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Sandoval signs bills to create firefighters memorial, boost autism treatment, rethink criminal sentences

Michelle Rindels
Michelle Rindels
Riley Snyder
Riley Snyder
Criminal JusticeLegislature
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Before embarking on a number of high-profile bill signings in Las Vegas, Gov. Brian Sandoval added another six bills to the pile of signed legislation on Wednesday.

The measures include major changes to election in the city of Reno, increased penalties for crimes against first responders and the creation of a commission to review criminal sentencing guidelines.

Sandoval still must act on more than 30 pieces of legislation before they automatically become law after Friday. The governor has so far signed more than 580 bills that passed out of the Legislature, and has vetoed 37.

For a full list of bills Sandoval has signed, vetoed or has yet to make a decision on, check out The Nevada Independent’s spreadsheet.

Here’s all of the bills he signed on Wednesday:

SB541: Higher penalties for crimes against first responders

This bill, sponsored by Democratic Sen. Aaron Ford, Democratic Assembly Speaker Jason Frierson and Republican Assemblyman John Ellison, increases penalties for violent crimes against first responders and police. It calls for an additional sentence of one to 20 years for such crimes committed while the victim is in the line of duty.

Sandoval signed the bill in a ceremony at the Capitol complex in Carson City alongside Nevada Highway Patrol officers and firefighters.

AB36: Revising Reno elections

After legislators dropped a last-minute surprise amendment giving more power to the mayor of Reno, Sandoval signed a measure that will implement a long-in-the-works change to how the local government of Reno operates.

AB36, which passed unanimously out of the Assembly and on a party-line 12-9 vote in the Senate after a controversial amendment was grafted onto the bill and later discarded, would have removed Reno’s existing at-large ward and replaced it with a sixth geographical ward, with the city council charged with redrawing the boundaries. It also requires city council members be elected by voters in the ward they represent, and requires the mayor and councilmembers to report off-year campaign contributions.

It also sets clearer lines between city council members and the city manager, and prohibits them from dictating the suspension, removal or appointment of any employee unless specifically authorized in the city’s charter.

SB540: Firefighters memorial

This bill directs the Legislative Commission to authorize a memorial to Nevada’s firefighters. The display would be built in the plaza between the capitol and the legislative building in Carson City, and would be in addition to an existing memorial to law enforcement.

SB451: Establishes Nevada Sentencing Commission

Sandoval joined state prisons officials and Nevada Supreme Court Justices Michael Cherry and James Hardesty to sign this bill, which creates a commission to review sentencing guidelines. The commission will spend the interim determining whether the length of sentences is appropriate for the crime.

The goal is to ensure more fairness in sentences that can vary widely from judge to judge.

A similar effort in Connecticut helped reduce the prison population by thousands.

SB189: Child safety regulations  

Sandoval also signed SB189, which adds more training requirements for childcare workers, into law on Wednesday. Sponsored by Sen. Joyce Woodhouse, the bill raises the training requirement for every person employed at a childcare facility to 24 hours annually, regardless of the size of the facility or number of children overseen.

It also revises the definition of “child care facility” to include businesses or individuals overseeing less than five children, and subjects them to the same training requirements. It also revises and adds to rules on background checks for childcare employees and inspections of facilities.

The bill passed on largely partisan lines, with a 27-12 vote in the Assembly and Republican Senator Becky Harris joining Democrats to pass it out on a 13-8 vote in the Senate.

SB286: Autism treatment

This bill backed by Republican Sen. Heidi Gansert aims to increase the pipeline of therapists who work with children with autism.

It would create a board for Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), one of the most common treatments for autism. The board would be supervised by the Aging and Disability Services Division --  a change from the current system in which therapists answer to the Board of Psychological Examiners.

Nevada has a critical shortage of therapists who perform ABA, which has created long waiting lists and made it difficult to expend all the Medicaid funding Nevada to use on children with autism.

The bill passed on a unanimous vote in the Senate and a 37-5 vote in the Assembly.

Feature photo: Gov. Brian Sandoval signs a bill to create a firefighters memorial on June 14, 2017. Photo by Michelle Rindels.

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