Nevada Senate approves last-minute bill to crack down on corporate home buying
Click the links below to see developments throughout Day 7:
- Senate unanimously approves housing bill
- Senate committee passes corporate home bill
- Competing amendments on corporate home bill
As the Nevada Legislature’s special session enters Day 7, the fate of the film tax expansion proposal remains up in the air.
But other proposals are coming into clearer focus. The Senate passed Gov. Joe Lombardo’s sweeping criminal justice package (AB4) after midnight on Wednesday. It included an amendment prohibiting school districts and public schools from allowing law enforcement from accessing school grounds without a lawful order, except in extraordinary circumstances. It would also require detention facilities in the state to maintain a running list of the people they hold.
Because the Senate amended the bill, it will head back to the Assembly, which easily passed an earlier version this week.
And another item is on deck: Expected floor votes on the last-minute bill added to the session agenda that aims to crack down on corporate homeownership.
On Tuesday evening, the secretary of state’s office received a signed petition from lawmakers to add a measure to Lombardo’s special session proclamation — the first time in history that has happened.
The petition conceptually aligns with a bill from Sen. Dina Neal (D-North Las Vegas) in this year’s regular legislative session to prohibit corporations from purchasing more than 100 housing units each year.
It’s not clear yet how the latest proposal — which was brokered by Neal, the governor’s staff, Sen. Ira Hansen (R-Sparks) and Assm. Alexis Hansen (R-Sparks) — might differ from the bill from the earlier session, which died after it failed to secure a two-thirds majority.
The petition specifies the new legislation “limits on the aggregate number of units of residential real property in this state that may be purchased annually” and the registration and reporting of entities that purchase housing units en masse.
The Legislature is functionally treating the petition as an extension of the existing special session.
There are other bills still in waiting mode on Day 7: A wide-reaching appropriations bill that sets aside money to administer the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SB4) and a proposal to create a grant program to decrease health care provider shortages (SB5).
And the Senate also introduced a new bill past midnight on Wednesday (SB9) to re-establish a special court program around the Las Vegas Strip — language that also exists in Lombardo's crime bill.
Follow along for updates throughout the day. You can view our bill tracker here.
Senate unanimously approves corporate housing bill — 2:44 p.m.
Senate committee approves corporate home buying bill — 1:53 p.m.
The Nevada Senate Committee on Jobs and Economy approved the-last minute proposal to crack down on corporate home buying following a hearing that offered new details on the bill.
Notably, Sen. Dina Neal (D-North Las Vegas) — the presenter of the bill alongside Sen. Ira Hansen (R-Sparks) — confirmed that the proposed 1,000-unit cap on annual corporate home buying in Nevada applies to all corporations, not individual ones. That means one corporation could purchase 1,000 homes in a given year and no other corporation could buy another property.
“One corporation could bite the apple, and no one else could play,” Neal said.
The 1,000-unit cap, according to Neal and Hansen, was part of a compromise with the executive branch, which prefers an annual cap of 2,000 units. However, the two senators said this would make up too large of a percentage of corporate-owned homes. Neal said she told them “absolutely not.”
A previous bill she proposed during the 2025 Legislature (which died) would have placed a 100-unit annual cap.
An amendment to the bill presented in Wednesday’s hearing would exempt property sold by credit unions or ones that the state’s top housing official considers “in the public interest.” It also exempts apartments and newly built homes from the annual cap.
A future version of the bill is set to also exempt condos, Neal said. Supporters of the bill said they hope the final version will not include that exemption, fearing it will result in corporations emphasizing purchases of these properties.
Fiscal notes detailing expected costs incurred by the Nevada Secretary of State’s Office and Nevada Housing Division to carry out the bill are also expected. The amended bill also changed language so that it will no longer require approvals from two-thirds of lawmakers, but it is unclear if that will remain in the final version.
Some lawmakers appeared skeptical of the proposal, raising concerns about its legality.
“I'm concerned if we were to have a market like we did in 2008 to 2010 where we have inventories at such a level that we would be excluding purchasers from people that are desperate to sell their homes,” said Sen. John Steinbeck (R-Las Vegas).
In response, Neal and Hansen noted the language that allows exemptions for property deemed to be “in the public interest” and expressed an openness to adding language to address disruptions in the housing market.
Support testimony came from progressive and housing reform groups and Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, a Democrat whose office would be responsible for enforcing the proposal. Ford, who is running for governor, largely spent his testimony attacking Gov. Joe Lombardo, saying his unwillingness to support similar measures in the past two legislative sessions was "a dereliction of duty." Ford's campaign also released a statement after the hearing calling on Lombardo to sign the bill.
Opponents included the Nevada State Apartment Association, the Nevada Home Builders Association and the Southern Nevada Home Builders Association.
The hearing came shortly after the bill was introduced in a contentious floor hearing.
Sen. Lori Rogich (R-Las Vegas) criticized Hansen for not sharing the text of the bill.
“Why would you — a member of our own caucus — not want to work with us?” Rogich asked.
Hansen apologized and said he did not want to provide inaccurate information because it was a fluid situation. He also said he consulted with the governor’s office about the bill.
“Gov. Lombardo will come out a winner in this because this is his ideas as well. He has deep concerns over the escalation of rents,” he said. “I want this to be a win-win for everyone.”
— Eric Neugeboren
Competing amendments to corporate home buying bill — 10:50 a.m.
The last-minute addition to the special session agenda to crack down on corporate home buying was a joint effort between lawmakers and the governor's office. However, an amendment proposed by the executive branch and obtained by The Nevada Independent seeks a 2,000-unit cap on corporate home purchases in a single year. Another proposed amendment from Sen. Dina Neal (D-North Las Vegas) wants a 1,000-unit cap.
— Eric Neugeboren