In today’s edition: 

• A bill to tap into the rainy day fund
• How advancing imperfect bills can create trouble down the road
• The Nevada Equal Rights Commission could be moving … 

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From the Capital Bureau Chief:

About three weeks ago, before members of the Assembly voted 41-1 to pass AB451, a gun suicide prevention measure, Assm. P.K. O’Neill (R-Carson City) said the bill “may not be perfect today but our pledge to you, with your support today, we will continue to work on it.”

O’Neill’s call to pass imperfect legislation (opposed only by Assm. Jill Dickman (R-Sparks)) to meet the deadline wasn’t the only one. 

Often, bills move forward with just conceptual amendments — broad statements about what the bill should be doing rather than exact language changes. Or, they pass out of a legislative chamber with bill sponsors acknowledging more changes will come.

Recently, I spoke to current lobbyist and former Assm. Tom Roberts (R-Las Vegas) about the phenomenon and what it means for the legislative process.

As deadlines approach, lawmakers and interest groups don’t have the time to write official legal language, so lawmakers advance bills with amendments in conceptual form while waiting for official language to arrive, and then aim to fix small errors in the second house, he said.

But the concern from a lawmaker and lobbyist perspective is that small changes can shift the effects of a bill.

“One or two words can really change an entire [section of state law] and it can add two-thirds to bills when there weren't two-thirds before,” he said, referring to the higher requirements for passage if a bill raises taxes. “It can cause you a lot more work in the second house.”

Roberts said that in the final hours before sine die (the last day of the legislative session), people are running back and forth between the two houses, trying to get other legislators to agree on tweaks that need to be made because the more polished legal language of a formally amended bill brought up new issues.

“That’s the last place you want your bill,” Roberts said.

He added that as the members of the public follow the legislative process, they shouldn’t fixate on the original version of a bill because it can change drastically. When lawmakers and legislative staffers are developing regulations that flesh out the implementation details of a new law, they can also discover unforeseen issues that require fixes in a future legislative session.

Another lobbyist who spoke on the condition of anonymity said the process of writing amendments is labor-intensive and leads the Legislature to rely on conceptual amendments. 

During hearings, the lobbyist said there’s often a focus on why the legislation is essential instead of how it works, which can contribute to more issues down the road as courts need to ascertain the intent of the Legislature whenever laws are challenged.

“It is really a disservice to all of us when we’re going to have to try to fix all of this language later,” the lobbyist said.

As always, please send us your questions, thoughts and suggestions. You can reach me at [email protected].

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What to know about plans (or lack thereof) to use the state’s rainy day fund

A bill was introduced late last week to tap into the state’s rainy day fund — a pool of money for fiscal emergencies — but it’s no sure thing that it will be needed.

AB587, introduced Friday, would transfer more than $350 million from the fund to the general fund.

But Assm. Daniele Monroe-Moreno (D-North Las Vegas), the chair of the money committee that’s sponsoring the bill, told The Indy the bill’s introduction was more of a preemptive measure, citing the work budget committees have done to  limit the fiscal impact of other bills.

The bill draft request was submitted on May 8. Before a bill is formally introduced, it must be vetted by the Legislature’s legal staff, a time-intensive process that could be a strain in the busy final weeks of the session.  

“I don’t think I’ll have to use it, but I didn’t want to be in a position in 17 days or 16 days and need it,” Monroe-Moreno said. “We have it sitting there just as a placeholder.”

The proposal would be the largest transfer from the fund since 2020, when lawmakers drained the entire account (which had a balance of $401 million at the time) to weather an estimated budget shortfall of more than $700 million at the onset of the pandemic.

Since then, the account has been fully replenished and has reached an all-time high of more than $1.2 billion. 

Tapping into the fund would require a joint emergency declaration from Gov. Joe Lombardo and the Legislature, or for tax revenue to fall below 5 percent the amount predicted by the Economic Forum, which has not occurred.  Then, the Board of Examiners — composed of the governor, attorney general and secretary of state — recommends a transfer amount to the Interim Finance Committee, which can decide whether to approve the requested transfer.

Here’s what else to know, and what people in the building are saying about it.

• During an IndyTalks event last week, Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager (D-Las Vegas) acknowledged that “it is raining,” but that the state’s economic outlook might worsen, meaning the fund should not be depleted in case it is needed down the line.
  • Days later, Yeager proposed using $90 million in rainy day funds for his bill to staff hard-to-fill teaching positions (AB398).
• It wasn’t immediately clear what the Senate thought of the proposal — Sen. Marilyn Dondero Loop (D-Las Vegas), the chair of the Senate Committee on Finance, said she hasn’t had time “to read that bill or look for it.”
• While a longtime budget observer said they were surprised by the proposal, they acknowledged that if legislators believe programs could be at risk of cuts, then it makes sense to introduce a bill to tap into the fund before the madness of the final two weeks of the legislative session, even if it is not acted upon.

— Eric Neugeboren

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What we’re reading and writing

Lombardo proposes converting underperforming schools to charters in his education bill by Rocio Hernandez

Pretty sure we’re at Episode III — Revenge of the Charter Schools.

With Nevada’s budget tight, more than $900M in legislator spending requests in jeopardy by Eric Neugeboren

This is not the session for extra appropriations …

House GOP budget avoids Medicaid ‘biggest fears,’ but 98K Nevadans may yet lose coverage by Tabitha Mueller and Gabby Birenbaum

The outlook is bad, but it could have been worse.

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Bill spotlight: A new home for the Nevada Equal Rights Commission?

In an effort to limit politicization of the state body that investigates discrimination, Sen. Dina Neal (D-North Las Vegas) is proposing moving the Nevada Equal Rights Commission (NERC) from the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation (DETR) to the attorney general’s office.

SB160, which has only passed its initial committee but is exempt from legislative deadlines, would remove the governor’s ability to appoint the commission’s members and administrators, instead giving that right to the attorney general. Existing members could remain in their positions until the attorney general appoints their successor. 

Representatives from DETR and the governor’s offices declined to comment. The attorney general’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

Here’s what to know about the proposal.

• In an interview with The Indy last week, Neal said she wanted to remove the “politicizing” of NERC by disconnecting it from the governor’s office. She worried that if NERC was investigating a case related to the governor’s office, the governor could have authority to remove the NERC administrator.
  • “It creates a quagmire,” Neal said. “The NERC administrator should have some level of autonomy.”
• The dynamic between NERC and the governor’s office came into fuller focus earlier this month when Kara Jenkins, the office’s former administrator, filed a lawsuit alleging the office and DETR retaliated against her for refusing to provide certain confidential case information ahead of her termination last year.
  • Neal, who questioned DETR officials about Jenkins’ dismissal during a budget hearing at the start of session, said “she was a pretty decent administrator.”
• Asked about whether she is concerned about Gov. Joe Lombardo vetoing the bill because it would remove some of his jurisdiction, Neal said “it actually would take the burden off of the governor's office.”
  • There could be more political elements in play too, as the proposal would move NERC jurisdiction under Attorney General Aaron Ford, who is running for governor against Lombardo next year.
    • Neal emphasized that Ford will not be the attorney general for much longer, and that it makes sense for NERC to be under the office because its deputy attorneys general are already involved in NERC cases.
      • Neal had originally envisioned moving NERC under UNLV’s law school, but that fell through because of concerns over it being under the Nevada System of Higher Education. 

— Eric Neugeboren

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 Keeping Tabs

✍️ Budget bills drop — In late-night floor sessions Monday, the Assembly and Senate introduced the state’s five budget implementation bills. Like other notable ones, they remain exempt from legislative deadlines. Here’s a quick overview: 

• AB591, the appropriations bill
• AB592, the state worker pay bill
• SB500, the K-12 education bill
• SB501, the authorizations bill
• SB502, the capital improvement project bill

🚌Si se Lombardo? — The pro-Gov. Joe Lombardo Nevada Way PAC has begun a new Spanish-language ad campaign as the Legislature is poised to hear key educational legislation this week — including the governor’s school-choice friendly education bill that would make it easier for students to transfer out of low-performing schools. The ad was aired in Las Vegas, where Latino students make up nearly half of the local student population.

📜Bill introduced to put gender-neutral Assembly title into state law — Lawmakers introduced a new bill Monday to formally refer to lawmakers in the Assembly as Assemblymembers. AB588 formalizes the switch made by Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager (D-Las Vegas) when he and other lawmakers passed a resolution to change the naming structure at the beginning of the legislative session.

🅿️ More parking! — Introduced Monday, SCR6 authorizes the Legislative Counsel Bureau to purchase a land parcel near the Legislature to address the “pressing need for additional public parking in downtown Carson City.” The agency can spend up to $475,000 to purchase the lot between South Carson and East Sixth streets, near existing legislative parking lots. No word on the future of Pure Platinum Salon & Spa, easily the nearest highlights & haircuts venue to the seat of government.

— Isabella Aldrete, Tabitha Mueller and Riley Snyder

Looking Ahead

• Tuesday, May 27, at 5 p.m.: The legislative press corps is performing its annual Third House show.

Days until: 

• Second house passage deadline: 4
• Sine die: 13

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And to get you going into the week, a few social media posts that caught our eye: 

• X: Tis the season.
• X: Spicy.
• BSky: It’s the little things in life.

We’ll see you Thursday.

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