Insulin price cap, charter school raises clear key hurdle in Nevada

CARSON CITY — The Nevada Senate passed key bills put forward by Speaker Steve Yeager on Thursday, including one that would cap the cost of insulin at $35 for people on private insurance, and one that would provide raises to charter school teachers.

Assembly Bill 398 passed the Senate unanimously, with Sen. Skip Daly, D-Sparks, excused. The bill will provide additional compensation for hard-to-fill positions for Title 1 schools and special education teachers, as well as fund pay raises for charter school teachers.

The Senate also passed the speaker’s AB555, which will cap the cost of a 30-day supply of insulin at $35 for people on private insurance. Only Republican state Sens. Robin Titus and John Ellison voted in opposition.

Both of those bills already passed the Assembly, and they will soon head to the governor’s desk. The critical votes come just days before the Legislature adjourns Monday.

Raises for charter school teachers have been a central focus in this session. Both Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro and Yeager, D-Las Vegas, included provisions for the raises in their education-related bills.

On Wednesday, Senate Minority Leader Robin Titus, R-Wellington, introduced an emergency bill to also provide raises for charter school teachers and said Yeager and Cannizzaro’s bills also included “problematic policies.”

But Titus embraced Yeager’s bill on the Senate floor Thursday, saying she was proud of the Senate for coming to an agreement and moving education forward.

“I think we’ve always felt that education was a priority, but most importantly that students were a priority,” Titus said. “This is just one example that things really do work out, people really can communicate and the key for all of this is to continue to communicate with each other and bring forward good legislation.”

Lawmakers also moved several bills through their houses of origin to be considered by the opposite chamber. Senate Bill 309, sponsored by Sen. John Steinbeck, R-Las Vegas, strengthens DUI penalties.

The bill requires a mandatory alcohol evaluation for a defendant who was found to have a blood alcohol level of 0.16 percent, moved down from 0.18 percent. It also removes a loophole that allows defendants in an existing court-ordered substance abuse treatment program who are found guilty of an additional DUI to get that penalty reduced if they complete the program.

“These are the worst calls you ever want to go on, these DUI calls,” Steinbeck, the former Clark County fire chief, said before the vote. “They are senseless. They are tragic. They are violent.”

The bill passed unanimously and must now be considered by the Assembly.

The Assembly advanced Assembly Bill 375, allowing restaurants and courier apps like GrubHub or DoorDash to deliver sealed alcoholic beverages with meals. Sponsored by Assemblymember Bert Gurr, R-Spring Creek, and Yeager, the bill creates a 50-cent surcharge for the alcoholic delivery sales and designates those funds for increased DUI enforcement and the Ignition Interlock &DUI Reduction Program.

The bill also designates Picon Punch as the official state drink of Nevada.

The Assembly passed AB375 41-1, with Assemblymember Heidi Kasama, R-Las Vegas, voting no.

Contact Jessica Hill at jehill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @jess_hillyeah on X. Contact McKenna Ross at mross@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mckenna_ross_ on X.