Once again, home doesn’t mean Nevada.

Hope for aspiring homeowners took another hit last week at the special session of the Nevada Legislature when SB10, a proposal aimed at capping the number of housing units that corporations can scoop up in a single year, faltered by a single vote in the Assembly.

The version of the bill that sailed through the Senate on Nov. 19 wasn’t perfect. It was a compromise that surely disappointed ardent supporters who wanted the cap set at 100 houses instead of the 1,000 figure that ended up in the final bill.

But it was an example of real lawmaking in action. Had it succeeded, it would have made real progress toward breaking the stranglehold large corporate investors have enjoyed on the state’s housing market. It also would have sent a message that Nevada was doing something about its well-deserved reputation as a speculator’s paradise.

The fact SB10 was debated at all is a small miracle. Although Gov. Joe Lombardo likes to talk about relieving the state’s affordable housing crisis, it didn’t make his special session to-do list. It had to be added through a petition signed by legislators, a first in Nevada history.

The special session will be remembered for the failure of legislation that would have provided up to $1.8 billion in transferable tax credits spread over 15 years to expand the state’s film industry. Touted as a job creator and economic diversifier, it received a big push from organized labor and bedazzled Democrats, ripe for the waiting embrace of Gov. Lombardo. Fortunately, the movie madness wound up on the cutting room floor in Carson City.

Frankly, I was a little surprised that it failed. In recent years, many lawmakers have liked nothing better than to play courtesan to the billionaire class. While the state founders and flails under the weight of a long list of quality-of-life maladies — housing affordability high on the list — there’s been plenty of time to divert precious tax resources to ballparks and football stadiums.

With that spark of hope, and Sen. Dina Neal (D-North Las Vegas) driving a bill sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro (D-Las Vegas), the collective effort to keep housing affordable was bolstered by support from Sen. Ira Hansen (R-Sparks). 

Talk about a white buffalo sighting. Who knows, maybe Hansen thought he owed her one after helping Lombardo hamstring the housing bill during the regular session.

I’d like to think it was a better angel that brought Hansen back. Seeing Neal and Hansen sitting side by side made for a remarkable display of bipartisanship and collegiality during the Nov. 19 Senate Jobs and Economy Committee hearing.

They made it clear they were working toward a common goal with Nevadans in mind. Their definitions and statistics varied. Neal fought for a 100-house annual limit with Hansen starting the negotiation at 2,000. “Our middle ground was a thousand,” Neal said. Hansen added, “Frankly, she’s right, it was a compromise. I’m trying to bring two different sides together, and we agreed to help the thing move forward in a bipartisan fashion.”

In a move that’s bound to generate conspiracy theories and cynical smirks, the housing bill was scuttled thanks in no small part to the vote of Hansen’s wife, Assm. Alexis Hansen (R-Sparks), just days after she’d added her name to the historic petition that put it in play. I’m left wondering what the conversation is like at the Hansen house this week.

That 1,000-house figure might seem astronomical, but the biggest players at the table are capable of buying twice that many without blinking. These are chip-stacked high-rollers chasing scores made possible by the rapid growth of the state’s metro areas. They act quickly and drive up prices while creating a market of renters. And they don’t give a damn about Nevadans.

For elite investors, buying scores of homes and churning out rental properties in rapidly growing communities is a much safer bet than playing the stock market. An excerpt from the bill reveals a glimpse at what Nevada is up against in trying to corral the speculators. It mentions “corporations, foreign corporations, multinational corporations, pooled investment vehicles, limited-liability companies and any affiliates and entities” under the legislation’s umbrella.

Critics can save their talking points about free markets. Nevada’s housing market isn’t free, it’s rigged. Without meaningful protections, the housing market will remain a hustle in real time.

The bill’s spirit was compelling, reminding us that the state has public interests in affordable housing, stabilizing neighborhoods and ensuring a fair and competitive housing market.

When Lombardo hasn’t been working to derail the housing bill, his answer to the affordability crisis has been to blame the previous administration, promise to cut red tape for his many developer friends and make the corny call for the release of federal public lands. It’s hardly been a lights-and-sirens effort.

And here we are, again. Nevada is second in the nation for cost-burdened renters and fifth most excessively cost-burdened homeowners, according to a study by The Kenny Guinn Center for Policy Priorities. The housing crisis figures to only worsen under the chaos and uncertainty of the Trump administration.

Neal can be proud, even in defeat, in fighting the good fight. Others can’t say the same.

Home does still not mean Nevada.

John L. Smith is an author and longtime columnist. He was born in Henderson and his family’s Nevada roots go back to 1881. His stories have appeared in New Lines, Time, Reader’s Digest, Rolling Stone, The Daily Beast, Reuters and Desert Companion, among others.