NV Leg Update: 169 New Laws, 24 Vetoes, Signed By Governor Lombardo

Over 1000 bills were introduced this legislative session and of those, 169 bills have been signed into law, 91 bills have passed both houses and await the Governor’s signature, and 24 bills have been vetoed.

Of the 169 bills that have been signed into law, here are just a few of the highlights, or lowlights, depending on your perspective:

Senate Bill 153 was signed into law Wednesday night and was sponsored by Senator Melanie Scheible. The bill requires the Department of Corrections to adopt certain standards surrounding transgender, non-binary, gender-nonconforming, and intersex offenders. It also requires staff to undergo “cultural competency training” when interacting with these inmates.

Assembly Bill 73, sponsored by the Assembly Committee on Education, provides for the right of public school pupils to wear certain adornments, like cultural or ethnic regalia, at school graduation ceremonies.

Assembly Bill 159, a bipartisan bill introduced by Assemblyman P.K. O’Neill, provides for increased penalties and provides for adding certain and additional penalties to an offender who is charged and convicted of crimes related to the cruelty of animals.

Assembly Bill 330, a proposal prioritized by Governor Lombardo, removes the main tenants of restorative justice discipline and provides for the suspension or expulsion of violent students.

Senate Bill 131, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro, provides for protection for doctors or patients who travel to Nevada for abortion services.

Many of the Governor’s vetoes have occurred this week as the legislature nears the end of the 83rd biennial session. Below are some highlights, or lowlights, of Democrat-sponsored legislation that didn’t survive.

The first series of vetoes the Governor issued were a trio of gun bills:

Senate Bill 171, sponsored by Senators Dallas Harris, Pat Spearman and Fabian Doñate prohibited gun purchases, ownership, or possession by a person convicted of a misdemeanor for a hate crime, or attempting to commit a hate crime. Referencing NRS 207.185, the bill would have also prohibited a person from gun purchases, ownership, or possession if the person was convicted of unlawful assembly.

The following bills, sponsored by Assemblywoman Sandra Juaregui, were all vetoed:

Assembly Bill 354 prohibited a person from possessing a firearm near an election site and placed certain prohibitions on “Ghost guns.”

Assembly Bill 355 raised the eligible age to possess semiautomatic shotguns and “assault weapons” from 18 to 21.

Assembly Bill 298 provided for rent control and obligated the landlord to provide specific documents that list various fees that may be charged during tenancy, and additional documents pertaining to a tenants rights.

Senate Bill 133, sponsored by Senator Skip Daly, proposed criminal penalties (4-10 years imprisonment) for anyone found guilt of participating in or “creating a false slate of presidential electors.”

The Governor will still keep the lights on, as a lightbulb ban found in Assembly Bill 144, faded into the darkness with a stroke from his veto pen.

Speaking of dark, late last night the Governor issued his first veto of a State budget, the Appropriations Budget, as the Democratic majority and the Republican governor continue to battle school choice and opportunity scholarships.

This veto follows his signing of three historic state budgets: the Budget Authorization Act, K-12 Education Budget, and the State Employee Pay Bill.

In his veto response, the Governor warned that the budget “spends more and saves less,” and “utilizes one time money to fund recurring programs, and it creates the potential for Nevada to face a fiscal cliff.”

In response to this $7 billion veto, Nevada Democrats accused the governor of  having a temper tantrum, threatening state services, defunding Nevadans safety, and risking a government shutdown:

Joe Lombardo broke his promise and vetoed a critical budget bill for no apparent reason, risking a government shutdown and threatening state services.

Lombardo needs to stop the temper tantrums and put Nevadans first for once. https://t.co/RA3ulQYgFr

— NV Dems (@nvdems) June 2, 2023

As noted by the Globe, State Democrats sought to increase state spending in this budget by $1 billion over the next biennium and had allocated over $2 billion additional dollars to the expansion of Nevada Medicaid–a program that had already been approved for a historic $11 billion allocation in the Budget Authorization Act.

As the battle over fiscal responsibility and school choice continues, the Globe will continue to provide updates from Carson City.