Many pieces still need to fall into place with less than 72 hours left in the state’s 120-day legislative session.

Issues still on the table include Gov. Joe Lombardo’s five policy bills, Democratic priority bills, and one remaining budget bill that, if passed, could signal that a final deal to end the session on time has been reached.

SB502, the capital improvement program budget bill, requires a two-thirds majority vote in each chamber for approval. This means Democrats need to secure support from at least one Republican in each chamber for the bill to advance. 

As of Friday evening, the measure passed out of the Senate on a vote of 17-4 and is awaiting a vote in the Assembly.

Other deals have already been struck.

Portions of Lombardo’s health care bill will be amended into SB434, a bill sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro (D-Las Vegas) that establishes a grant program to address health care provider shortages. The governor’s office is also working with Sen. Julie Pazina (D-Las Vegas) to merge his concepts into her SB262, which makes changes to the state’s graduate medical education.

Four of the five budget bills have already passed out and have been signed by the governor. Gov. Joe Lombardo said in a statement Friday that he signed the education budget bill “after the Legislature took the final vote to give permanent pay raises to all charter school teachers.”

To read more about the main storylines we’re watching as the session comes to a close, click on the topic in the list below to jump to that specific section:

• What education policies will pass?
• How much will Lombardo’s crime and economic development bills be amended?
• Will the film tax credit proposal cross the finish line?
• Will the governor reach a new veto record?
• Will boards and commissions reforms pass?

What education policies will pass?

The debate over charter school funding — which has elicited sharp back and forth between Democrats and Republicans — may be winding down after a proposal (AB398) from Speaker Steve Yeager (D-Las Vegas) passed out of both chambers almost unanimously and now heads to Lombardo for a signature.

The back-and-forth kicked off after Democrats rejected a budget request to fund raises for charter school teachers as outlined in Lombardo’s education proposal. Yeager’s amended proposal would allocate $38.6 million toward the purpose, in addition to bringing incentive pay to hard-to-fill teacher positions. 

Lombardo’s own education bill AB584 — heard for the first time last week in the Assembly Ways and Means Committee — would also make it easier for students at low-performing schools to transfer out and provide funds for an alternate school option. It’s unclear if the bill will move forward.

Another major education proposal (SB460) from Cannizzaro has yet to receive a floor vote. Proposing $105 million more in spending than is already included in the budget, that bill also includes funding for charter school raises, pre-K programs and a state teacher apprenticeship program. Republicans, however, have said that the charter school raises should have been included in a separate measure so Republicans don’t have to vote in favor of policies they don’t like in order to support charters. 

To that end, Senate Minority Leader Robin Titus (R-Wellington) has brought forth SB506, which would allocate nearly $40 million to charter school teacher raises over the next two years. 

How much will Lombardo's crime, economic development bills be amended?

Lombardo’s proposals on criminal justice and economic development have elicited skepticism from lawmakers who worry that the state won’t be able to afford them — putting their futures in doubt. 

Perhaps most contentious is Lombardo’s sweeping crime bill, which would impose harsher penalties for repeat offenders, theft and fentanyl possession, and is projected to cost the state about $42 million, according to initial estimates from the Nevada Department of Corrections (NDOC) — which already has a budget deficit of about $50 million. 

During the bill’s initial hearing Wednesday, lawmakers complained that the governor did not consult a significant number of outside groups (or lawmakers) in drafting the proposal. 

Lawmakers have also raised concerns about Lombardo’s economic development proposal — heard earlier this month — which would give tax breaks to high-tech businesses, such as clean energy companies, and child care businesses. It would also create a multimillion dollar fund for rural housing and infrastructure projects. 

The bill is estimated to cost upward of $100 million over the two-year budget cycle and lawmakers said they worry about the extent of tax breaks.

His housing bill (AB540), however, which would open up government incentives for "attainable housing," a new tier of housing slightly more expensive than traditional affordable housing, passed out of the Assembly unanimously this week. It would also allocate $133 million toward attainable housing projects. 

Another housing proposal (SB391) from Sen. Dina Neal (D-North Las Vegas), which would have capped the number of homes corporate buyers can purchase, failed to receive the necessary two-thirds support in the Senate after Lombardo asked Republicans to vote no. 

Will the film tax credit proposal cross the finish line?

It’s coming down to the wire on the effort to significantly expand Nevada’s film tax credit proposal, but the number of viable proposals appears to have shrunk to one.

The Assembly narrowly passed AB238 on Friday evening, the proposal sponsored by Assms. Sandra Jauregui (D-Las Vegas) and Daniele Monore-Moreno (D-North Las Vegas) and backed by Sony Pictures and Warner Bros. Discovery. It received the support of 15 Democrats and seven Republicans, while the remaining 20 members were opposed.

Sen. Roberta Lange (D-Las Vegas) on Wednesday pitched merging her proposal (SB220) with AB238, but that request is unlikely to move forward, as The Indy reported Friday.

That means the Sony and Warner Bros.-backed bill is the only one with a realistic chance of surviving — and it’s had an eventful past week leading up to its floor passage.

The bill narrowly advanced out of the Assembly Committee on Ways and Means last weekend, with an amendment that included stricter investment requirements and the creation of a special tax district meant to funnel money for pre-K in Clark County. 

The Culinary Workers Union Local 226 also endorsed the bill Thursday.

However, a report commissioned by the Governor’s Office of Economic Development cast doubt on the proposal’s long-term economic sustainability. 

Another veto record underway?

The session’s work isn’t technically over until Lombardo has weighed in on every bill that reaches his desk.

Two years ago, he vetoed a record 75 bills, but so far this session, he has rejected one bill: AB306, a proposal sponsored by Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager (D-Las Vegas) to increase the number of ballot drop boxes in the days leading up to an election. 

There will be more to come. The question is: How many?

It depends in large part on which bills ultimately reach his desk, but here are some of the ones we’re watching because of the uniform Republican opposition so far.

• AB388, the proposal from Assm. Selena La Rue Hatch (D-Reno), would significantly expand paid family leave in public and private employment. It advanced out of the Assembly on Thursday with all Republicans and one Democrat in opposition, and was heard Friday in the Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor.
• AB44, a bill brought by Attorney General Aaron Ford, would prohibit the deceptive price fixing of essential goods beyond the basic forces of supply and demand. It passed both chambers with no Republicans in support and three Democrats against.
• AB205, sponsored by Assm. Heather Goulding (D-Reno), would change sexual education in public schools from an opt-in to an opt-out system. It passed along party lines in both chambers.

You can view The Indy’s veto tracker here.

Will boards and commissions reforms pass?

It’s been a topsy-turvy few months for Lombardo’s priority to reform Nevada’s boards and commissions system — but the end appears to be in sight.

Assembly Minority Leader Gregory Hafen (R-Pahrump) on Friday introduced a bill (AB601) that sources familiar with the negotiations said could be a key step in reaching a compromise, but they emphasized that nothing is set in stone.

B&I Director Kris Sanchez told The Indy that he is "optimistic” about the bill.

Here are some of the highlights:

• An office within B&I would provide administrative services to the boards, including IT and financial assistance, in exchange for an undefined fee.
• The office would periodically review each board and commission under its purview, after which it would provide a recommendation about whether the entity should be dissolved or consolidated (which must receive legislative approval)
• The office would also be able to inspect any records from individual boards.

There are more than 300 boards and commissions in the state, which are civilian-composed bodies that either provide recommendations or oversee professional licensing requirements. Lombardo has eyed reforming the system ever since he took office — he issued an executive order seeking to crack down on occupational licensing mandates, and a 2023 bill put the office under the B&I’s jurisdiction.

But the past few months have revealed the challenges that come with reforming the system.

B&I brought forward a Lombardo-backed bill (SB78) that would have consolidated many of the boards, but it is essentially dead following outrage from the groups’ officials and paid lobbyists.

Then, the boards and commissions struck back with their own bill (an amended version of SB425) that would remove B&I control of the boards in favor of the Department of Administration, with boards being able to opt into a newly created office to receive certain support services.

But B&I strongly opposed the bill, arguing its accountability proposals were nothing new and would do little to improve board compliance with statutes, and it has not progressed through the Legislature since receiving an initial hearing last week.

There will likely be hearings on the new proposal this weekend There is also another bill (SB507) that was placed on the secretary's desk on Friday that would allow the boards and commissions office to prescribe a fee for its services.