Sunday marks the fourth day of the Nevada Legislature’s special session and the moment when all Assembly lawmakers could cast their vote for Gov. Joe Lombardo's criminal justice legislation and a film tax credit expansion measure.

The morning began with a contentious vote on a measure to massively expand Nevada’s film tax credit program as well as Gov. Lombardo’s marquee crime bill. The crime legislation passed on a 31-11 vote, with some Democrats opposed. The film bill made it out of the chamber on a narrow 22-20 vote.

School safety zone legislation (AB6) also passed out of the chamber on a unanimous vote.

To date, of the 16 pieces of legislation introduced, two measures await approval by the governor — a measure addressing alcohol sales (AB2) and legislation establishing a program to address gaps in federal support for public safety net programs (SB3).

This page will be updated throughout the day. You can view our tracker here. You can read today’s legislative newsletter, Behind the Bar, here for details on an “unprecedented” procedural move that took place in the Assembly chamber and on concerns from the NAACP about the watering down of the diversity requirements in the film tax credit expansion measure.

Lawmaker tests remote voting rules by seeking exemption, voting from Carson office — 5:10 p.m.

Divisions between Assembly lawmakers surrounding virtual voting intensified this afternoon when Assm. Cecelia González (D-Las Vegas) voted on a bill from her Carson City office. 

Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager (D-Las Vegas) said voting remotely from within the legislative building is not allowed, and he had approved her remote request with the understanding that she had left the Capitol and was in Las Vegas.

“‘I don’t want to come to the Assembly floor,’ is not an exceptional circumstance,” Yeager told The Nevada Independent. “I was as surprised as anybody to see that she was sitting in her office.”

The debate stems from the decision allowing Assms. Brian Hibbetts (R-Las Vegas) and Heidi Kasama (R-Las Vegas) to cast votes remotely on a contentious film tax measure Sunday morning. The votes were critical to the bill’s passage, which passed 22-20.

Remote participation is allowed under Assembly rules that stipulate the speaker may authorize a member to use remote systems in “exceptional circumstances” to attend, participate, vote and take any other action in any proceedings of the Assembly or a “Committee of the Whole.” Exceptional circumstances are not defined in the rules, but are at the discretion of the speaker.

González in an interview suggested that Hibbetts’ and Kasama’s remote participation was hypocritical, calling out the speaker’s prohibition on public phone testimony during special session Assembly hearings. González said that she had to miss her daughter’s first parent-teacher conference as well as a religious obligation as a result of the special session. 

“Our speaker has made it clear that we do not need to be in our chambers to participate in the legislative process, even though members of the outside public were not able to phone in,” she told The Indy in an interview. 

Yeager said he doesn’t think he has ever denied a request to vote remotely, though he may have asked for clarification. He noted that most lawmakers make requests to be marked “absent excused,” which is not the same as requesting remote participation.

Yeager said in his definition, exceptional circumstances include pre-existing travel plans, funerals, a family matter, religious ceremonies or other events. He added that he wouldn’t allow lawmakers to cast a vote outside the state of Nevada, but accommodating for prepurchased flights makes sense and he’s always consulted legal counsel on decisions to allow for remote voting.

“Rarely does someone request remote participation unless it is something very important to them,” Yeager said. “And I think that's what you saw today. It was just, this is a bill that people really care about. So there's a lot of emphasis on it.”

— Tabitha Mueller and Isabella Aldrete

Crime bill passes out of Assembly — 10:50 a.m.

A slightly amended version of Gov. Joe Lombardo’s crime bill passed out of the Nevada Assembly on Sunday morning in a 31-11 vote, with only Democrats opposed. 

It now goes to the Senate.

The bill has a wide scope, tackling juvenile justice and imposing stricter penalties for certain kinds of burglaries. However, one of the most notable changes would be allowing the Las Vegas Justice Court to reestablish a defunct Resort Corridor Court to deal with crimes from the Strip.

The revived version of the bill, which faced major pushback during the 2025 legislative session, has faced few hurdles during the special session. Since the last session, the bill’s initial price tag of more than $42 million has been significantly reduced, in part because some provisions of the legislation were adopted in other bills that passed this June. 

Still, progressive groups have raised concerns that lawmakers have not incorporated proposed amendments that would add guardrails around immigration enforcement activities, such as requiring legislative approval for the expansion of immigration detention facilities. During a floor speech, Assm. Cinithia Moore (D-North Las Vegas) said the “governor’s bill can not be about justice when it ignores injustices happening in our communities.” 

— Isabella Aldrete