In today’s edition: 

• Requiring insurance coverage of IVF
• Legislators want age verification for adult websites
• Lawmaker withdraws controversial school board bill

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From the Capital Bureau Chief:

State lawmakers grilled public officials and other entities Wednesday evening  about how a mishmash of proposed cuts to Medicaid could affect the Silver State.

It served as a coda to a busy Wednesday in Carson City that revolved around Medicaid cuts — from a bicameral press conference with legislative Democrats to news of a letter from Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo warning that while fiscal responsibility is vital, cuts to the “safety net program” could have “serious consequences” in Nevada.

For a rundown of the meeting, check out my thread on the social media site formerly known as Twitter.

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IVF could be codified in Nevada. Will Republicans get on board?

Just a day after President Donald Trump signed an executive order to study expanding access to in vitro fertilization treatment, Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro (D-Las Vegas) introduced a bill to codify the right to IVF in the state. 

SB217 — which is scheduled for a hearing March 20 — would not only protect health care providers from criminal or civil liability for providing infertility treatment, but also mandate that public and private insurers, including Medicaid, cover the treatment. Currently, there are no mandates for IVF coverage in the state.  

We spoke with Cannizzaro on Wednesday about her bill and where IVF stands in Nevada:

• About 2 percent of infants in Nevada are conceived with the help of assisted reproductive technology.
  • But the cost of a single IVF cycle — which includes medicines, procedures, anesthesia, ultrasounds, blood tests, lab work and embryo storage — can be upwards of $15,000, making it financially out of reach for many individuals. 
  • By implementing an insurance mandate, the bill could lower out-of-pocket costs across the state.
• Cannizzaro, along with Planned Parenthood and Nevada Fertility Advocates, first floated the bill this summer, months after a now rejected Alabama Supreme Court ruling that would have held people legally liable for destroying an embryo.
  • Unless there are requirements to protect health care providers, Cannizzaro said that Trump’s executive order is just “lip service.”
  • Only 15 states have mandates for IVF coverage. 
• Legislative Republicans have previously pushed back against expanding reproductive rights in the state, though not IVF on its own. Last session, Republican legislators voted unanimously against codifying a “fundamental right to reproductive freedom” that encompassed abortion and infertility care through a constitutional amendment, although a narrower measure focused on abortion rights ultimately passed and was approved by voters via a ballot initiative.
  • Assembly Minority Leader Gregory Hafen (R-Pahrump) said he was uncertain about where he stands on Cannizzaro’s bill.
    • “I have not had a chance to read it, so I don't want to tell you that I'm for or against it,” he said during a Tuesday press conference.
  • Cannizzaro said she is hopeful that Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo will back the bill.
  • A spokesperson for Lombardo said in August that the governor "agrees that IVF treatment shouldn’t be a political issue, and he supports protecting the rights of individuals trying to build their families.”
• Insurance connection: Heidi Sterner, president of the Southern Nevada chapter of the National Association of Benefits and Insurance Professionals, expressed some concerns about the cost implications of the bill.
  • “It's cost prohibitive for a lot of people, but that's going to be a cost that is going to have to be covered, which is going to potentially raise the price of getting health insurance to begin with,” Sterner said in an interview. 
• Cannizzaro said that there will be “discussions as we go along” regarding how potential cuts to Medicaid could affect the bill’s coverage mandate. 

— Isabella Aldrete

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What we’re reading and writing

Nevada Republican Gov. Lombardo speaks out against GOP’s proposed Medicaid cuts by Tabitha Mueller

It’s Lombardo’s strongest stance yet against his party’s plans, which have already drawn the ire of Democrats in a state that has expanded Medicaid eligibility.

Top Nevada Democrat calls for adding drop boxes to speed up ballot counting by Eric Neugeboren

The bill is Democratic Speaker Steve Yeager’s answer to Republican proposals to shorten voting timelines to deal with the counting backlog

Warner Brothers, Sony partner in effort to expand Nevada's film tax credits by Tabitha Mueller

The joint venture means two of the biggest names in the film industry have aligned behind one of two competing film tax credit bills.

Douglas County sheriff partners with ICE, allowing stops about immigration status by Isabella Aldrete

The agreement makes the county the first jurisdiction in Nevada in years to participate in the controversial 287(g) immigration enforcement program.

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Bill Spotlight: Age verification for adult websites

Assms. Toby Yurek (R-Henderson) and Elaine Marzola (D-Las Vegas) on Tuesday introduced AB294, which would require an age verification system for any website that primarily publishes “material that is harmful to minors” to ensure the user is at least 18. 

Here’s the gist.

• The legislation would consider the age verification mandate to be met if the company requires the upload of a government-issued ID, uses a third-party age verification service or uses a method that “relies on public or private transactional data” to verify a user’s age.
• The bill would allow the attorney general to recover a civil penalty of up to $10,000 for each violation. Parents and guardians can also bring forward lawsuits for violations of the law.
• As of June 2024, 19 states have passed laws requiring age verification to access online pornography, according to the Age Verification Providers Association. All of these laws have gone into effect in the past three years.
  • The U.S. Supreme Court also heard arguments regarding a challenge to a Texas law requiring age verification on pornography sites.
• Yurek was unavailable for an interview Wednesday, according to spokesperson Michelle Mortensen. In a statement, Yurek recalled meeting a man who had an eight-year pornography addiction to porn after his friend in middle school directed him to a porn website.
  • “The addiction interfered with his relationships, brought constant cognitive preoccupation with the images he’d seen, and drove a desire for more explicit content,” the statement said.
• An Indy reporter left an interview request at Marzola’s office Wednesday afternoon but she did not respond.

— Eric Neugeboren

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 Keeping Tabs

😡Lawmaker withdraws controversial Clark County School Board bill — Assm. Toby Yurek (R-Henderson) is backing down from a bill, AB195, that would have granted voting rights to the four appointed trustees on the Clark County School Board after facing backlash from GOP activists such as Chuck Muth and the local Moms for Liberty chapter. 

• Yurek was one of the sponsors of the 2023 bill, AB175, which originally added the four appointed trustees. The Moms for Liberty Clark County chapter argued that granting them voting rights would dilute the votes of members who worked hard to win an election.
• Yurek, who declined an interview request, said in an email to The Nevada Independent he withdrew his bill “after learning that the issues I aimed to address are being more comprehensively covered in other legislation.”
• Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro (D-Las Vegas) has proposed an education omnibus bill that includes granting the appointed trustees voting rights. That bill has yet to be introduced. 

🔥Bill mandates air conditioners to be fixed during certain time frames — Assm. Linda Hunt (D-North Las Vegas) on Monday presented AB231, which would increase requirements for home warranty services to fix broken items, namely faulty air conditioners, as heat has become increasingly deadly in Nevada.

• Repairs will be required to be made within three calendar days instead of five business days for a broken air conditioner. 
• If the repairs aren’t made within three calendar days, the home warranty provider is required to provide sleeping accommodations at a hotel at no cost to the holder until the air conditioner is fixed.
• Opponents argued the bill language doesn’t consider availability of parts or timelines that are beyond the providers control. 

💰Nevada’s first toll road since 1861 — City of Sparks Mayor Ed Lawson on Tuesday presented AB61, which would allow for Nevada to build a toll road that starts in Sparksbetween La Posada Drive in Sparks to the intersection  of  State  Route  439  and  U.S.  Interstate 6 Highway 80. Lawson said there’s a demand given traffic on Interstate 80 — adding that it’s an “unsafe road for the amount of traffic on it today.”

• Lawson said companies are willing to buy fast passes for their employees to get to work in “safer manner” and this new road would shave time off their commutes. 
• Lawson said the toll rate is unknown because the road hasn’t been built yet. 

🧑‍🏫Proposal to ban use of chemical agents in schools to be axed — AB217 would have made it a misdemeanor for a school police officer or a Clark County School District employee to use a chemical agent — such as pepper spray — or electronic stun device on a pupil or minor. But on Tuesday, Assm. Cecelia Gonzalez (D-Las Vegas) proposed an amendment to cut that part of the bill. 

• Other provisions in the bill that seek to ban immigration enforcement actions in schools will remain. It received overwhelming support from community members and organizations such as the Nevada State Education Association.

— Rocio Hernandez, Lizzie Ramirez, Isabella Aldrete

Looking Ahead

• Thursday, Feb. 27, at 6 p.m.: The Guinn Center’s annual event focused on effective lawmaking is at the Nevada Museum of Art in Reno.
• Saturday, March 1, 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Former state Sen. Julia Ratti (D-Sparks) is participating in a women’s lobbying information session at 2590 Orovada St., Reno, 89512.
• Tuesday, March 4, 5 to 7 p.m.: The Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers is hosting a reception at Piazza in Carson City.

Days until: 

• Last day for bill introductions: 26
• First house passage deadline: 55
• Sine die: 96

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

• X: Sen. Fabian Doñate keeps it short and sweet in his new video series.
• Instagram: The Legislature ages you.
• BSky: My condolences to Mississippi’s reporters.

We’ll see you next week.

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