Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager (D-Las Vegas) says he is ready to declare a fiscal emergency to tap into Nevada’s rainy day fund to help pay for food assistance programs set to lose federal funding on Nov. 1 — and said he doesn’t “intend to take no for a F****ing answer.” 

The call comes ahead of an expected special session sometime this fall and as half a million Nevadans face the potential loss of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits (SNAP). They are set to freeze next month amid a federal government shutdown. The program, also known as food stamps, costs about $90 million a month in Nevada.

“I am prepared to declare a fiscal emergency to tap into the State’s rainy day account, if necessary, to fully fund SNAP benefits until the Trump Administration gets its act together and stops turning its back on Nevadans,” Yeager said in a statement released Wednesday afternoon. “There is no more important issue to address at the anticipated Special Session than fully funding SNAP benefits by any means necessary.”

Tapping the state’s $1.3 billion rainy day fund first requires a joint emergency declaration from the governor and the Legislature (or the Interim Finance Committee if the Legislature is not in session) or for collected tax revenue to fall below 5 percent below projected amounts.

Under state law, lawmakers can’t move the reserve money from the general fund to somewhere else outside of a special session, but a declaration of a fiscal emergency and transfer to the general fund can happen ahead of a special session. Gov. Joe Lombardo, a Republican, said on Oct. 6 he plans to call a special session sometime this fall, but did not give an exact date.

The state last declared a fiscal emergency in May 2020 to deal with budgetary shortfalls stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gov. Joe Lombardo, a Republican, wrote in a letter to congressional representatives earlier this month that U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) officials said its regulations do not allow the state to directly fund SNAP. 

Per a USDA memo, he said Nevada would need to set up a new program distinct from SNAP to remain compliant with federal regulations. Even if he called a special session to appropriate SNAP funding, Lombardo wrote that the state could not directly fund the program.

“We’ve identified a short term solution of nearly $40 million to provide support for any Nevadan impacted by the federal shutdown over the next several weeks,” Lombardo wrote in a Thursday statement to The Nevada Independent. “In lieu of being able to directly fund SNAP, my administration will continue to seek and provide sustainable funding solutions for Nevadans.”

Though Yeager acknowledged the efforts of the governor and Legislature to funnel more than $38 million in funds to food banks to help address the looming crisis, he said the money isn’t enough and lawmakers “must do more.”

"Other states, some led by Republicans, others led by Democrats, are directly funding SNAP benefits for their citizens. Nevada should do the same,” he said. 

This story was updated on 10/30/2025 at 9:05 a.m. to include a statement from Gov. Joe Lombardo.