Special session day 5: Slow day in the Nevada Senate

CARSON CITY — Two bills backed by Gov. Joe Lombardo were not discussed in the state Senate on Monday, pushing their consideration off for another day of the Nevada Legislature’s special session.

Assembly Bill 5, proposing to expand the state’s film tax credit program to draw Hollywood studio development to Southern Nevada, and Assembly Bill 4, Lombardo’s legislation to make broad changes to the state’s criminal justice code, were both passed by the Assembly on Sunday and heard by Senate committees.

Neither bill has been taken up by the full Senate. Much of lawmakers’ deliberations on Monday happened behind closed doors.

The so-called “Nevada Studio Infrastructure Jobs and Workforce Training Act,” which has faced lengthy debates and close votes in the Assembly, was passed out of a Senate committee late Sunday. The crime bill was passed by a separate committee on Monday morning.

Several senators raised concerns about the crime bill before the committee vote on Monday morning, even though all but two committee members voted to pass the legislation onto the full Senate.

Sen. Ira Hansen, R-Sparks, said he was voting yes on the bill for “political reasons,” but that he wanted to address concerns he had with the legislation during the regular session, when there is more time for debate.

“The governor needs some victories, frankly,” Hansen said, adding that although he will vote for the crime bill, he plans to vote “hell no” on the film tax credit legislation.

Hansen said he agreed with public defenders that portions of the crime bill could “tamper” with due process concerns.

Changes proposed by the crime bill include enhanced penalties for DUI offenses and assaults against hospitality workers, limits on automatically sealing the records of people accused of child abuse, a new felony charge for burglaries involving property damage and expanded definitions of stalking and domestic violence.

It could also prompt the return of a controversial court program backed by the gaming industry in Las Vegas that coincided with an increase in judges banning criminal defendants from the Strip.

Assembly sends bills to governor

The Assembly on Monday passed several bills already heard by the Senate.

Senate Bill 7 was passed with a 33-6 vote in the Assembly and will be sent to the governor’s desk. The bill would clarify that first responders applying for medical benefits for lung disease are presumed to have been diagnosed with the disease due to their job, regardless if it was due to exposure to heat, smoke or gas.

Assemblymember Gregory Hafen, R-Pahrump, voted no and told the Assembly he is in “soft opposition” to the bill. Hafen said he wanted more time in a regular session for lawmakers to discuss the legislation.

The bill was introduced on the third day of the special session and was quickly voted out of the Senate. All lawmakers who have voted against it are Republicans.

Two high court opinions release last week prompted the legislation. Both the state Supreme Court and Court of Appeals interpreted the law to mean that first responders have to show their lung disease was due to exposure to heat, smoke or gas in order to receive medical benefits. Both court cases involved first responders seeking workers compensation for lung disease due to COVID-19.

Those who have called for stricter regulation on government employees’ heart and lung disease benefits have said current carve-outs already result in millions of dollars in costs to taxpayers, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported earlier this year.

Senate Bill 6, which proposes appropriating an additional $25 million for costs associated with a sunken North Las Vegas neighborhood, among other provisions, also passed the Assembly, 38-0.

“When I first went door-knocking in this community, Windsor Park, it felt like I was stepping into a whole different world,” said Assemblymember Jovan Jackson, D-Las Vegas. “It’s a community that almost looks like it has been forgotten. It’s a community that is worth investing in. It’s a community that helped build Las Vegas and this state.”

Three lawmakers were absent from that vote: Las Vegas Republicans Brian Hibbetts and Heidi Kasama and Las Vegas Democrat Cecelia González. Shea Backus, D-Las Vegas, abstained.

The legislation was sent back to the Senate due to an amendment. The Senate passed the bill Monday night, and it will now be sent to the governor’s desk.

Four bills await governor’s decision

The entire special session agenda includes a lengthy list of over a dozen legislative proposals and budget appropriations. Lombardo called lawmakers to Carson City last week.

Lawmakers passed a major proposal on Saturday that created the Silver State General Assistance Program, a state-support public assistance program established in case the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, sees another lapse in federal funding.

Other bills already considered by both chambers include Assembly Bill 1, which sets up a Secure Operations Center for cybersecurity in state government; Assembly Bill 2, which exempts some gaming licensees from a law requiring retail liquor stores to pay wholesalers by electric funds transfer or credit card; and Assembly Bill 3, which allows public officials to request that their personal information and addresses be kept confidential from certain public records.

Contact McKenna Ross at mross@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mckenna_ross_ on X. Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240.