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Newest bills in Legislature include proposals to raise the minimum wage to $12, increase smoking age to 21, limit surprise ER bills

Riley Snyder
Riley Snyder
Michelle Rindels
Michelle Rindels
Megan Messerly
Megan Messerly
Legislature
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Front of the Nevada Legislature building

Lawmakers unveiled 151 new bills on Monday — the deadline for introducing bills sponsored by committees.

The long list of legislation includes everything from raising the smoking age to 21 to increasing the minimum wage and curbing large hospital bills when someone ends up in an out-of-network emergency room. Committee members are required to vote on whether to introduce the bills, though voting in favor of a bill’s introduction does not constitute support for the legislation itself and, as such, the votes are not typically controversial.

The introduction deadline means the bulk of proposed legislation for the 2019 session has been introduced, after last week’s deadline for individual lawmakers to introduce legislation. But the clock is ticking; the deadline for bills to make it out of committee is April 12, or just slightly more than two weeks away.

Here’s a look at some of the major bills introduced on Monday:

LABOR

AB456: Minimum wage of $11-$12 an hour by 2024

This bill calls for a 75-cent increase in the minimum wage each year for five years, starting in 2020. That means the minimum wage would end up at $12 in 2024 for businesses that don’t offer health insurance, and $11 an hour for those that do.

HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES

AB469: Surprise emergency room billing fix

The bill, sponsored by the Assembly Health and Human Services Committee, establishes a process for how hospitals and insurance companies should treat patients who end up with out-of-network emergency medical bills through no fault of their own. For one, the bill specifies that the patient is only responsible for their copay, coinsurance or deductible as they would have normally been expected to pay for in-network services.

Then, it establishes certain rates that insurers must pay providers if they have been recently contracted. The bill establishes that rate at 108 percent of the amount that would have been paid for the services under the prior contract if the two were contracted in the prior 12 months, and 115 percent if they were contracted in the prior 24 months.

If they weren’t contracted in the last 24 months, the out-of-network provider makes a request for payment, which the insurer can accept or deny. If it is denied, the insurer then makes a counter offer. If the provider denies that counter offer, the matter goes to arbitration and an arbitrator must select either the offer or counteroffer for payment. The losing party is responsible for paying for the costs of arbitration.

SB482: State-run reinsurance program

Nevada could soon join a handful of states in setting up its own reinsurance program for health insurance plans on the individual market. The goal of reinsurance is to stabilize individual market premiums by reducing the risk that insurance companies assume for high-cost claims. The Affordable Care Act initially included a federal reinsurance program to help establish the individual market, but it expired at the end of 2016.

SB481: Regulations on association health plans and short-term limited duration plans

This bill, introduced by the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, gives the state insurance commissioner additional authority to regulate association health plans — those that allow small businesses to join together to purchase health insurance. It also bars someone from holding more than one short-term limited duration health insurance policy in a 365-day period. The changes aim to address the expansion of both types of health plans by the Trump administration last year.

SB472: All-payer health insurance claims database

This bill, sponsored by the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee, would require the state to establish an all-payer claims database that contains information for all health insurance claims for all medical, dental or pharmacy benefits provided in the state. That data would be confidential and only allowed to be released under certain circumstances, such as for research projects or to government agencies.

The legislation also would require the Department of Health and Human Services to publish an annual report about the quality, efficiency and cost of health care in the state based on the information contained in that database, including breakdowns by demographics, income, health status, geography and language.

SB455: Oversight of community-based living arrangement homes

One of a handful of bills making changes to the way the state oversees community-based living arrangement homes, this bill establishes a new category of “provider of home-based residential care,” which encompasses residential care homes, community-based living arrangement homes and providers of supported living arrangement services. It specifies that such homes may not have more than 10 residents.

The bill designates authority to the Aging and Disability Services Division for licensing providers of home-based residential care that serve people with intellectual, developmental or physical disabilities and people struggling with mental health issues.

AB471: Allowing supported living arrangement service providers to assist patients with a secondary mental health diagnosis

This bill, sponsored on behalf of the Legislative Committee on Senior Citizens, Veterans and Adults with Special Needs, allows the holder of a certificate to provide supported living arrangement services to provide care to any person with a primary diagnosis of an intellectual or developmental disability even if they have a different, secondary diagnosis, such as a mental health issue.

SB446: Supplemental Medicaid payments for personal care services with personal funds

This bill, introduced by Senate Minority Leader James Settelmeyer, would allow Medicaid recipients to directly receive reimbursements for personal care services and also to supplement state reimbursement rates for those services with their personal funds.

AB470: Smoking age raised to 21, vaping included in smoking ban

This bill places more restrictions on smoking cigarettes, marijuana or other plants, and explicitly includes vaping in the smoking ban.

It raises the minimum smoking age from 18 to 21. It also expands the smoking ban that’s currently in place for most indoor places of employment to include anywhere within 25 feet of an entrance or “operable window” of a place where smoking is banned.

SB443: Meals on Wheels funding

This will would allocate $1.5 million to the Meals on Wheels program, which provides home-delivered prepackaged meals to “food-insecure” people over the age of 60.

SB447: Enacts Question 4, medical device sales tax exemption

This bill enacts Question 4, a ballot measure approved by voters in 2016 and 2018 that exempts durable medical equipment from the sales tax.

SB470: Cultural competency for physicians

If approved, SB470 would require all physicians and osteopathic physicians licensed by the state to complete at least one hour of cultural competence training related to treating patients from different demographic backgrounds.

SB484: Medicaid reimbursement for chiropractors, discount program for hearing devices

This bill, sponsored by Sen. Pat Spearman, would require Medicaid to cover services provided by a chiropractor. The legislation also authorizes the director of the Department of Health and Human Services to establish a program to negotiate discounts and rebates for hearing devices for children who are deaf or hard of hearing for public and private insurers.

SB483: Suicide prevention training for family members

This bill revises the guidance for the Statewide Program for Suicide Prevention, requiring it to offer free suicide prevention training to family members of people considered at risk of suicide.

AB430: Family home visiting system to provide support to new parents

This bill, sponsored by Democratic Assembly Speaker Jason Frierson, calls for a program in which trained professionals would visit the homes of new parents — namely those who are low-income, young, disabled, incarcerated or otherwise vulnerable.

AB472: Prohibits insurers from denying maternity care based on the circumstances of conception

This bill, sponsored by the Assembly Health and Human Services Committee, prohibits any health insurance company from denying or restricting coverage for a mother, newborn or an attending health-care provider due to the circumstances of the conception, including surrogacy.

EDUCATION

AB458: Revising tax credits for Opportunity Scholarship program

The Opportunity Scholarship program, which currently grows by 10 percent each year, would be capped at a flat amount under AB458. The program involves businesses donating to scholarship organizations and then receiving a credit on their modified business tax in return. The scholarships — available to low- and middle-income families — help children attend private schools.

This bill would limit the tax credits available to businesses to about $6.7 million a year.

SB444: Pre-K funding

If approved, this bill would allocate $12 million over the next two fiscal years to enroll 1,500 children in prekindergarten education programs.

SB445: Minimum teacher salary

This bill, sponsored by Republican Sen. James Settelmeyer, requires that school districts — to the extent possible — pay full-time teachers no less than $45,000 a year. It also calls for bonuses of up to $5,000 to help teachers cover the cost of their degrees.

Clark County School District teachers starting pay is $40,900, though teachers in rural counties typically make less. White Pine teachers, for instance, start at $33,834 a year.

SB453: Millenium Scholarship changes

This bill, proposed by the Senate Committee on Education, would raise the required grade point average required to receive the Millenium Scholarship, a state-backed scholarship for Nevada high school students who attend college in state.

The bill would raise the required GPA from a 2.6 for the first year in college to 2.75, and remove the ability of students to regain the scholarship if they fall below the 2.75 GPA for any two semesters during their enrollment.

SB475 & AB460: Student performance as part of teacher evaluation

Two bills would reduce the role that student academic growth plays in teacher evaluations. Instead of accounting for 40 percent of a teacher’s rating, it would account for 20 percent in SB475, and just 10 percent in AB460.

AB475: Training for school boards, public disclosure of per-pupil student spending

This bill would require training for members of state and county school boards. It would also require schools to post certain information online, including:

  • The basic funding level per student
  • The average class size
  • The number of teachers
  • The amount of money spent on school supplies
  • The amount of per-pupil funding that comes from sources other than the state’s general education account

AB462: Moratorium on new charter schools

This bill would put a moratorium on the State Public Charter School Authority and school districts from accepting applications or approving new charter schools until 2021.

SB458: School garden funding

If approved, this bill would allocate a total of $615,00 over the next two fiscal years to the state Department of Agriculture for creation and maintenance of school gardens at Title 1 schools.

HOUSING

SB448: Affordable housing tax credits

If approved, SB448 would create $10 million in transferable tax credits available to developers who build affordable housing, and sets a framework for applications and use of the tax credits.

SB473: Affordable housing definitions

This measure creates a single, unified definition of “affordable housing” in state law, defined as housing affordable to a family with an overall income that does not exceed 80 percent of the median gross income for that specific county. The bill creates three “tiers” of affordable housing based on family income compared as a percentage to the median family income for each county, but defines affordable housing for all three tiers as costing a household no more than 30 percent of their gross income.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE

SB438: Conviction by confession

A bill sponsored by the Senate Judiciary Committee would result in confessions leading to an automatic conviction of a defendant in certain crimes, including certain sexual offenses, domestic violence, abuse or abandonment of an older person or DUI cases.

The bill also allows prosecutors to dismiss charges related to unlawful carry of a firearm if the offender later obtains a concealed carry permit.

AB431: Revising provision on restoration of voting rights

Proposed by Assembly Speaker Jason Frierson, AB431 would immediately restore the right to vote and serve on jury trials to any incarcerated person as soon as he or she is released from prison or has been discharged from parole or probation.

The bill would also immediately restore the right to vote for any person who has been discharged from probation or parole or released from prison prior to July 1, 2019, if they have not already petitioned a court to restore their right to vote. The bill also restores the right to vote to individuals convicted of a felony in another state but have since completed probation or parole or have been released from prison, removing the requirement that their right to vote be restored under the laws of the state where the felony was committed.

AB478: Racial bias training for police officers

Law enforcement officers would be required to complete at least 12 hours of training each year on racial profiling, implicit bias, mental health, de-escalation and other topics if this bill — sponsored by Democratic Assembly Speaker Jason Frierson — passes.

AB420: Asset forfeiture changes

If approved, AB420 would create a new structure for the police seizure and forfeiture of property used in crimes, repealing the current statutory scheme and replacing it with a system where the state must meet higher standards to seize an individual's property.

The bill states that property can only be forfeited in cases of a criminal conviction, as part of a plea agreement or through agreement by the parties in a case, and requires the state to establish that any forfeited property claimed by the state through “clear and convincing evidence.” The measure creates new reporting requirements on seized property for law enforcement agencies and sets forth a process where a person can reclaim their seized property.

GUNS

SB439: Increased penalties for unlawful concealed carry

If approved, SB439 would increase the maximum prison term for unlawful carrying of a concealed firearm from six to 10 years if the offender has been previously convicted of a felony, has been previously convicted of a similar crime or if the person is convicted of a different violent crime committed while they unlawfully carried a concealed weapon.

AB437: Concealed carry without a permit

This bill would enact so-called “constitutional carry,” in which a person does not need a concealed weapons permit to carry a weapon — concealed or otherwise. It’s backed by Republican Assemblyman Jim Wheeler and other Republicans.

MARIJUANA

SB437 & AB466: Marijuana charter banks and credit unions

SB437 calls for creating charter banks and credit unions that specifically serve the marijuana industry, while AB466 calls on the state treasurer to create a pilot program that would establish “closed-loop” payment processing systems for marijuana businesses. Such systems ensure marijuana money circulates within the industry but does not touch regular banks and the general money system.

SB430: Expanded conditions for medical marijuana cards

If approved, this bill would add certain medical conditions to the list of conditions under which a patient is allowed to obtain a medical marijuana card. Medical conditions in the bill include anxiety disorders, autism spectrum disorders, an autoimmune disease, anorexia, opioid dependence or addiction, a neuropathic condition or any condition related to the human immunodeficiency virus. The bill also lowers the threshold from “severe nausea” to just “nausea.”

SB434: Marijuana record sealing/DUI/employment

This bill would authorize a district attorney to petition a court to seal the records and vacate the conviction of a person or group of people in trouble for marijuana offenses that were legalized in 2017.

It also prohibits an employer from denying someone a job because the person tested positive for the presence of marijuana.

ACR7: Interim study on driving under the influence of marijuana

This measure proposes an interim study on issues related to driving under the influence of marijuana. The study scope would include scientific evidence about marijuana-related impairment as well as data about the number of arrests and convictions for marijuana DUIs since Nevada legalized recreational marijuana.

TRANSPORTATION & ENERGY

SB478: Peer-to-peer car sharing

This measure authorizes and places restrictions on the use of peer-to-peer car sharing programs, where individuals share their vehicles with another person for financial consideration. The bill imposes certain duties on the owner of the vehicle, including disclosure of certain information and sets insurance requirements for both the owner and driver.

SB474: Older teens need learner’s permit, more supervised driving experience

Young adults ages 18 and 19 would need a learner’s permit before taking to the road on their own under this bill. Existing law requires such a permit for teen drivers under the age of 18, but this bill would raise the age cutoff and also the experience threshold — it requires that any prospective driver have 75 hours of supervised experience, including 15 hours in the dark. That’s up from the current requirement of 50 hours.

AB411: Civil penalties for traffic offenses

This bill downgrades some traffic offenses — such as driving without a valid license — to civil infractions instead of misdemeanors that could lead to a bench warrant if unpaid. It maintains that other violations are misdemeanors, including driving with a revoked license.

AB485: Regulating electric scooter-share companies

This bill would regulate electric scooters like those produced by the companies Lime and Bird. It would allow local governments to set regulations and impose reasonable fees on the companies, and it restricts ridership to those 16 and older.

SB428: Electric Vehicle parking

Sponsored by the Senate Committee on Growth and Infrastructure, this bill would make it a misdemeanor offense and starting penalty of $100 to park any vehicle in a parking space designated for electric vehicle charging unless the vehicle in question is being charged.

AB465: Affordable solar access

This bill requires electric utilities in the state to offer a subsidized and affordable solar access program to low-income individuals and businesses starting in 2020. The measure sets various requirements on the scope and requirements of the plan and requires it to be approved by the state Public Utilities Commission.

ELECTIONS & GOVERNANCE

SB450: Major changes to recall elections

Qualifying a recall of an elected official in Nevada would become much more difficult under SB450, a bill proposed by the Senate Committee on Legislative Operations and Elections.

The bill would eliminate the current system where election officials check a random sampling of signature petitions for a recall and instead require county clerks to conduct a full verification of signatures over a period of 20 days, excluding weekends and holidays. The measure requires backers of the recall to pay for the cost of the full signature verification and establishes a maximum contribution amount of $5,000 per donor for any special election to recall a public official.

The bill also authorizes someone who has signed a recall petition to request their name be removed at any time prior to the full signature verification being completed and authorizes a person to submit requests to remove a person’s name after signature verification is completed. It also extends the deadline to challenge the legal sufficiency of a recall petition from 5 days to 15 days.

The measure also makes it a felony offense to misrepresent the content of a petition for recall of a public officer or for a person to knowingly or negligently obtain a false signature on a recall petition.

AJR9: Judges appointed, not elected

Judges would be appointed by the governor, not elected, if lawmakers and voters enact this proposed constitutional amendment. It calls for a Commission on Judicial Selection to vet candidates and provide a list of finalists to the governor, who picks a replacement from among them.

The resolution also calls for a permanent Commission on Judicial Performance, which would periodically review the performance of all judges and release their findings to the public. If a judge has a high enough review, he or she would be reappointed, while a judge with a mediocre rating would be eligible to reapply but the position would be open to others.

If a judge scores too low, they would not be eligible for another term. Because the measure proposes a change to the constitution, it would need to pass the Legislature in two consecutive sessions and pass a statewide vote.

SB452: Absentee ballots

Third-party groups that distribute absentee ballot forms will face more reporting requirements under SB452, a bill proposed by the Senate Committee on Legislative Operations and Elections.

Under existing law, anyone who intends to distribute absentee ballot request forms to more than 500 registered voters is required to notify the local election clerk of the approximate number of forms to be sent out and the expected mailing date. The bill extends the deadline to provide that notification from 14 to 28 days prior to an election.

It also requires them to mail the absentee ballot forms to voters no later than 35 days before the election; current law sets the deadline at 21 days prior to the election.

AB448: Residency requirements for filling vacancies in the Legislature

This bill, sponsored by the Assembly Legislative Operations and Elections Committee, would require someone who is appointed to fill a vacancy in the Legislature to have resided in the district for at least 30 days before the close of the filing period for the seat.

AB443: Removal of expiration of More Cops Tax

A 2005 law allows for an extra sales tax amount devoted to hiring more police officers, but it’s set to expire in 2025. This bill would remove the expiration date, allowing the tax to become permanent.

SB460: Abolishing public administrators in small counties

This bill, proposed by the Senate Committee on Government Affairs, would allow all counties in the state outside of Washoe and Clark to abolish the elected office of public administrator, and authorize county commissions to hire another individual to perform the duties typically required of the public administrator.

SB464: North Las Vegas government changes

Introduced by the Senate Committee on Government Affairs, this bill would give the mayor of North Las Vegas administrative power, including the ability to sign contracts, resolutions and ordinances approved by the City Council.

The bill would also change the procedure where city ordinances are introduced and remove language related to the removal of the city manager and instead prescribe removal terms in the manager’s employment contract. City Council members voted to fire former city manager Qiong Liu early last year in a contentious process, which resulted in both sides entering arbitration.

The bill also amends the duty of the city manager, removing requirements that he or she attend every meeting, supervise and coordinate administrative and clerical work and serve as the custodian of official election records.

AB415: PERS contribution change

If approved, AB415 would amend the timeframe for determining contribution rates for the state’s Public Employees’ Retirement System from every two years to every six years.

SB461: Hotel taxes in Lake Tahoe

If approved, this bill would create a $5 surcharge on per-night charges for any Lake Tahoe hotel rooms located in the Tahoe Township of Douglas County, an area that includes the communities of Stateline and Zephyr Cove.

The bill would send the surcharge to the Tahoe-Douglas Visitors Authority, which would be authorized to create and extend revenue bonds to promote recreational facilities in the township to promote and attract conventions and other large meetings.

SB466: Funds to renovate the Reno-Sparks Livestock Events Center

If approved, this bill would allocate $1.5 million toward advance planning and schematic design to “rehabilitate, repair, renovate and improve” the Reno-Sparks Livestock Events Center.

AB452: Lobbying registration changes

This bill would tighten up reporting deadlines for lobbyists at the Legislature, lowering the amount of time for a lobbyist to file any changes to their initial registration statement from five days to 24 hours. The measure also authorizes the Legislative Commission to adopt regulations allowing for exemptions and exceptions from state law on lobbyist registration and reporting.

AB450: Including prisoners for redistricting

If approved, AB450 would require the state demographer include the last residential address of inmates when conducting population counts to be used for apportionment and redistricting of congressional, legislative and other districts for elected office as required by the decennial census.

NATURAL RESOURCES

SB454: No hunting with drones

Proposed by the Senate Committee on Natural Resources, SB454 clarifies that the state’s prohibition on hunting from an aircraft or helicopter also applies to drones.

AJR7: Resolution objecting to the Fallon Range Training Complex expansion

The resolution expresses the Nevada Legislature’s opposition to a massive expansion of the Fallon Range Training Complex. It lists a variety of reasons, including eliminating public recreation access, conversion of land planned to be the Fox Peak Area of Critical Environmental Concern and restrict the area’s potential use for mining and grazing.

AJR8: Resolution opposing elimination of the Nevada State Office of the BLM

This resolution expresses the Nevada Legislature’s opposition to a 2017 proposed reorganization of the Department of Interior. The plan calls for eliminating 49 regional offices that roughly coincide with state lines and replacing them with 12 regions defined by landscape features, which would split up the state of Nevada and potentially eliminate a Nevada state office.

SB487: Prohibits coyote-killing contests

Contests or tournaments to kill coyotes would be prohibited in Nevada under SB487, which would make participating in or organizing such an event punishable by a felony.

AB479: Ban on keeping wild animals

This bill would make it illegal to import, possess, sell, transfer or breed a wild animal, including a lion, tiger, bear or any of a long list of other animals. It makes exceptions for research facilities, shelters, veterinarians, zoos and licensed circuses.

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