There is a saying “You can’t be in two places at the same time.” So why does it appear legislative leaders want us to try?

Most readers know the Nevada Legislature only meets for 120 days beginning the first Monday in February during odd years. We are just days away from the start of the 2025 session. 

During that time, thousands of advocates — paid and unpaid lobbyists, representatives of various special interest groups and private citizens — will converge on Carson City to make their case to legislators on what will surely be more than 1,000 bills that could have varying impacts on our state. There is no question that those involved in the process — elected officials, legislative staff and citizens of Nevada — put in countless hours to ensure that come sine die (end of session) the people’s business has been taken care of in an open, participatory manner.

The legislative process is complex. More than 1,000 bill draft requests (BDR) will be submitted. The Legislative Counsel Bureau is tasked with converting these ideas into formal legislative language. Some may be simple. Some may be complex, There is certain to be more than one bill dealing with the same subject. Each BDR is converted into a bill. Each bill is introduced in the originating chamber, Senate or Assembly, and assigned to the appropriate committee. This is where the real work gets done.

The first step is for leadership to decide if a particular bill will receive a committee hearing. This is not guaranteed. Advocates have been busy trying to convince leadership to allow a bill to be heard or not to be heard. If a bill is not given an initial hearing, it dies and goes nowhere.

If leadership decides the bill deserves to be discussed in an open meeting (hearing), it is placed on an agenda. At the hearing, all who wish to testify for or against the bill will have the opportunity. Advocates for and against may also submit amendments to the committee for consideration. 

Following the hearing, leadership decides if the bill should be voted on by the committee. If the bill is voted on and approved, it is sent to the full chamber for a vote. If it passes, the bill is passed to the second chamber and the process repeats. If the bill is not given a committee vote, voted on but not approved, or does not pass the full chamber, it dies.

Because the committee process is key, it is imperative that advocates, those for and against, be given every opportunity to present testimony at every stage. Since similar bills may be introduced in the Assembly and Senate, there is a potential that a hearing on an Assembly bill and Senate bill on the same subject could be scheduled for a hearing at the same time.

Advocates also likely have various interests that fall under committees that could very well be scheduled for a hearing at times that will prevent attendance at both hearings, even though both topics may have equal importance to the individual. This is why committee meeting times are important.

During the 2021 and 2023 legislative sessions, and now for the upcoming session, the Senate Legislative Operations and Elections and the Assembly Legislative Operations and Elections committees were scheduled to meet on the same days, Tuesday and Thursday, convening at 3:30 and 4 p.m., respectively. These are the only committees sharing the same responsibilities with such a scheduling conflict for those who wish to be involved in the process on bills that matter to them. Prior to the 2021 session, the two committees met on different days or, if on the same day, at times that allowed full participation of those interested.

As the saying goes, “You can’t be in two places at the same time.” I have to wonder what the reason is for this schedule. The perception could be something sinister, depending on one’s political leanings, or there could be a very logical explanation. Hopefully the latter. 

The meeting schedule is set. Let’s hope legislative leaders ensure all voices are heard on all sides of all issues at all hearings.    

Doug Goodman is the founder and executive director of Nevadans for Election Reform, an advocacy organization that supports election reform legislation and passage of ballot initiatives related to election reform.

The Nevada Independent welcomes informed, cogent rebuttals to opinion pieces such as this. Send them to [email protected].