After convening Thursday for a special session, the Nevada Legislature introduced 13 bills or resolutions, held hearings on nine of them, and the Senate even passed four of the bills out of its chamber. 

As the second day of the special session begins, the Assembly is set to gavel in at 1 p.m. and the Senate at 10 a.m.

Though agendas were not listed as of Thursday evening, at least four measures in the Assembly have yet to receive a hearing and there are two bills listed in the governor’s proclamation calling the special session that have yet to be introduced. 

You can view the status of each piece of legislation in The Nevada Independent’s special session bill tracker here and catch up on Thursday’s happenings here.

Every day, The Nevada Independent will publish live updates with the latest on bill introductions, hearings, votes and behind-the-scenes negotiations. 

See below for updates.

• Crime bill passes out of Assembly committee
• Film tax passes committee
• Windsor Park dispute
• Assembly speaker interview
• Film tax ad campaign
• Senate bill passages

Crime bill passes out of Assembly committee — 8:20 p.m

Gov. Joe Lombardo’s crime bill passed out of an Assembly committee on an 11-3 vote alongside three amendments that would push back implementation dates and decrease certain allocations.  

Funding for the Nevada Department of Corrections (NDOC) would decrease from nearly $9.5 million to about $4.4 million per an amendment from the Governor’s Finance Office. Don Southworth, the offender management administrator for NDOC, said that the decrease is in part because of some of the proposals in the crime bill passed in the 2025 legislative session, such as changes to DUI laws. 

Tweaks would also be made to a proposed NDOC program dedicated to incarcerated individuals’ reentry into the community. Among several criteria, to be eligible for the alternate reentry program, offenders must be within 18 months of discharge and have been neither violent or sex offenders, NDOC Director James Dzurenda testified.

Funding for the program would now go directly to NDOC instead of the Interim Finance Committee, the group which oversees legislative funds when the body is not in session. The program's implementation date would be extended to 2027. 

Dzurenda said that the reentry program could help the department deal with its chronic overtime issues, potentially allowing the department to close medium security housing units. 

Another amendment from the governor’s office would clarify that accessing another individual’s social media account could constitute as cyberstalking under the bill. 

— Isabella Aldrete

Committee passes amended film tax credit bill with fewer workforce diversity mandates — 7:24 p.m.

The bill to significantly expand Nevada’s film tax credit program squeaked out its first committee approval Friday after an amendment cut many of the workforce diversity requirements and created a new revenue stream for state employee retirement benefits.

The Assembly Committee on Jobs and Economy voted 9-5 in support of AB5. The measure will now head to the Assembly floor, where a majority approval would send it to the Senate.

The original version of AB5 — which would provide $120 million in annual transferable tax credits for a 15-year period — included language that would trigger a 5 percent reduction of the tax credits if a production company did not meet certain diversity requirements. For example, it would have cut the tax credits if the company did not do enough to either train or provide opportunities for underrepresented groups, or ensure a diverse film production hierarchy, ranging from directors to editors.

Instead, it now would require production companies to provide documentation of a diverse workforce. Without this proof, the tax credits would be decreased by 5 percent.

Matt Walker, a lobbyist for Howard Hughes — the developer of the proposed studio project in Summerlin — said the change was to align the bill with previous economic development bills.

The bill also will transfer certain taxes from the proposed studio district to cover medical expenses of state employees who participated in the state’s retirement program. Based on existing data, the annual tax revenue would be between roughly $1 million and $9 million across the 15-year period.

“I think this is just another way that the local jurisdiction is contributing to the state,” said Assm. Sandra Jauregui (D-Las Vegas).

The committee members’ votes aligned with their stances Thursday, when the entire Assembly had to vote on an unexpected motion to kill the bill. That vote tied 21-21, failing to meet the majority threshold and sending the bill to committee.

Of the committee members, one vote was particularly notable.

Assm. Gregory Koenig (R-Fallon) voted in favor of killing the bill Thursday despite supporting a previous version of the bill (AB238) during the 2025 Legislature. However, he voted to pass the bill out of committee, while reserving the right to change his mind on the floor.

After the vote, he told The Indy to not read too much into his vote in committee and that he wanted to make sure the bill reached the Assembly floor.

There were other changes to the bill.

Originally, the bill would have provided a $6 million allocation to the College of Southern Nevada for training programs, but under the new bill, it would go toward Chicanos Por La Causa, a group focused on assisting low income Hispanics.

The new bill would also prohibit the creation of gaming establishments in the proposed studio project in Summerlin.

Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager (D-Las Vegas) criticized the effort to kill the bill when it was introduced Thursday, saying not giving it a hearing would be “a slap in the face” to supporters and opponents.

Soon after, Assm. Selena Torres-Fossett (D-Las Vegas) said that effort “was a part of the legislative process,” and it was unfair to receive an amendment at the last minute.

— Eric Neugeboren

Dispute over Windsor Park bill from state lands agency — 7:24 p.m.

A routine bill hearing on the latest effort to relocate residents of North Las Vegas’ Windsor Park neighborhood — a dilapidated neighborhood where the ground has sunk — took a turn in the final minutes.

Charlie Donohue, the administrator of the Nevada Division of State Lands, said he only learned about the bill Friday morning and that turning the land the homes were on into a public park would be a heavy lift for his agency.

“The Division of State Lands is at or beyond our capacity,” Donohue said.

He asked for more clarity in the bill about which entity would be responsible for some of this work. If it ended up being his division, a fiscal note would be added to the bill, he said.

He added that he was not made aware of the bill relating to this topic during the 2025 Legislature.

In response, Sen. Dina Neal (D-North Las Vegas), the bill’s sponsor, said she “will manage it,” but that legal counsel never informed her that the division had to be consulted.

“I am very clear when someone throws a rock and I get hit with it,” she said. “But I also throw rocks back.”

— Eric Neugeboren

Assembly speaker addresses procedural maneuver, telephone testimony — 10:57 a.m.

The special session began with an unusual procedural maneuver that was a surprise to state lawmakers, lobbyists and reporters.

Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager (D-Las Vegas) told The Nevada Independent in an interview Thursday evening he had no idea Assm. Selena La Rue Hatch (D-Reno) would call for a vote to kill the bill expanding film tax credits, using a little-known rule that allows any member to object to a bill’s introduction. 

He said the move, which did not succeed, led to confusion among members of both parties and took advantage of the absence of Assm. Tracy Brown-May (D-Las Vegas), who was not present because of a family matter. 

Yeager said because there was no forewarning, staff had to verify the rule and it ended up wasting an hour. If Yeager had been advised about the maneuver, he said he could have helped members get up to speed and save time.

“If you don’t like the film bill, fine. Vote no on it. I’ve been very clear to everyone in this building, I’m not twisting anybody’s arm,” Yeager said. “If you’re a no, you’re no, if you’re a yes, you’re a yes. But win the battle on the merits. Don't win it on a technicality on the floor.”

No lawmaker has to share what they plan to do or how they plan to vote, Yeager acknowledged, but said letting your colleagues know your intentions is a professional courtesy that was not extended Thursday. 

As for the 21-21 vote on the procedural move, Yeager said it likely stemmed from confusion — something newly appointed Assm. Jason Patchett (R-Henderson) cited as the reason for his vote against it. Yeager said it was important to the governor to not put something on the special session agenda that didn’t have the votes to pass.

“We run for office, and we shouldn’t try to avoid these decisions,” Yeager said. “Not surprising, in prior economic development efforts, they tend to be close. They tend to not fall along political party lines. But I’m certainly not going to apologize for asking the members of the Assembly to really dig into it and have to make a hard choice.”

He said there’s valid points from proponents and opponents, and lawmakers are going to have to weigh those as they consider the legislation. The special session puts things on a tight timeline, but Yeager said there still may be amendments to bills if they’re necessary.

Though Yeager received criticism for allowing a member to vote remotely on the motion made by La Rue Hatch but not allow telephonic public testimony during committee hearings, he said the speaker has the ability to allow for remote participation under “exceptional circumstances.”

The challenge of a part-time Legislature, he said, is that lawmakers have obligations to work and family.

With a historic amount of legislation to process and limited resources to do so, Yeager said leadership made the decision to not allow phone testimony — a decision also made in the 2023 special session that approved a public financing deal to bring the then-Oakland A’s to Las Vegas.

He noted that written comments are still allowed and he would encourage people who want to participate by phone to send testimony in writing. 

“We’re doing the best that we can given the limited resources and the limited time. This is not a regular session in the Legislature,” Yeager said. “We have different time constraints we’re working under, different staff constraints we’re working under.”

Though some have wondered about the need for a special session and the sheer size of Lombardo’s agenda, Yeager said there’s not really a statutory or constitutional standard about what constitutes extraordinary circumstances or an emergency. 

It’s the governor’s call, Yeager noted, adding that there are things on the agenda he believes are important, such as replenishing the Interim Finance Committee’s unrestricted contingency fund, helping people in Windsor Park maintain homes and standing up a program for the state to support social services should federal funding be cut.

With a lot on the agenda, he added that lawmakers are focused on getting the work done.

“Communication is where it needs to be,” Yeager said. “I think folks are ready to get in and out of here, but the communication has been pretty good. Hopefully that will continue.”

— Tabitha Mueller

This post was updated on 11/15/2025 at 4:08 p.m. after Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager corrected prior remarks about the ability to vote remotely.

Construction and trade unions push full-steam ahead on film tax expansion bill — 7:08 a.m.

The labor-funded Nevada Jobs Now political action committee (PAC) launched an ad campaign Thursday in Las Vegas and Reno pushing the film tax credit expansion measure. 

The ad airing in Las Vegas and Reno cost nearly $7,700 and touts the effort’s potential to bring “good-paying jobs” and “billions of dollars for our economy.”

It follows the unions delivering boxes to legislators containing more than 5,000 postcards signed by members expressing support for the film tax credit program.

The PAC was established by construction and trade unions and initially funded with a $1 million investment.

– Tabitha Mueller

Four bills passed out of the state Senate Thursday — 8:51 p.m.

Hearings were held Thursday on two of the most contentious measures proposed this special session: Gov. Joe Lombardo’s multifaceted crime bill and a proposal to massively expand the state’s film tax credit program. 

Though three other bills passed the Senate unanimously on Thursday evening, a final measure aiming to address Nevada’s health care provider shortage by expediting physician licensures and establishing a medical grant program (SB5) passed a 15-6 vote, with Republicans in opposition. 

Republicans who opposed the measure raised concerns that the grant program would inadvertently fund abortions and circumvent provisions in the federal HR1 budget bill, also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

The four bills await introduction in the Assembly.

— Tabitha Mueller