Lengthy floor sessions preceded the days before the Legislature’s first house passage deadline on Tuesday, prompting impassioned speeches from members of both parties as lawmakers voted out dozens of bills and resolutions.

All non-exempt bills must be voted out of their house of origin — either the Senate or Assembly — by the time floor sessions adjourn Tuesday if they are to continue through the legislative process. 

Unlike the first committee passage deadline on April 11, which saw more than 280 bills die from inaction, Tuesday’s deadline is expected to result in the death of only a handful of measures, because more than 200 bills out of the more than a thousand introduced so far have been exempted. 

In 2023, only 10 measures died at this juncture of the 120-day session and in 2021, that number was just seven.

To view the status of all legislative measures, check out The Nevada Independent’s public bill tracker.

Here’s a look at which bills passed ahead of Tuesday’s deadline and what lawmakers said about them. Check back often, as The Nevada Independent reporters will update this story throughout the day.

Senate gets heated over trucker liability insurance — 2:46 p.m.

So far, the most contentious Senate floor debate of the day stemmed from SB180, a bill that would raise minimum liability insurance requirements for truckers in Nevada. 

Specifically, it would require fully regulated freight carriers to carry proof of liability insurance of at least $1 million by 2026, gradually rising to $1.5 million by 2030. The current liability insurance policy limit is $750,000.

Sen. Edgar Flores (D-Las Vegas), who sponsored the bill, said on the Senate floor that the last time liability requirements for freight carriers was changed was in 1980. He said medical expenses “have exploded,” the state must ensure individuals are adequately covered, and small businesses transporting equipment already carry a million-dollar policy. 

Sen. Ira Hansen (R-Sparks) pushed back against Flores, saying that the current policy limit of $750,000 is aligned with 49 other states. He warned that the additional liability cost would create an undue burden on trucking companies in Nevada. 

“You’re creating a huge competitive disadvantage and you’re only basically punishing Nevada-based companies,” Hansen said.

The measure passed on an 11-10 vote, with Sens. Dina Neal (D-North Las Vegas) and Angie Taylor (D-Reno) joining Republicans in opposition.

— Tabitha Mueller

Democrats, Republicans cross party lines on AI, animal testing bills  — 2:38 p.m.

The Senate passed more than a dozen bills out of the chamber Tuesday, before recessing until 3:30 p.m.

Here’s a summary:

• Sens. John Steinbeck (R-Las Vegas) and Lori Rogich (R-Las Vegas) crossed party lines to support SB128, a bill that would ban certain health insurers from using artificial intelligence or automated decision tools to deny or reduce requests for medical coverage approval. The measure passed out of the Senate on a 15-6 vote. There were no statements made on the floor regarding the bill.
• Members of the Senate voted to pass two of Sen. Melanie Scheible’s (D-Las Vegas) proposed bills aimed at protecting animals and easing burdens on pet owners.
  • SB166 would ban insurers from refusing to issue, cancel or renew an insurance policy based solely on whether someone owns a specific dog breed. The bill also requires recipients of supportive housing grants to allow tenants to keep at least one pet. The measure passed on a 14-7 vote, with Sen. John Ellison (R-Elko) the lone Republican in support.
  • SB167 would ban the importation and sale of household cleaning products that have been tested on animals. The ban would not apply to products that underwent animal testing before Jan. 1, 2030. The measure passed on a vote of 17-4, with GOP Sens. Ellison, Steinbeck, Rogich and Lisa Krasner (R-Reno) joining Democrats in support. There were no speeches on the floor. 
• SB113, a bill sponsored by Steinbeck that would make occupational therapists and physical therapists eligible to provide a disability parking placard or license, in addition to physicians and nurses, passed out of the Senate unanimously.
• SB171, which would protect licensed health care providers in Nevada who offer gender-affirming care to patients (including via telemedicine) from sanctions, prosecution or investigation by other states. The bill passed out of the Senate along a party-line vote of 13-8, with all Republicans opposed.
  • Sen. James Ohrenschall (D-Las Vegas) sponsored a similar bill in 2023 that was vetoed by Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo, who said it would “inhibit the Executive Branch's ability to be certain that all gender-affirming care related to minors comports with State law.”
  • Ohrenschall said he narrowed the bill’s language this session to more closely align with a reproductive rights shield law that Lombardo signed in 2023.

— Tabitha Mueller and Isabella Aldrete

Contraception access passes out of Assembly unanimously — 1:30 p.m.

Assm. Selena Torres-Fossett’s (D-Las Vegas) AB176, which would generally ban the state or any of its agencies from limiting access to reproductive health care with some limited exceptions, passed out of the Assembly with unanimous support from Democrats and Republicans.

The bill, also called the Right to Contraception and Family Planning Services Act, would protect services related to pregnancy, contraception, miscarriage, or in vitro fertilization. Notably, the bill does not apply to abortion-related laws or certain education-related policies — such as sex education — at public schools. 

Advocates said in a March hearing that the bill would help create more uniform policy across local agencies and that it could help protect access to contraception and IVF. It comes amid concerns that those services could be rolled back in other states, such as through proposals to require parental consent for minors getting contraception. 

The bill would make it so that if an individual does have their access to health care challenged, they can sue in court and seek appropriate relief, including attorney’s fees if they win. 

A similar bill was vetoed in 2023 by Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo, who said that it “would effectively place any control over decisions related to reproductive care, financing, and education in the hands of today's state policy-makers instead of tomorrow's local officials.” 

The exemption of educational groups in the bill was added in response to the governor’s concern, according to Gabby Detrick, an intern who testified with Torres-Fossett during the hearing.  

It was the only bill passed before the Assembly recessed until 1 p.m today.  

— Isabella Aldrete

Few bills at risk of death — 1:20 p.m.

Don’t expect the mass bill die-off of the first deadline day, but a handful of measures appear at risk of meeting their demise on Tuesday.

There are six bills that have been placed on the Senate secretary’s desk (a kind of bill purgatory) that will die if they are not voted out by the end of the day, including four that were originally set for a vote on Tuesday. The bills are:

• SB24, brought by the Division of Public and Behavioral Health, which would recognize emergency medical responders as prehospital medical providers to comply with federal law.
• SB41, sponsored on behalf of the Department of Taxation, which requires that businesses wishing to sell cannabis must apply for a cannabis tax permit and register for a sellers permit. 
• SB80, a proposal from the Department of Motor Vehicles to expand the responsibilities of certain DMV employees to let them inspect vehicle characteristics to locate a stolen vehicle and obtain a court order to use a trap and trace device, which identifies phone numbers of incoming messages. It requires a two-thirds majority vote.
• SB152, proposed by Sen. James Ohrenschall (D-Las Vegas), which would allow a homeowners association to install an electric vehicle charging station in a common area if a majority of board members approve.
• SB179, another bill from Ohrenschall, which would require the Nevada Equal Rights Commission to determine if antisemitism was a factor in a case of alleged discrimination in housing, employment or public accommodation.
• SB191, sponsored by Sen. Skip Daly (D-Reno), which would add certain requirements to record and videotape court proceedings.

Additionally, AJR12, a resolution supporting the prioritization of solar development on previously disturbed public lands in Nevada, is sitting idle on the Assembly clerk’s desk.

But as the saying goes — it’s never over ‘til it’s over. The bills could be amended and passed out, or still receive a waiver or exemption from deadlines, the plans could change to vote on the proposals or their language could eventually be added to other bills.

However, there might be more bills that do not receive a vote Tuesday. Stay tuned.

— Eric Neugeboren

Agendas show roughly 180 measures set for a vote — 11:31 a.m.

About 180 measures across both chambers are on the list of what lawmakers will vote on today. 

More than 100 of those measures are in the Assembly, featuring bills that address topics including health care, housing and public safety. Though the Senate’s list is relatively shorter, that may not correlate with an earlier adjournment, as floor speeches on bills can prolong the time. 

Here are some measures up for a vote in the Senate and Assembly that caught our attention:

• AB44 - Sponsored by Attorney General Aaron Ford, this measure aims to implement a ban on price fixing for essential goods and services. The bill has received strong opposition from various businesses.
• AB73 - Brought on behalf of Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar, this measure would require political communications to disclose to the public if it was created using artificial intelligence to manipulate an image, video or audio.
• AB280 - Assm. Sandra Jauregui (D-Las Vegas) introduced this measure that would require written rental agreements to disclose fees and tenants' rights. It also prohibits a landlord from collecting an application fee for running a credit report or background check, refund a prospective tenant’s application fee if the landlord rents to a different tenant and cap rent increases at 5 percent annually for tenants who are 62 and older, or who rely on Social Security payments, for a year and a half starting in July.
• AB205 - Sponsored by Assm. Heather Goulding (D-Reno), this measure would flip Nevada’s long-standing policy requiring parents to consent or opt in for their children to receive sex education curriculum to instead opt out.
• AB245 - Sponsored by Jauregui, this measure would ban Nevadans 21 and younger from owning semi-automatic shotguns and semi-automatic rifles. Similarly, it prohibits children 14 and older from handling these guns as well.
• AB283 - This measure from Assm. Max Carter (D-Las Vegas) would restructure the summary eviction process to require landlords to file first rather than the tenant. It also requires more transparent notification processes among other changes.
• SB128 - Sponsored by Sen. Dina Neal (D-North Las Vegas) the bill would prohibit certain health insurers, including Medicaid, from using artificial intelligence or other automated decision tools to deny, modify or reduce prior authorization requests, or requests for medical approval.
• SB171 - Proposed by Sen. James Ohrenschall (D-Las Vegas) this measure would protect health care providers licensed in Nevada who offer gender-affirming care to patients, including via telemedicine. Specifically, it would prevent another state from sanctioning or prosecuting a provider in Nevada who offers legal, ethical and medically necessary gender-affirming care to patients.
• SB305 - Brought by Sen. Fabian Doñate (D-Las Vegas), this bill would sanction lacrosse as an Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association sport.

There are also at least three measures from this session whose fate is unclear, as they have been relegated to either the chief clerk’s desk in the Assembly or the secretary’s desk in the Senate. 

— Tabitha Mueller