Nevada Legislature’s special session enters fifth day with major bills still pending
The Nevada Legislature’s special session entered its fifth day on Monday with a potential end in sight.
The two most prominent bills of the special session — the effort to significantly expand Nevada’s film tax credit program (AB5) and Gov. Joe Lombardo’s sweeping criminal justice package (AB4) — are facing votes by the full Senate after passing out the Assembly on Sunday morning.
It’s not clear how long the special session might last, given that lawmakers need a two-thirds vote to suspend legislative rules and allow bills to be processed much more quickly. If rules are not waived, the session must last until at least Tuesday to pass those bills.
As of Monday morning, both chambers have sent four proposals (out of 16) to Gov. Joe Lombardo’s desk:
- AB1, which bolsters state cybersecurity initiatives in the wake of the cyberattack that shuttered state services.
- AB2, a measure to exempt large gaming companies from certain electronic payment requirements in transactions between retailers and alcohol wholesalers.
- AB3, a bill to allow public officers to keep their personal information confidential after several lawmakers received threats in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
- SB3, which creates a new state program to address gaps in federal support for public social services initiatives such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
There are five bills scheduled for a vote in the Assembly for Monday (though that doesn’t mean a vote will occur), including an appropriations bill (SB4) that sets aside money for a host of initiatives, such as SNAP administration, and a proposal that creates a new grant program to address health care provider shortages (SB5).
The bill with the furthest to go in the legislative process is SB8, which has only passed the Senate as of Monday morning. It is a bill backed by gaming companies that aligns state law that would incorporate certain federal labor regulations.
This page will be updated throughout the day. You can view our bill tracker spreadsheet here.
- Legislative security funding
- Windsor Park, lung disease bills pass
- Constitutional challenges
- Immigration resolution
Amendment allocates $2.2 million for legislative security — 2:02 p.m.
Assembly passes Windsor Park, lung disease bills — 12:10 p.m.
Provision in public safety bill vulnerable to constitutional challenges — 11:33 a.m.
One provision of a bill (AB6) aimed at increasing road safety in and around school zones has raised concerns from legislative attorneys that it could be ripe for a constitutional challenge.
When Senate Health and Wellness Committee members passed AB6 on the floor of the Senate during a Monday behind the bar meeting, a member of Legislative Counsel Bureau’s legal division said a provision added via an amendment in the Assembly puts it “outside the call of the special session and would be vulnerable to constitutional challenges.”
Sen. Carrie Buck (R-Henderson) suggested removing the provision, but Democrats on the committee moved forward with passing the legislation as amended.
The measure moved to the full Senate without any changes on a vote of 5-2, with Buck and Sen. Jeff Stone (R-Henderson) in opposition.
Lombardo’s marquee crime bill, AB4, also passed out of committee on a committee vote held on the Senate floor. Sens. Edgar Flores (D-Las Vegas) and James Ohrenschall (D-Las Vegas) were the lone no votes. Flores and Sen. Ira Hansen (R-Sparks) said they reserved their right to change their vote on the floor.
Hansen noted that the legislation, championed by the Republican governor, was not good policy but his decision to vote the crime bill out of committee was a political one.
— Tabitha Mueller
Immigration resolution DOA after advocates call it insufficient — 11:33 a.m.
Though the Assembly introduced a resolution (ACR5) on the first day of session to conduct an interim study on the activities of federal officials on the enforcement of immigration laws, it will not advance this special session.
The resolution format allowed lawmakers to skirt the constitutional provision requiring bills introduced and passed in a special session to only address topics raised by the governor.
Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager (D-Las Vegas) told The Nevada Independent on Sunday that the resolution is not going to be heard by a committee because advocates have asked that it not be heard.
Noé Orosco, the Nevada Immigrant Coalition coordinator, told The Indy that he believes the resolution did not go far enough. The immigrant advocacy group has urged lawmakers to consider additional protections such as banning U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from wearing face coverings and limiting immigration enforcement from sensitive locations such as churches.
The study, they said, was insufficient.
“It is not nearly enough. It’s going to create a facade. It’s not going to address the trauma that is happening now,” Orosco said.
However, some lawmakers and progressive groups have been pushing for changes to Gov. Joe Lombardo’s signature crime bill, contending that immigration enforcement is a public safety issue. The American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada proposed an amendment to require legislative approval for the expansion of immigration detention facilities and to investigate certain individuals acting as law enforcement officers who detain people. Neither were considered by lawmakers.
— Isabella Aldrete and Tabitha Mueller