A look at key bills that are safe as another Nevada legislative deadline approaches
In today’s edition:
- How lawmakers can vote “maybe” on a bill
- Major bills that will live for another day
- More GOP support for medical aid in dying
From the Capital Bureau Chief:
It’s not just you — more bills are moving forward “without recommendation.”
So far, committees have passed at least eight measures “without recommendation” — a typically rare occurrence that allows bills to move forward in the legislative process without an affirmative “yes” vote.
Though SB78, a bill to overhaul Nevada’s boards and commissions, didn’t receive the demarcation, it should also be included because it passed through committee on a vote to “approve the bill moving through the Legislature.”
That brings us to nine — a record, at least for the past decade.
Committees passed seven bills without recommendation in 2017, six in 2023, one in 2019 and none in 2021 — and most of these designations were granted after the second committee passage.
Passing a measure without a recommendation is a tactic to pass bills that may not have the full support of the committee, require more consideration or avoid drawing the ire of the bill sponsor by avoiding an untimely death. (Sidebar on a personal pet peeve: Lawmakers don’t need to say they “reserve their right” to vote against a bill that they voted for in committee, because they can vote however they like on the floor.)
Two of the most closely watched measures that received this designation are the two proposed film tax credit expansion measures sponsored by lawmakers with significant sway in their respective chambers — Sen. Roberta Lange (D-Las Vegas) and Assm. Sandra Jauregui (D-Las Vegas), who hold leadership roles within their respective caucuses.
Sen. Dina Neal (D-North Las Vegas), who chairs the Senate Revenue and Economic Development Committee where the Senate bill was first heard, said it made sense to move the film tax measure forward because it needed a money committee’s review anyway.
Both bills received exemptions and only time (or sine die) will reveal their fate.
A quick correction: We’re human and in our Thursday edition of the email version of this newsletter, we misattributed the sponsor of SB2, which was brought on behalf of the controller's office (the reporter in question has been brought to justice).
As always, please send us your questions, thoughts and suggestions. You can reach me at tabitha@thenvindy.com.
State of play
We’re in for a marathon of floor sessions Tuesday, the deadline for bills to pass out of their house of origin, as there are more than 300 bills that met the first committee deadline but have not passed a full floor vote.
But it likely won’t be as long as we initially thought because more than 100 bills received exemptions last week, meaning they do not have to pass Tuesday to remain in play.
Before we get into the exemptions, here are a few nuggets on process:
- Under Joint Standing Rule No. 14.6, bills can receive exemptions from legislative deadlines as long as the bill creates or increases fiscal liability for the state, authorizes the expenditure of state agency sums, implements a budget decision or reduces state revenue.
- A bill eligible for exemption does not become exempt until it has been referred to the Senate Committee on Finance or the Assembly Committee on Ways and Means. Once a bill receives an exemption, it’s exempt for the rest of session, even if fiscal effects are removed through amendments.
- It’s worth noting that even if a bill doesn’t receive an exemption, it’s always subject to revival by waiver (I guess rules were meant to be broken).
- Waivers, per Joint Standing Rule No. 14.5, are at the discretion of leadership and can be applied to a single deadline, multiple deadlines or a set amount of time. They can also apply to dead bills, live bills and bill draft requests (proof that nothing is truly dead until sine die).
Here’s a list of notable bills with recently implemented exemptions:
- AB388 — Assm. Selena La Rue Hatch’s (D-Reno) bill would require employers with more than 50 workers to provide paid family and medical leave.
- AB474 — This bill would implement an AI-powered app to connect SNAP recipients to food that would otherwise be wasted.
- SB36 — This measure would implement a standalone water rights retirement program.
- SB78 — This bill would overhaul Nevada’s boards and commissions.
- SB89 — Sen. Julie Pazina’s (D-Las Vegas) proposal to prohibit firearm possession for people who have been convicted of a hate crime in the past decade.
- SB172 — A bill from Sen. Edgar Flores (D-Las Vegas) to establish a so-called bill of rights for state agricultural workers.
- Two bills from Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro (D-Las Vegas): SB217, her pitch to require insurers cover in vitro fertilization treatment, and SB263, which would make computer-generated child pornography illegal.
- SB220 — Sen. Roberta Lange’s (D-Las Vegas) film tax credit proposal that isn’t just a film tax credit bill anymore.
— Eric Neugeboren and Tabitha Mueller
What we’re reading and writing
Nevada lawmakers often fail to disclose rental property income, point to confusing forms by Tabitha Mueller and Eric Neugeboren
No one pays attention to disclosure forms, right?
Follow the Money: Trial lawyer group was the top donor to Nevada lawmakers in 2024 by Eric Neugeboren
Big law, big bucks.
Should NV Energy help pay for fuel costs? Lawmakers say it’d help reduce bill spikes by Amy Alonzo
Give me fuel give me fire.
Floor votes that caught our 👀
As of the end of (legislative) day on Monday, more than 240 bills have passed out of their chamber of origin.
Here were some of the votes that stood out to us:
- Assm. Joe Dalia’s (D-Henderson) bill to legalize medical aid in dying saw seven Democrats opposed and three Republicans in support, the highest number of GOP lawmakers to support such a measure of the six sessions in which it has been proposed.
- On Thursday, several lawmakers changed their votes from the 2023 proposal that Gov. Joe Lombardo vetoed (which he said he intends to do so again). Assms. Danielle Gallant (R-Las Vegas) and Bert Gurr (R-Elko) voted in opposition two years ago but in support last week, while Assms. Selena La Rue Hatch (D-Reno) and Reuben D’Silva (D-Las Vegas) opposed the bill despite supporting it in 2023.
- Context: Various faith leaders in Nevada took out a full-page ad Sunday in the Las Vegas Review-Journal denouncing the bill and applauding Lombardo’s call for the Legislature to “disregard” it because he will veto the measure.
- Unlike their Republican peers, Sens. Ira Hansen (R-Sparks) and John Ellison (R-Elko) voted yes on a bill on Friday brought by Sen. Melanie Scheible (D-Las Vegas) that would prohibit the sale of disposable plastic water bottles in Lake Tahoe. The bill has been championed by environmental groups, who say it would build off similar initiatives passed in South Lake Tahoe and Truckee.
- During an April hearing, Hansen said, “I am old enough to remember when they started to sell water in bottles … Who the hell would buy a bottle of water when you could get it from your tap for free?”
- Six Assembly Democrats voted on Thursday against AJR10, which urges the federal government to transfer certain federally managed lands to state and local governments — an idea that has long been seen as a step toward addressing the state’s housing shortage. All Assembly Republicans voted in favor.
— Eric Neugeboren, Tabitha Mueller and Isabella Aldrete
Keeping Tabs
❌ Unexcused absence? — During the Senate floor session Friday, Sen. Carrie Buck (R-Henderson) was marked as unexcused. A social media post on X, formerly known as Twitter, indicated the senator participated in a roundtable discussion that day with Education Secretary Linda McMahon during her visit to FuturEdge Charter Academy in Las Vegas.
- Buck told The Nevada Independent that she informed the minority leader she had a family matter Thursday evening and then the Friday event with the Trump Cabinet member. She said she was there as a lawmaker representing her district and was glad to be part of the conversation. “I don’t know why she marked it as unexcused because I let my leader know,” Buck said.
💰SOS supplemental funding request draws GOP backlash — A bill to provide the secretary of state’s office with nearly $775,000 supplemental funding resulted in unanimous backlash from Senate Republicans on Wednesday, with Minority Leader Robin Titus (R-Wellington) saying she was “very troubled” by the situation. Chief Deputy Secretary of State Gabriel Di Chiara said at a bill hearing this month that the office spent more than what was allocated in the 2023 session in one of its budget accounts, and was under the impression that it could transfer funds from one of its categories to another during the interim — only to be told that they had no authority to do so. The bill passed out of the Senate on party lines.
🎉 Why say nay to new holidays? — During floor sessions last week, Republican lawmakers voted against establishing Dolores Huerta Day and Muslim American Heritage Month as official state observances, though Assm. Gregory Koenig (R-Fallon) was the lone Republican yes on the latter. Assembly Republicans also voted unanimously against a bill that would have moved Indigenous Peoples Day to the same day as Columbus Day, although it ultimately passed.
— Eric Neugeboren, Tabitha Mueller and Isabella Aldrete
Looking Ahead
- Wednesday, April 23, at 5 p.m.: Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV) is giving an address to the Nevada Legislature.
- Thursday, April 24, 1:30 - 5 p.m.: Former U.S. Sen. and Gov. Richard Bryan is holding a book signing in room 2200 at the Legislature.
Days until:
- First house passage deadline: 1
- Second committee passage deadline: 31
- Sine die: 41
And to get you going into the week, a few social media posts that caught our eye:
- Instagram: Is this the soft launch of a future speaker?
- Instagram: Pizza, education and elevators — what’s not to love?
- BSky: We’d like to endorse this request.
We’ll see you Thursday.