Nevada state worker unions could miss out on raises, other benefits under amended bill
In today’s edition:
- Why legislators were absent for antisemitism vote
- State union members might miss out on raises
- A PERS-backed bill
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From the Capital Bureau Chief:
Something curious happened last Friday.
Convening after a long recess, 10 Democratic members of the Assembly were absent during the vote on SB179, a bill sponsored by Sen. James Ohrenschall (D-Las Vegas), who is Jewish. It would require the Nevada Equal Rights Commission to consider whether antisemitism played a role when investigating a discriminatory act.
The measure passed 28-4, with the 10 missing Democrats marked as absent and excused.
After the vote, the body recessed and reconvened 13 minutes later, with all 10 absent members now back on the floor.
Coordinated, mass absences for legislative votes are highly unusual, although it’s unclear when the last time a large portion of the Assembly chamber has intentionally skipped a vote.
So, what was behind it?
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, sources said it stemmed from members taking issue that the bill had incorporated the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism and examples.
Specifically, lawmakers were worried that the alliance’s examples of antisemitism, some of which focused on the State of Israel, could violate free speech rights or crack down on criticism of Israel as a political entity.
The concerns arrive as tensions are high surrounding the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Nevada had proposed an amendment that would have used the definition of antisemitism from the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism.
Executive Director of the ACLU of Nevada Athar Haseebullah said the organization proposed the amendment because it centered on discrimination based on faith, a definition that was not so overly broad that it would inhibit free speech.
“We know the issue is a difficult one for people to grapple with, but now is the time that we need to be engaging in the encouragement of protected speech, discourse and dialogue,” Haseebullah said. “Not inhibiting it and not giving the government more tools to undercut the First Amendment (which protects freedom of speech).”
Jolie Brislin, the regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, said the International Holocaust Remember Alliance’s definition of antisemitism has been adopted by 35 states and more than 40 countries. She said the definition does not limit free speech or criticism of Israel but helps identify antisemitism in its many forms.
“This bill was brought forward by two Jewish youth from Las Vegas and has support from Nevada’s Jewish community,” Brislin said. “In a time of rising hate, Nevada has the opportunity to lead with clarity and courage.”
According to sources, Assm. Erica Roth (D-Reno), who is Jewish and whose father was born in Nazi-occupied eastern France in 1941 and whose grandfather was killed during the occupation for exercising free speech, supported the idea. The proposal was not accepted.
Though members asked Speaker Steve Yeager (D-Las Vegas) for a delay to work through the details of the definition to avoid unintended consequences, sources said he brought it forward anyway.
Yeager did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent late Thursday evening.
There wasn’t opposition to the intent of the bill, sources said, but rather to the definition used under the law, and that the bill could have benefited from more work, which was among the reasons 10 members skipped the vote.
As always, please send us your questions, thoughts and suggestions. You can reach me at [email protected].
What we’re reading and writing
Lombardo softens parts of his crime bill, but lawmakers say it’s still too harsh by Isabella Aldrete
Softie.
Eight years later, why are Lombardo and lawmakers trying to scale back Clark County schools' reorganization? By Rocio Hernandez
We don’t need no education …
Lawmakers debate Lombardo’s big health care bill as clock ticks toward end of session by Tabitha Mueller
The deal-making is happening.
Nevada film credit expansion backers still confident despite critical reports by Eric Neugeboren and Tabitha Mueller
That movie star confidence.
‘Deflating and devastating’: State union worker pay bill gutted
Thousands of state workers would receive one-time retention bonuses and no longer earn the 3 percent annual raises they negotiated through collective bargaining, saving the cash-strapped state nearly $100 million if a proposal amended in the Assembly on Thursday becomes law.
The amendment to AB596, a bill to appropriate funds for state unions’ collective bargaining agreements, allocates $4,000 retention bonuses to all union members across the next two years, which would be distributed in $500 increments every quarter and were already negotiated in some of the union agreements.
If the bill moves forward, it appears that retention bonuses will be the only benefits that unionized state workers will receive across the next two years, as the legislation does not include money set aside for other benefits, such as personal days. Since the contracts’ funding must be approved by the Legislature, they are essentially non-binding.
It’s no sure thing that the amended bill will be the final one. Assm. Daniele Monroe-Moreno (D-Las Vegas), the chair of the Assembly Committee on Ways and Means, told The Indy on Thursday that she is unsure whether the proposal would be changed in the Senate. She did not expect any additional changes in her chamber.
The Senate Democratic Caucus did not respond to a request for comment.
The original proposal would have appropriated more than $320 million to fund union agreements approved last week by the state Board of Examiners, a panel consisting of the governor, attorney general and secretary of state. Gov. Joe Lombardo was the only board member to vote against approving several of the agreements because of the state’s uncertain economic outlook.
The new proposal would cut down the bill’s price tag to about $25 million from the state’s general fund and $9 million from the highway fund.
Here’s what else to know.
- The contracts in question included ones negotiated by certain bargaining units in the Nevada Police Union, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and Fraternal Order of Police.
- All of these contracts included 3 percent raises in each of the next two fiscal years, and some of them included other perks, such as longevity pay, salary step advances and funds for uniforms and equipment — which would also not be provided if the amended bill passes.
- These agreements also already included the $4,000 in retention bonuses, meaning the amended bill would not provide benefits that were not already agreed upon.
- Rosina Barrientos, an AFSCME member, said in a statement that the union is “disappointed” and the raises would have had “real, lasting impacts on the lives of state workers across the State of Nevada.”
- In a statement, Nevada Police Union President Dan Gordon said the group is “extremely disappointed” about the decision, which it called “deflating and devastating.”
- “Although we understand the State is in a tough place during this difficult economic downturn, we still feel public safety should be far higher on the priority list in this state.”
- The new proposals would bring a new benefit for members of the Battle Born Firefighters Association and Nevada Peace Officer Association (NPOA), whose approved contracts did not set aside money for retention bonuses. Instead, the agreements stated that members would receive the same retention bonuses that the Legislature approved for non-union state employees (which was $0).
- Another bill coming?: The bill does not include union contracts for two bargaining units in the NPOA and Fraternal Order of Police because the Board of Examiners did not approve those agreements until Thursday.
— Eric Neugeboren
Bill Spotlight: PERS-backed bill to go after charter schools
Charter schools in Southern Nevada have racked up more than $1 million in delinquent contributions to the Public Employee Retirement System (PERS) over the last two years alone, but PERS has largely been unable to go after them because of a legal loophole.
But SB418 would fix that, and is headed to the governor’s desk for approval after passing out of the Assembly unanimously earlier this week.
- Currently, the Department of Taxation doesn’t have the authority to help collect delinquent contributions from certain types of public employers, including charter schools.
- Without assistance from the Department of Taxation, PERS, which solicited the bill, says that it has few options to collect the funds beyond litigation and by that point, has already invested significant amounts of staff time trying to resolve the issue.
- SB418 would help fix that loophole by allowing PERS to seek assistance in collecting funds from other agencies with statutory oversight like a local government, school district, or executive branch.
- The bill has been backed by educational advocacy groups, including the Nevada Faculty Alliance and Nevada State Education Association.
— Isabella Aldrete
Keeping Tabs
🦷Dental hygienists launch revenge campaign — Following Gov. Joe Lombardo’s proposal to establish an alternative hygienist training pathway in his health care bill, SB495, dental hygienists have been review-bombing the offices of dentists who expressed support of the bill and flooded the governor’s office with opposition letters. One text message thread shared with The Nevada Independent called for hygienists to walk off the job. As of Thursday afternoon, the measure has the most opinions of any bill in the Legislature, with 32,462 opinions, nearly 80 percent of which are in opposition.
- “This is the Governor's bill, not the dental association. The dentists simply supported it via letters and were put on a hit list,” said Paul Klein, a lobbyist for the Nevada Dental Association. “Dentists are worried that by supporting this bill, the slander will negatively impact their business.”
🗳️No nonpartisan voting in presidential primaries? — An amendment to Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager’s (D-Las Vegas) proposal to allow registered nonpartisans to vote in party primaries (AB597) would prohibit their participation in presidential primaries.
🧬Bill to protect autism data — If news of 23andMe’s bankruptcy has you worried that your genetic data could be sold off (or worse), a bill from Yeager should have you covered. AB589, which passed out of the Assembly along party lines this Monday, would prevent the sale or transfer of genetic information or a DNA sample except in certain cases.
- The bill would also prohibit a state agency or a local government from disclosing autism-related data under most circumstances, after Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced plans to create a national autism database.
😠 Higher education labor group upset about proposed benefits program move — Though lawmakers seemed generally open to Gov. Joe Lombardo’s proposal to establish the Nevada Health Authority, SB494, the Nevada Faculty Alliance raised an alarm about the independence of the Public Employees Benefits Program (PEBP) and its board under the Nevada Health Authority. The alliance proposed a conceptual amendment intended to preserve some of the authority and independence of the PEBP board, but lawmakers didn’t discuss it.
“These amendments are intended to ensure that the PEBP Board independently represents the best interests of participants of the program and retains its role as fiduciary for the Program,” the alliance noted.
✅ Charter school raise, paid family leave bills pass — The Senate unanimously passed AB398, Yeager’s bill to provide funds for charter school teacher raises and to compensate teachers in hard-to-fill positions. It’s the first charter school raise bill to pass both chambers this session.
Meanwhile, the Assembly passed AB388, a bill from Assm. Selena La Rue Hatch (D-Reno), which would significantly expand paid family leave policies in public and private employment. Assm. Tracy Brown-May (D-Las Vegas) was the only Democrat to vote against, while all Republicans were opposed.
— Eric Neugeboren, Isabella Aldrete, Tabitha Mueller
Looking Ahead
Days until:
- Sine die: 4
And to get you going into the week, a few social media posts that caught our eye:
- Instagram: Life imitates art.
- X: If music be the food of love, play on.
- BSky: Oh, the joys of late-night floor sessions.
We’ll see you next week.
This story was corrected on 5/30/25 at 11:48 a.m. to indicate that the Nevada Faculty Alliance proposed a conceptual amendment to preserve the authority and independence of the PEBP board. It was updated at 12:30 p.m. to include a statement from the Anti-Defamation League.