In today’s edition: 

• Why did Lombardo’s crime bill die?
• Other bills lost in the sine die shuffle
• Legislation we’re watching for a veto

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From the Capital Bureau Chief:

Four days after the end of the legislative session, it feels like we’re still processing what exactly happened on sine die.

Much of the conversation has focused on the session’s chaotic last few hours — if not minutes — but we’ve learned that a filibuster by Sen. Ira Hansen (R-Sparks) may not actually deserve blame for the death of the governor’s major crime bill. 

To recap: When the Senate gaveled back in from a recess about half an hour before midnight (the constitutionally mandated end of session), Sen. Marilyn Dondero Loop (D-Las Vegas) had begun conducting business in her role as president pro tempore. Absent was Lt. Gov. Stavros Anthony, a Republican who serves as the presiding officer over the chamber.

Anthony later contended on social media he was locked out of the chamber, although he wasn’t there when lawmakers began to walk in and wasn’t present when they shut the door — signaling the start of floor activity.

Hansen quickly noted Anthony’s absence, and shortly thereafter, Anthony was back on the floor. (Observers noted that Anthony was also late for a floor session earlier in the day.)

As we wrote in our wrap-up story, work in the Senate in the remaining 15 minutes of the session ground to a halt after Hansen used a series of parliamentary procedures and filibustered in protest of the last-minute introductions of resolutions related to the state’s Legislative Commission, which approves proposed regulations brought forth by state agencies that flesh out the details of laws that passed. One would have reduced the number of Republicans on the commission from six to four — moving them from parity to the minority.

Hansen — who said that the resolution was a move to undermine Republican authority and usurp longstanding processes — and Minority Leader Robin Titus (R-Wellington) said the delay tactics had nothing to do with the remaining business.

Still, some have blamed Hansen’s protest for the death of various bills, including the governor’s heavily amended crime bill — which at 11:15 p.m. had passed the Assembly but was amended, meaning it needed a concurrence in the Senate to get to the governor’s desk.

But that crime bill, SB457, was never actually transmitted to the Senate for a concurring vote.

The final note on the bill, after it was approved in the Assembly on a vote of 36-6, was that it went “to printer,” not the Senate.

Sources close to the Senate Democratic Caucus, who were granted anonymity to speak freely, told me that because the crime bill was never transmitted back to the Senate, caucus leaders offered to hold a quick special session to pass the bill, but the governor declined.

Asked about the offer and refusal, spokeswoman for Gov. Joe Lombardo Elizabeth Ray said “many bills were killed because of legislative leadership’s lack of time management.”

“As a result, the Office of the Governor is thoughtfully reviewing what happened with budgetary and policy bills before making any decisions on a special session,” Ray said. “Legislative leadership squandered valuable time, and they are well aware of their mismanagement and the issues it caused.”

I reviewed records showing that the Legislative Counsel Bureau received the draft of the governor’s crime bill in early February — but the measure was only formally introduced in early April and its first hearing was on May 28 — five days from the end of the session. The governor's health care, housing and education bills received earlier hearings, with the housing bill heard in early April. 

After this newsletter was published, sources close to the Assembly Democrats reached out to note that the Assembly worked quickly on the final day of the legislative session to pass out high-profile bills despite not receiving them until the last minute. They noted that the Senate sent the 64-page crime bill to the Assembly on the last day, leaving little time to fix the language. Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager (D-Las Vegas) had made it clear he wanted to receive priority legislation by Saturday, sources said, but the bill came over two days later. 

We’re still looking into the procedural maneuverings and who Democrats and Republicans blame for the events that happened. It’s also worth noting that it’s not uncommon for highly publicized policy bills to die at the end of the session. We’ll have more on this soon.

This story was updated at 8:30 a.m. on 6/6/25 with context from sources close to the Assembly. As always, please send us your questions, thoughts and suggestions. You can reach me at [email protected].

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What else we’ve learned in the past 72 hours

• Why the Windsor Park bill died
  • In the waning minutes of the session, sources say the Senate had planned to concur on Assembly changes to SB393, the bill from Sen. Dina Neal (D-North Las Vegas) related to the relocation of residents of the Windsor Park neighborhood in North Las Vegas, a historically Black neighborhood that has become dilapidated because of the sinking of the ground from groundwater overuse.
    • The legislation sought to build off of a 2023 bill that allocated $37 million toward the relocation of residents. The 2025 bill updated eligibility criteria for relocation, extended funding deadlines and clarified neighborhood boundaries.
      • Neal gave an impassioned speech on the Senate floor in defense of the bill, which passed along party lines in the Assembly but with bipartisan support in the Senate.
        • “The bill is trying to focus on providing justice to families who were left by their own city,” Neal said. “They waited for them to die.”
  • But legislative sources told The Indy that the bill could not pass the final legislative hurdle after Republican senators — particularly Hansen — ran out the clock late Monday.
  • Earlier on Monday, a proposed amendment from Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro (D-Las Vegas) would have attached the Windsor Park changes to Gov. Joe Lombardo’s housing bill (AB540), but that amendment was withdrawn.
    • Legislative sources indicated that Lombardo was planning to sign the Windsor Park bill, and that the amendment did not come to fruition because it also sought to place an annual cap on corporate ownership of homes.
• Election administration bill suffers similar fate
  • SB74, an election administration bill from the secretary of state’s office, also needed final approval from the Senate on Monday evening — but it fell by the wayside in the final minutes.
  • It would have changed candidate filing procedures, clarified when mail ballots can be counted and allocated $200,000 for county election official training courses. The latter was part of an amendment that needed Senate concurrence.
    • The most controversial provision of the bill — which was amended out of the final version — would allow voters who did not receive mail ballots or cannot cast their ballots in person for health reasons to use an online ballot typically reserved for overseas and military voters. 
• Health care bill with Lombardo priority dies
  • SB434, sponsored by Cannizzaro, would have established a competitive grant program to support projects addressing Nevada’s provider shortages.
    • The bill was amended to include portions of Lombardo’s health care measure related to the creation of the Nevada Health Care Workforce and Access Program, a proposed competitive funding program designed to support projects addressing critical shortages of health care providers.
    • The bill failed to move forward on sine die because the Senate didn’t concur on the Assembly’s amendment, and the Assembly didn’t recede.

— Eric Neugeboren, Tabitha Mueller

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What we’re reading and writing

2025 Lombardo Veto Tracker: Rent control, opt-out sex ed, Styrofoam ban rejected by Isabella Aldrete, Tabitha Mueller, Eric Neugeboren and Rocío Hernandéz

The red pen is out in full force.

PHOTOS: Lawmakers dash to finish line of Nevada's 2025 legislative session by David Calvert

Strike a pose. 

Nevada Legislature adjourns without passing Lombardo priority bills, film tax measure by Eric Neugeboren, Tabitha Mueller and Isabella Aldrete

And, scene.

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Veto watch 2025:

There are more than 250 bills on the desk of Lombardo, who, as of Thursday afternoon, had vetoed more than 30 proposals.

He has until June 13 to veto the final bills that reached his desk. See our veto tracker here, and read below for the bills we’re watching for a possible veto because they passed along party lines.

• Summary eviction process
  • AB283 would repeal the state’s unique rapid summary eviction process and made it out of both chambers, but its future is still unclear — given that Gov. Joe Lombardo vetoed a near identical measure last session but expressed an openness to revisiting the issue.
    • Nevada is the only state where tenants must make the first filing in an eviction case — a process known as “summary eviction.” Tenants’ rights advocates have long pushed back against the policy as unnecessarily confusing.
    • The bill sponsored by Assm. Max Carter (D-Las Vegas) would flip that process by requiring the landlord (in most cases) to make the first filing and serve the tenant with a copy of the summons. 
• Bills related to the attorney general’s office
  • Several bills tied to the attorney general’s office may end up vetoed — not surprising considering that Attorney General Aaron Ford is running for governor next year against Lombardo, and because they passed along party lines, with all Republicans against.
  • The first is AB44, brought by Ford’s office, which would prohibit the deceptive price fixing of essential goods, such as housing, medication and food, beyond the basic forces of supply and demand.
  • The next is SB160, a bill from Neal that would strip the governor of authority to appoint members of the Nevada Equal Rights Commission — which investigates discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodation — and hand it over to the attorney general. It would also move the commission from the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation to the attorney general’s office.
  • The third is SB63, another bill from Ford that was heavily amended from its original intent to require age verification for social media users. The version that reached Lombardo’s desk seeks to protect children’s data on online platforms, such as requiring parental consent before collecting or processing a child's data.
• Capping prescription drug prices
  • Assm. Venicia Considine’s (D-Las Vegas) AB259 passed out of both chambers on a party-line vote and would cap prescription drug prices at the fair maximum prices established by Medicare, under provisions of the federal Inflation Reduction Act.
    • The bill was vetoed in 2023, with Lombardo saying it would “set arbitrary price caps in Nevada.” 
• No firearms within 100 feet of an election site
  • AB105, sponsored by Assm. Sandra Jauregui (D-Las Vegas), would prohibit the possession of firearms within 100 feet of an election site. The bill passed out of both legislative chambers on party-line votes, with no Republicans in support.
    • In 2023, Lombardo vetoed a similar piece of legislation, citing concerns that it would infringe upon constitutional rights.

— Tabitha Mueller, Isabella Aldrete, and Eric Neugeboren

Looking ahead

Days until:

• The 84th legislative session: 606

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And to get you going into the weekend, a few social media posts that caught our eye: 

• X: Post of the session?
• X: Burn.
• X: Classic #OverheardAtTheNVLeg.

We’ll see you in the interim.

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