It’s well-acknowledged in Nevada’s capital that if the governor adds a bill to a special session agenda, the legislation is expected to have the support necessary to pass.

But when a star-studded, years-long effort from major entertainment studios to supercharge Nevada’s film industry culminated in a bill on Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo’s special session agenda earlier this month, the effort blew up.

“It just didn’t have the votes,” the 2025 bill co-sponsor Assm. Sandra Jauregui (D-Las Vegas) told The Nevada Independent after AB5 died. 

One person who spoke on the condition of anonymity to freely discuss what happened put it more frankly: “Almost everything that could have gone wrong, went wrong,” and proponents were “probably overconfident” in their estimation of the legislation’s ability to garner enough votes to pass.

Similar legislation was introduced in the 2023 and 2025 legislative sessions. In its final form, it would have put Nevada on the hook for $1.8 billion in transferable tax credits to film companies over 15 years in exchange for $1.8 billion in capital investment and $900 million in construction spending.

The bill fell one vote shy of passing the Senate after it had cleared the Assembly on a 22-20 vote just days earlier.

In conversations with more than a dozen legislative observers granted anonymity to speak freely about the death of the bill, and on-the-record interviews with lawmakers, lobbyists, proponents and opponents, consensus was the legislation died because it entered the session without enough votes and couldn’t find them in spite of last-ditch negotiations. 

The film tax credit proposal was added to the special session agenda, two sources said, after an assertion from the governor’s staff that there were likely four “yes” votes among Republican senators — more than the bill later received. It also likely failed, observers said, because the governor was out of lockstep with minority party members and legislative fiscal staff unveiled new forecasts during the session projecting the credits could create a budget gap — creating hesitancy and political cover for swing lawmakers to vote “no.”

Opponents — including an unexpectedly large and coordinated coalition of progressive and conservatives — united to hammer it as a handout to an industry with a reputation for not benefiting economies in other states. Supporters said any negative returns on investment in terms of state dollars would be offset by the creation of what they described as 19,000 good-paying jobs and the generation of other economic gains.

The bill had died without a Senate vote or hearing in the regular 2025 legislative session and it was unclear if it had enough support in the upper chamber at that time. 

As deputy majority whip for the Senate Democratic Caucus, Sen. Fabian Doñate (D-Las Vegas)  said he was tasked with checking on the vote count within the caucus. Heading into the special session, he said there were only seven Democratic votes in support on the Senate side and Republicans would need to pick up four votes — a fact Doñate said was made clear to the governor’s office.

“So when the governor put it on the agenda, it was assumed in my role within the caucus that he would be able to get the votes from his caucus,” Doñate said. “If anything, I think it shows as an example of how the governor was unable to deliver on his promises, and that he just assumed that the Legislature was going to pick up the slack.”

Not the governor’s priority

Though the film tax credit expansion proposal was included on Lombardo’s special session proclamation — and was arguably the highest-profile item on the lengthy agenda — those close to the governor said it was not the governor’s priority. 

Lombardo never indicated support for the various iterations of the bill publicly, but did say he was open to the industry coming to the Silver State.

“I like economic diversification,” Lombardo said at a 2024 IndyTalks event. “But the model has to fit … and it can’t be an economic burden on the general fund of the state.”

Talk of a special session began before the regular 2025 session ended, amid fears that federal cuts would negatively affect the state’s budget and lawmakers would have to mitigate the fallout. Conversations resumed in earnest after the unintended death of Lombardo’s criminal justice legislation, when Senate Democratic Caucus leaders offered to hold a quick session to pass the bill immediately after the regular session adjourned. The governor declined. 

Later, Lombardo promised to call a special session to handle “unfinished” business from the regular session, with sources indicating the session was being called for the primary purpose of passing the crime bill.

Some observers said the governor didn’t lay much groundwork with Senate Republicans to get the film tax legislation the votes it needed to pass. Five sources indicated that Sen. Jeff Stone (R-Henderson) had said he would support it and Sen. John Ellison (R-Elko) had supported it in the 2025 session. With the session carrying on for days longer than some anticipated, both lawmakers had left the Legislature before the vote on the bill took place.

In the end, just two Senate Republicans and eight Senate Democrats ended up casting votes to pass the legislation.

Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro (D-Las Vegas) was not the biggest booster of efforts to expand Nevada’s film tax credit program in the regular session, but became a strong proponent amid a push by unions and changes to the legislation. One additional Democratic senator ended up supporting the bill, framing it as a way to back the majority leader, and members of labor unions took photos with Cannizzaro after the session and thanked her for her work.

There were at least three other possible Democratic lawmakers who lobbyists looked to sway, but those efforts ended up being futile.

Nearly all sources who supported the film tax credit expansion said the film industry made concessions and overtures unheard of in Hollywood and the proposal is unlikely to come before the Legislature again in the same form.

Others are more optimistic that Southern Nevada will become a mecca for movie-making. Actor Mark Wahlberg told the Las Vegas Review-Journal last week “it’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when.” 

Efforts to sway Democrats in the Senate

Tommy White, the business manager and secretary-treasurer for Laborers International Union of North America Local 872, said in the end, Democrats showed up with the votes they had counted and expected support from Stone and Ellison didn’t materialize.

Ellison, who left the Legislature for a cataract appointment, confirmed he had a conversation with the governor about supporting the legislation after another senator waffled, and there was discussion that “they would try to help” get money for a stalled airport project in Elko — Ellison said he believed the amount was about $1.5 million. The senator said “I know what he’s trying to do” and respects that but he had a “difference of opinion with the governor” on the film tax credits.

Stone later issued a statement saying that if he had been physically present for the vote, he would have voted “no” on the bill, which he said offered a “dismal return” for Nevadans.

Six legislative sources who spoke on condition of anonymity noted that Sen. Edgar Flores (D-Las Vegas), Sen. Melanie Scheible (D-Las Vegas) and Sen. Angie Taylor (D-Reno) were seen as possible “yes” votes and had been in discussions with proponents. Scheible and Flores had discussed a possible amendment, but it didn’t end up moving anywhere, and both voted “no,” citing fiscal concerns.

Scheible said in a speech she tried to “to find some kind of mechanism that would address the serious concerns about the financial solvability of this proposal, while still maintaining all of the good benefits that it’s going to bring to the state of Nevada,” adding,“we’ve been unable to do that.”

Flores, who had supported incentives for an A’s stadium after receiving concessions, echoed Scheible.

“You are fighting for jobs, and I respect you for doing that. And when I come back in 2027, I will do that alongside of you,” Flores said. “But unfortunately, I will not be able to support this, because I have an obligation to this state.” 

Proponents’ efforts to woo Taylor included meetings with UNR President Brian Sandoval, Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve and Reno Councilmember Devon Reese as well as pledges for funding of various projects in Northern Nevada, including the Lear Theater in Reno and mental health facilities, multiple sources said. 

Taylor didn’t discuss the meetings but later told The Nevada Independent the decision was “grueling.”

“We know we need economic development. We certainly, absolutely know that we need the jobs,” she said. “I just couldn’t get comfortable with the numbers.”

Other factors that tanked the bill

Three forces at work also helped to halt the proposal. 

A coalition of progressive groups beat the drum that dollars to the film tax credit expansion measure would take money away from the state and be a bad investment. Conservative-leaning groups also opposed the bill. Reports from Legislative Counsel Bureau (LCB) staff indicated the state would be in the red by several hundred million dollars within a few years, further contributing to the opposition’s arguments that issuing the credits would undermine core state services.

White and other lobbyists who opted to speak anonymously for candor said LCB fiscal staff, who presented the fiscal findings to lawmakers, did not go beyond 2031. The projections, they said, should have been extended and did not include Warner Bros.’ part in the project. 

Multiple lobbyists said threats of primaries on both sides of the issue also contributed to the death of the legislation.

The pressure campaign was something that Sen. Dina Neal (D-North Las Vegas) condemned on the Senate floor, even though she voted “yes.” She called the vote on film tax credit expansion “a referendum on special interests.”

Vince Saavedra, executive secretary-treasurer of the Southern Nevada Building Trades, and White denied their lobbying crossed the line.

“[Were] there people saying, if this fails, we’re not going to endorse you? Yeah, that happens at every bill,” White said. “I’ll only speak for my union on this one, just because … we gave you a campaign contribution, or just because we support you, we don’t expect 100 percent loyalty. Politicians are politicians, they’re going to flip and flop all day long.”

A source connected to progressives said behind-the-scenes conversations likely contributed to lawmakers’ feelings they were being cornered.

White’s union, the Laborers Local 872, said they rescinded endorsements for several lawmakers after they voted against the tax credits: Stone, Senate Minority Leader Robin Titus (R-Wellington), Scheible, Flores, Assembly Minority Leader Greg Hafen (R-Pahrump), Assms. Melissa Hardy (R-Henderson), Jovan Jackson (D-Las Vegas) and Howard Watts (D-Las Vegas).

Sen. Roberta Lange (D-Las Vegas), who introduced the first film tax credit proposal in the 2023 session, voted against the measure as well, detailing her proposal and how it differed from the Assembly-led one introduced in the special session in a Senate floor speech. 

In the special session, she and proponents could not come to an agreement on her proposed changes related to college-based training programs. 

When the vote was over, Lange said she walked back to her office and labor representatives were there. White shook her hand, telling her, “We’re OK.” Saavedra told her the same thing.

“They really wanted it. And they do have a problem. They need jobs for their people,” she told The Nevada Independent. “I get that … We can do this, but we have to do it right.”

‘Resistance’

The focus at the end of the special session was on the Senate, but angst surrounding the legislation began in the Assembly.

On the first day of the special session, Assm. Selena La Rue Hatch (D-Reno) launched an unsuccessful coup in the Assembly to kill the bill as it was introduced using a little-known procedural move. It ultimately failed on a 21-21 tie. 

“It sent a message that this bill did not have the votes, even though everyone was told we'll only go into special if it does,” La Rue Hatch said about the tie in an interview with The Nevada Independent. 

The action kicked off a thread of maneuvers to kill the legislation by anti-film tax credit members of the Assembly who some referred to as “the resistance.”

La Rue Hatch, who opposed the bill because she believed it represented a bad deal for the state, was joined by Democrats and Republicans from Northern Nevada and other parts of the state. 

Almost all the benefits of the legislation were focused on Clark County, although film producers in the north could tap into a proposed, expanded annual pool of credits meant for anyone in the state. In total, only 4 out of 18 lawmakers from outside of Southern Nevada — Assms. Rich Delong (R-Reno) and P.K. O’Neill (R-Carson City) and Sens. Lisa Krasner (R-Reno) and Skip Daly (R-Sparks) — voted “yes” on the film tax credit measure. Two of the 18 were marked absent, excused.

Opposition from Northern Nevada didn’t singlehandedly sink the bill.

But one political operative noted that demographics have changed in Northern Nevada, with an emerging progressive core in Reno playing a role. In a nod to the North’s growing power,  White said the Laborers Local 872 has decided to take a much bigger part in Northern Nevada politics and a larger presence in Carson City.

Another source hypothesized that after the deals made with Tesla in 2014, the Raiders in 2016 and the Oakland A’s in 2023, maybe film was seen as one deal too many. 

A third noted that rifts stemming from previous deals galvanized progressive groups to work together in a new, more coordinated way.

Washoe County Commission Chair Alexis Hill, who is running for governor and has made her opposition to the film tax credits a prominent part of her platform, attributed the dissent of the northern part of the state to the burden that tax credit-incentivized projects such as the Tesla Gigafactory placed on local infrastructure and services.

Though the 10-year-old Tesla deal brought numerous manufacturing jobs and is credited with giving the region an economic jolt, Hill said it didn’t put money directly into services or improved infrastructure.

“When you offset taxes when you already have such a low tax base, there are consequences. We’ve been feeling it in Northern Nevada,” she said.

Film coming back?

Supporters had emphasized the film tax credit expansion was the only major job-creating initiative on the table heading into what appears to be a tumultuous economic time.

“I think this is probably our last big shot,” White said. “Texas opened up their arms really fast. So you'll probably see Warner Brothers and Sony probably go a different route. I don’t think they’re going to wait around to 2027 for us to put this all back together.”

White added he’s worried about those who may not have realized the bill failed. He said he’s already heard from members and other residents who thought the studio would be breaking ground in the next few months.

As the lawmakers look ahead to the 2027 special session, Lange said she is working with Sen. Lori Rogich (R-Las Vegas), who also voted against the film tax credit legislation, on another economic development proposal.

Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager (D-Las Vegas) said he was disappointed the loss of one vote will prevent the creation of a new industry to diversify the economy, but that’s how the legislative process works.

“It doesn’t make us enemies,” he said. “We have to find a way to come together now that this is behind us, and to make sure that we’re focused on doing what’s good for the state going forward.”