill would prohibit Nevada from housing inmates in privately owned correctional facilities by 2022.
The bill, proposed by Democratic Assemblywoman Daniele Monroe-Moreno, allows state prison officials to continue using private prisons until the 2022 implementation date, but requires the state Department of Corrections to conduct an onsite inspection of any privately-owned facility used to house inmates at least twice a year and to annually report conditions to the Legislature. It passed out of the Assembly on a party-line 29-12 vote.
It's scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee at 8 a.m.
AB248: Can't enter settlement agreements restricting disclosure of sexual offenses
Proposed by Assembly Speaker Jason Frierson, AB248 would prohibit any settlement agreement that restricts disclosure of conduct that would qualify as a sexual offense punishable by a felony, workplace or landlord discrimination based on sex, or retaliation by an employer or landlord related to a discrimination claim.
The measure would make any such provision in a settlement agreement null if it is entered on or after July 2019 and allows a claimant to request provisions in the settlement to stay anonymous. It passed on a 34-7 vote in the Assembly on April 23.
It's scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee at 8 a.m.
AB393: Protections for workers in a government shutdown
Proposed in the aftermath of the lengthy partial federal government shutdown earlier in 2019, AB393 would institute numerous protections for federal and state workers in the event government funding runs out.
Sponsored by Assembly Speaker Jason Frierson, the bill would prohibit any foreclosure on property owned by a federal, state or tribal worker during a shutdown and until 90 days after a shutdown ends. It would further require any court hearing a civil case related to a foreclosure to determine whether the worker's ability to pay on a mortgage loan was materially affected by the shutdown but allows a landlord to petition a court for an alternative resolution.
The measure also would prohibit a summary eviction or automobile repossession of a government worker during a shutdown and makes rental agreements with such workers unenforceable during the length of a shutdown. Instead, the bill puts rent payments essentially on hold until 30 days after the end of the shutdown, at which point the government worker only has to make one normally scheduled rent payment that covers the entire shutdown period. The bill passed unanimously out of the Assembly on April 23.
It's up for a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee at 8 a.m.
SB158: Revising collective bargaining membership
Proposed by Democratic Sen. Dallas Harris, this bill would allow police and firefighters who engage in some, but not all, duties of a supervisory employee not be excluded from joining a collective bargaining unit that contains only non-supervisory employees. It passed unanimously out of the Senate on April 17.
It's up for a hearing in the Assembly Government Affairs Committee at 9 a.m.
SB224: PERS confidentiality
Sponsored by Democratic Sen. Julia Ratti, this bill would keep identifying information in the state's Public Employees Retirement System, or PERS, confidential and not considered a public record.
SB224 would make all information pertaining to individuals receiving funds from PERS — from state workers to retired judges and lawmakers — confidential under state law, with some exemptions. The bill allows for the public release of an identification number for the account-holder, the last public employer, years of service, retirement date, amount of annual pension benefit and whether the person receives a disability retirement allowance. The measure would not permit the state to disclose the name of the account-holders. It passed out of the Senate on an 11-10 vote on April 22, with Democrats Nicole Cannizzaro and Marilyn Dondero Loop joining Republicans in opposing the measure.
A similar bill sponsored by Ratti passed on party-line votes in the 2017 Legislature, but was vetoed by former Gov. Brian Sandoval. The bill is opposed by several open government groups, including the Nevada Policy Research Institute and the Nevada Press Association.
It's up for a hearing in the Assembly Government Affairs Committee at 9 a.m.
AB282: Henderson ward-only voting
Proposed by Democratic Assemblywoman Ellen Spiegel, this bill would put a question on the 2021 ballot asking residents of Henderson if they would support a switch to ward-only voting for City Council races.
It's scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Legislative Operations and Election Committee.
AB136: Prevailing wage on school construction
This bill, sponsored by Assembly Speaker Jason Frierson, would reverse a 2015 law and require payment of full prevailing wage on school construction projects.
The measure removes the current requirement that school construction projects pay only 90 percent prevailing wage — a sort of average wage for laborers that varies by the type of work the laborer is doing and by region — and lowers the threshold for prevailing wage projects from $250,000 to $100,000.
The bill passed out of the Assembly on April 29 on a party-line vote.
It's up for a hearing at 1 p.m. in the Senate Government Affairs Committee.
SB187: Opioid prescribing
Sponsored by Republican Sen. Keith Pickard, SB187 allows dentists and optometrists to write a 7-day prescription and doctors a 14-day prescription for opioids to treat pain so long as they first conduct a physical examination of the mouth, eyes, or body, as applicable. Previously, prescribers were required to conduct a full physical examination of a patient and were required to conduct a review of medical records in order to write an initial prescription for opioids.
Under the bill, prescribers would also be able to renew the prescription if medically appropriate without a full physical examination or review of medical records.
This bill comes in the wake of prescriber concerns about the strict requirements placed on them to write initial prescriptions for opioids passed in the 2017 session. It passed the Senate unanimously on April 23.
It's scheduled for a hearing in the Assembly Commerce and Labor Committee at 1:30 p.m.
SB192: Insurance standards for minimum wage workers
If approved, this bill by Democratic Sen. Pat Spearman would require employers who offer minimum wage employees health insurance meet certain health insurance plan standards, similar to requirements for plans under the Affordable Care Act.
It's scheduled for a hearing in the Assembly Commerce and Labor Committee at 1:30 p.m.
AB132: Prohibiting denial of employment due to marijuana use
Sponsored by Democratic Assemblywoman Dina Neal, this bill would prohibit most employers from not hiring an individual if they test positive for marijuana during an initial screening test prior to employment.
The bill still allows employers to prohibit their employees from using marijuana while working, and allows broad exemptions for jobs such as firefighters, emergency medical technicians or drivers who take drug screening tests. It passed out of the Assembly on a 33-8 vote on April 23.
It's up for a hearing in the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee at 1:30 p.m.
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