A revived version of Gov. Joe Lombardo’s sweeping criminal justice bill passed out of the state Senate, aiming to reestablish a Resort Corridor Court that was criticized by civil liberties groups, but also incorporating Democratic proposals to restrict immigration enforcement in sensitive locations. 

The amendments could jeopardize the bill’s chances with the Republican governor, who vetoed similar proposals before, and lawmakers introduced an additional bill on the corridor court that could keep that concept alive if the main crime bill is vetoed.  

In a 16-2 vote after midnight on Wednesday, the Senate passed an amended version of AB4, with Sens. Dina Neal (D-North Las Vegas) and James Ohrenschall (D-Las Vegas) as the sole nay votes. An amendment adopted early Wednesday would prohibit school districts and public schools from allowing law enforcement from accessing school grounds without a lawful order except in exceptional circumstances — an idea vetoed by Lombardo earlier this year. It would also require detention facilities, such as immigration facilities, in the state to maintain a running list of the people they hold.

Because of the amendment, lawmakers in the Assembly will still need to vote to adopt the amendment before it heads to Lombardo’s desk.

“The purpose of the amendment is definitely to address some concerns we had about immigration enforcement here in Nevada,” Sen. Melanie Scheible (D-Las Vegas) told The Las Vegas Review-Journal.

The language in the new bill (SB9) was nearly identical to the corridor court provision in the crime bill, so it would be possible for the court concept to advance even if Lombardo vetoes his amended crime bill with the new immigration provisions. 

The governor’s office did not immediately respond about whether they supported the amendment to AB4.

What the bill does

In addition to implementing a corridor court to specifically deal with crime on the Strip — something the casino industry says is key to ensuring tourists and employees find the resort corridor safe and inviting —  the crime bill would also establish harsher penalties for certain burglaries and a transitional custody program for certain nonviolent inmates that could ease prison crowding.

Though the bill had a price tag of more than $42 million when it was first proposed in the 2025 legislative session, projected costs have significantly dropped in part because some provisions of the legislation were adopted in other bills that passed in June. Most of the expected costs in the bill were associated with a projected increase in incarcerated people and a need for more public defenders to represent a predicted rise in people facing charges.

The legislation has long been a top priority from Lombardo, former sheriff of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, who has pledged to reverse lawmakers’ decision from a few years ago to ease the theft law.  It would also establish harsher drug trafficking penalties and prohibit some offenders from using diversion courts, which offer alternatives to jail time. In the 2023 iteration of his crime bill, Lombardo failed to get the Legislature to sign off on making those proposed changes.

Lombardo’s push came as he said in April as a desire to “put teeth back into Nevada’s penal code” after the Democrat-controlled Legislature approved a slew of policies in 2019 that softened penalties for retail theft and fentanyl trafficking. The changes were geared toward reducing the prison population. 

Despite facing heavy pushback from Democratic and Republican lawmakers during the 2025 legislative session, this stripped-down iteration of the bill has faced few hurdles during the rapid-fire special session. The bill no longer includes initial major provisions such as triggering felony theft charges when $750 in property is stolen (down from $1,200) and allowing law enforcement to intercept communication to investigate child sex abuse.

However, some lawmakers and progressive groups were upset that lawmakers were not doing enough to protect immigrants amid rising arrests under the Trump administration. 

The new immigration amendments were subsequently added to the bill.

Corridor court for Strip crime

With the pending reestablishment of the corridor court, some critics are worried about an increase in unnecessary penalties for people experiencing homelessness and restrictions on personal liberties. 

The corridor court often used “order out” decrees to ban offenders from reentering the Strip. ACLU Executive Director Athar Haseebullah has called order outs unconstitutional for restricting a person’s freedom of travel. Other critics say the court does not meaningfully address criminal behavior on the Strip, which data has shown to be decreasing. 

The corridor court, after operating for almost two years, was disbanded in November 2024. A letter from the court administrator at the time stated that judges felt the Las Vegas Justice Court's resources could be used more efficiently. 

Efforts by the resort industry to re-establish the court failed during the 2025 legislative session. The court is unusual in its jurisdiction — judges presided exclusively over crimes committed in a certain geographical area. 

During an Assembly hearing on public safety and security last Thursday, Clark County public defender Brennan Bartley said he did not believe the court was an effective use of resources nor did it substantially minimize crime. 

“My clients were promised that [the court] would be better at connecting them to resources. Resources that never materialized,” Bartley said. “The people that were most impacted by these provisions were people that were homeless.” 

Proponents of the bill argue that the corridor court is a necessary measure to protect the heart of Nevada’s economy — the tourism industry in Las Vegas — as well as the safety of workers on the Strip (the bill is backed by the politically powerful Culinary Workers Union Local 226). 

“Despite our best effort, there remain those offenders who are … undaunted by the current penalties,” Nevada Resort Association President Virginia Valentine said during an Assembly committee hearing on the bill. “Recidivism continues to be a significant issue in our tourism areas.” 

Transitional program to ease prison crowding

As the Nevada Department of Corrections (NDOC) struggles with chronic overtime and staffing issues, the legislation would also green-light a transitional custody program so nonviolent offenders could leave prison early. 

To be eligible for the transitional reentry program, inmates must be within 18 months of discharge and must not be serving time for violent or sexual offenses, NDOC Director James Dzurenda testified at an Assembly committee hearing. They must also have served more than 50 percent of their sentence, have no escape history and not be detained on behalf of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), among other criteria.  

Dzurenda said during a bill hearing that the reentry program could help the department address its chronic overtime issues, potentially allowing the department to close medium-security housing units. Don Southworth, the offender management administrator for NDOC, said that they expect up to a decrease of about 500 incarcerated people. 
A similar alternate custody program exists in California.