Film studio tax credits, charter school raises move forward in Nevada Legislature

A proposal to bring Hollywood studios to Southern Nevada advanced in the Nevada Assembly during a weekend hearing — with financial safeguards and educational funding reforms intended to make the $1.6 billion transferable tax credit program more palatable to lawmakers.

With few days remaining in the Nevada Legislature’s 120-day session, legislators considered and advanced several highly anticipated proposals, including the so-called Summerlin Studios proposal backed by Sony Pictures Entertainment and Warner Bros. Discovery, as well as raises for charter school teachers and Democratic policy priorities including artificial intelligence and child pornography laws and gun restrictions at election sites.

Here are some other key moments from Carson City during the holiday weekend.

Movies on the move

Assembly Bill 238 — also called the Summerlin Studios proposal — moved out of the Assembly Ways and Means Committee on Saturday. The bill’s sponsors, committee chair Daniele Monroe-Moreno and Assemblymember Sandra Jauregui, proposed a special use district to fund pre-K in Clark County and other required investment milestones to make the $95 million in annual infrastructure tax credits more palatable to lawmakers.

But some still have reservations. Five assemblymembers — three Democrats and two Republicans — voted against AB 238. Several more said they voted it out of committee but could reconsider their vote on the Assembly floor.

“It comes down to the fiscal ability of this,” Assemblymember Shea Backus, D-Las Vegas, said before the committee vote. “Unfortunately, the federal government has hit us hard in Nevada. On the one hand, I believe in economic development wholeheartedly. But I’m also looking at what the future costs are going to be incurred on this state.”

The fiscal committee approved amendments that were meant to ensure the Hollywood studios commit to $4.5 billion in production spending over 15 years. Amendments also put in penalties for failing to meet base productions, such as repaying all or some of the transferable tax credits earned, and more frequent reporting to the state.

Additionally, the Governor’s Office of Economic Development could record a lien for any undeveloped land if development milestones are not reached after a two-year period, according to the amendments. The updated bill would require the project to commit to four capital investment milestones, beginning with $400 million by June 30, 2028, and ending in $1.8 billion, total, by Dec. 31, 2038

It also was amended to add a tax district that would use revenue from local taxes to support Clark County School District pre-K programs. The Clark County Education Association, the district’s teacher’s union, testified in support.

AB 238 is one of two film tax credit expansions in consideration this session. Senate Bill 220, sponsored by Las Vegas state Sen. Roberta Lange, also proposes using film production tax credits to support building a film studio and technology campus at UNLV’s Harry Reid Technology and Research Park. But that bill has not moved as far along in the hearing process.

Leaders’ policies move forward

Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager’s proposal to allocate raises for charter school teachers moved out of the Assembly in a Friday night vote. The policy was added into Assembly Bill 398, a bill he and Minority Floor Leader Gregory Hafen cosponsored that focused on providing incentives for those who accept hard-to-fill educator positions.

In discussions before the vote, Hafen, a Pahrump Republican, said the $38.6 million in raises for the 2025-2027 biennium were a result of “years of long and hard debate.”

“This might just be a small token of our appreciation, but this is something that’s going to improve our education systems; not just now, but for future generations,” Hafen said.

A day later, some of Gov. Joe Lombardo’s priority policies advanced out of committee. The Republican governor’s bill to address housing supply in the state, Assembly Bill 540, advanced out of the Ways and Means committee on Saturday.

The bill was amended to reduce an “attainable housing” fund from the $200 million originally proposed to $150 million.

Monday afternoon floor votes in both legislative chambers also considered several policy goals from Legislative Democrats. Assembly Bill 105 — sponsored by Jauregui, the majority floor leader from Las Vegas — would prohibit carrying a firearm within 100 feet of a polling location, passed out of the Assembly in a party-line vote. Lombardo vetoed a similar proposal in 2023.

The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 263, a bill strengthening child pornography laws to include computer-generated images sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro, D-Las Vegas.

Last deadline culls few bills

Just nine bills and resolutions failed to meet the Legislature’s last deadline of passing through the second chamber, according to legislative data. But several of the measures were of high interest or pushed by legislative leaders.

They included Assembly Joint Resolution 1, a measure that proposed a Constitutional amendment to reform the property tax system in the state by “resetting” the taxable value of a property when it is sold to a new owner. Backers of the resolution argued the current system created “structural unfairness” that led to less funding for local government and school districts. But a reform of the tax structure was framed as a tax increase by opponents.

Other measures that failed included resolutions that called for the federal government to release land to use for housing and a study on legislators’ pay, and bills that would have prohibited autonomous trucks.

Contact McKenna Ross at mross@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mckenna_ross_ on X.