In today’s edition: 

• What’s at stake on deadline day
• How likely is another veto onslaught?
• The fight to end solar scams

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From the Capital Bureau Chief:

Before I go any further, I wanted to hand over part of this section to my colleague Rocío Hernández: 

Following Gov. Joe Lombardo’s announcement that he would not sign an education budget without funding for charter school raises, Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager (D-Las Vegas) is adding in a $38 million appropriation for those raises in his bill, AB398, which is scheduled for a hearing tomorrow morning. 

Although Democratic lawmakers voted last week to reject Lombardo’s funding request for charter school raises along with continued funding for school district raises, they signaled a willingness to provide the funding as long as it was doled out in a similar fashion as the funding for raises for educators at school districts under a 2023 bill.

We’ll see how that’s received by charter school officials who warned of budget cuts if this funding isn’t passed. 

OK, this is Tabitha again. Another big piece of education news is that Lombardo’s education bill has (finally) arrived! 

As Rocío reported, it includes accountability measures for chronically underperforming schools, such as state and local government takeover and charter school conversion, provisions on open enrollment, literacy and immunity for teachers in some cases.

It’ll be interesting to see how lawmakers process some of this, mainly because this isn’t the first time charter school conversion has been discussed. 

Outside of that news, the most pressing thing coming up is Friday’s second committee passage deadline.

Per a count on Wednesday morning, more than 275 measures haven’t received an exemption or waiver and haven’t passed out of their second committee.

As I noted in Tuesday’s edition, data from past sessions indicates we likely won’t see too many bills die at the deadline.

Not sure how to keep track of all the committee hearings and bill passages? Watch for our constantly updating live blog, which we will publish Friday morning. 

You can also check out The Indy’s public bill tracker, which details the status of each piece of legislation.

There may be some delays, and if you have a question or notice an error, please reach out and let us know.

As always, please send us your questions, thoughts and suggestions. You can reach me at [email protected].

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Vetoes loom on the horizon

In 2023, Gov. Joe Lombardo vetoed a record-breaking 75 bills. 

With a little more than two weeks until the end of the session, where does the potential for vetoes stand now, and how are legislative leaders thinking about those vetoes?

• During a Tuesday IndyTalks conversation, top lawmakers said communication between the governor’s staff and the Legislature has improved since the start of the session. 
• Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager (D-Las Vegas) still expressed frustration about a lack of feedback from the governor’s office.
  • Though lawmakers have changed and reintroduced measures based on Lombardo’s 2023 veto messages, Yeager said they don’t yet know if the bills will meet the governor’s criteria.
    • “If there's a way we can change that bill or amend that bill to get a signature, nine times out of ten, my members want to do that,” Yeager said. “But they can't do that if we don't get that feedback.”
  • Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro (D-Las Vegas) added that many of the 2023 vetoes were of bipartisan agency bills with minor issues or mechanisms the governor didn’t like.
    • “Those are the kinds of things that are fixed with an amendment. Those are the kinds of things that are fixed with a conversation,” Cannizzaro said.
    • She said the legislative process is iterative and involves debate, amendments and changes.
      • “To suggest that we should come into a session and just know what the end result is going to be ignores the job that we actually are doing,” she said.
  • Assembly Minority Leader Greg Hafen (R-Pahrump) commended Democrats who have reached out and wanted to work on legislation. 
  • He noted that Assm. Shea Backus (D-Las Vegas) reached out to him about a bill the governor vetoed that she is working on, and they have been working closely on the measure.
    • “I genuinely believe that the amount of work that went into that is going to get that across the finish line,” Hafen said. “We don't want the governor to veto bills.”
• Lombardo has already indicated that he would veto specific legislation such as medical aid in dying, a daily hotel room cleaning mandate and bills that he voted in 2023 that are returning without significant amendments.
  • Democrats are still pushing forward with some of that legislation, including a measure to legalize medical aid in dying. Yeager noted that the Legislature is a separate branch of government.
    • “It's not just about us versus the governor,” Yeager said. “I think I have a responsibility as the speaker to empower my members to take care of their issues, to be able to answer their constituents.” 
• Yeager said he anticipates hearing more about the governor’s stances on legislation in the next few weeks, but “time is short.”
  • “The staff has a lot of work to do, and so every amendment that we're having to do at this point potentially jeopardizes other legislation that's being worked on,” he said.

— Tabitha Mueller

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What we’re reading and writing

IndyTalks: Nevada legislative leaders talk state economy, relationship with Lombardo by Eric Neugeboren, Tabitha Mueller and Isabella Aldrete

For those experiencing FOMO, never fear. We’ll always make sure you get the highlights.

Hughes sees Pershing’s $900M stock purchase as a way to complete Summerlin, diversify its portfolio by Howard Stutz

Looks like the purchase isn’t causing changes to Hughes’ film tax proposal.

Formerly incarcerated push reforms aimed at curbing recidivism by Michael Lyle, The Nevada Current

Legislature weighs bills to “break the cycle of recidivism.”

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Bill spotlight: Solar consumer protections

In recent years, the rooftop solar industry in Nevada has been rife with bad actors who entice vulnerable residents with the promise of lower costs and cleaner energy, but often leave them with unfinished work or damage their homes.

Last year, a solar company was fined $460,000 and had its license revoked after harming 13 consumers’ homes, including causing thousands of dollars in damages and failing to heed consistent warnings from the state contractors board.

Companies also frequently spread misinformation about solar programs in the state, such as the false statement that NV Energy will pay for Nevadans to go solar.

The number of complaints brought to the contractors board was 38 in 2021 but skyrocketed to 273 two years later and 211 through the first nine months of 2024. The issue has become so pervasive that the contractors board launched a new investigative unit last year into solar companies’ deceptive practices. 

This year, a pair of bills are moving through the Nevada Legislature seeking to crack down on fraudulent companies. 

Here’s what to know.

• The most expansive bill targeting these companies is SB379, sponsored by Sen. Fabian Doñate (D-Las Vegas). It received its second committee hearing last week after passing out of the Senate with support of all but two senators: Senate Minority Leader Robin Titus (R-Wellington) and Sen. Carrie Buck (R-Henderson).
  • The bill builds off his 2023 proposal (SB293), which required anyone selling a solar panel to be an employee of a licensed solar company and allows a three-day grace period for buyers to cancel a solar contract.
  • However, Doñate said more oversight is needed after companies found ways to game the system, particularly with the requirement that any seller be a W-2 employee by still using 1099 forms for sellers.
  • The latest bill requires financiers of solar panels to be licensed as installment lenders, prohibits payments to solar companies before final inspection or connection, classifies violations as unfair trade practices and allows for contracts to be rescinded within 10 business days for people aged 60 and older.
    • “It is clear that solar agents in Nevada are misleading homeowners with promises of lower energy costs and substantial tax rebates and easy financing, only to leave them with costly, long-term contracts that are unfulfilled,” Doñate said at last week’s hearing.
• The other bill (SB440), brought by the Nevada Solar Association (a consortium of solar groups), received its second committee hearing last week after passing the Assembly unanimously.
  • The bill requires installers to disclose if they are a local company (meaning they have a physical office in Nevada and vehicle registered in the state), provide the make and model numbers of their equipment and all sales presentations must be made by an employee of a solar installer, not a third party. It also mandates that homeowners associations adopt clear guidelines on solar installations and homeowners provide timely documentation.
    • “It’s about streamlining the process, protecting consumers and supporting businesses that do the right thing,” said Steven Hamile, the chair of the association and chief operating officer of the solar company Sol-Up.

— Eric Neugeboren

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 Keeping Tabs

🏠 Lease approved for Vegas homeless campus — The Nevada Board of Examiners, a panel composed of the governor, secretary of state and attorney general, approved on Tuesday the lease for the Campus for Hope, the campus for Southern Nevadans experiencing homelessness funded in part by a 2023 bill allocating $100 million in state funds for the project. The lease confirms that the campus will be located at 161 W. Charleston Blvd., and it does not list a dollar figure.

• Context: The West Charleston location was the subject of significant opposition late last year because officials intended for the campus to result in the demolition of a state building that houses girls with autism. The state ultimately decided to partner with Clark County, St. Jude’s Ranch for Children and Silver State Pediatrics to temporarily house the girls with autism. Read more about the Campus for Hope project here.

✡️ Jewish groups oppose bill to combat antisemitism in housing — Multiple Jewish groups are against a proposal that would require the Nevada Equal Rights Commission to consider whether discrimination in housing, employment or public accommodations were motivated by antisemitism. 

• The groups objected to the definition of antisemitism in Sen. James Ohrenschall’s (D-Las Vegas) proposal because it is not the one from the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance that has been adopted by dozens of other states. Opponents of the bill said they supported the intent but wanted a definition “that includes clear examples of antisemitism while making an important distinction between criticism of Israel as a nation-state and antisemitism rhetoric,” according to an opposition letter from the Jewish Federations of North America. 
• Ohrenschall said “the stylistic conventions that we have as a Legislature” is the reason for the discrepancy in definitions.

— Eric Neugeboren

Looking Ahead

• Thursday, May 15, 8 a.m.: Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager (D-Las Vegas) will present AB398, which would compensate schools for hard-to-fill positions such as special education teachers or positions at Title 1 schools. A press release sent Wednesday afternoon indicated that Yeager will present a conceptual amendment to address charter school teacher raises.
• Monday, May 19, 1 p.m.: Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro’s (D-Las Vegas) education bill, SB460, was scheduled to receive its first hearing Wednesday, but that was moved to Monday in the Senate Committee on Education. 

Days until: 

• Second committee passage deadline: 2
• Finish budget differences: 3
• Second house passage deadline: 9
• Sine die: 19

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

• X:  Everything eventually becomes a campaign billboard … 
• Bsky: Oof.
• X: ICYMI.

We’ll see you next week.

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