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. 

Hearings were held Thursday on two of the most contentious measures — 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 out of 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 out on 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.”

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.

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 reporters, lobbyists and state lawmakers.

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 on 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 for 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 constitutionally voting on the floor is only required to approve a bill. It didn’t apply Thursday because it was a procedural move and the speaker has the ability to allow for remote participation under extenuating 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

Construction and trade unions push full-steam ahead on film tax expansion bill – 7:08 p.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