Busy night in Carson City sees more than 140 bills introduced

Raising Nevada’s minimum wage for workers and the minimum age for smokers were just some of the topics covered by more than 140 bills introduced in the Nevada Legislature on Monday.

Assembly Bill 456, which comes from the Assembly Commerce and Labor Committee, would raise the minimum wage in Nevada to $12 per hour — one of the state Democrats’ key policy promises during the 2018 campaign.

Nevada’s current minimum wage sits at $7.25 for employees with health insurance and $8.25 for those without. It was last raised in 2010. A law that sought to raise it to $12 per hour by 2022 passed the Legislature in 2017 but was vetoed by then-Gov. Brian Sandoval, a Republican.

But the new proposal has a better chance this time around as new Gov. Steve Sisolak, the first Democrat to hold the governorship in 20 years, has voiced his support for raising the minimum wage.

And if Assembly Bill 470, sponsored by the Assembly Health and Human Service Committee, were enacted, it would raise the minimum age to buy cigarettes and other tobacco products in the state from 18 to 21.

Here are some other notable bills introduced Monday:

Senate Bill 428: Would make it a violation to park a non-electric vehicle in a space designated for vehicle charging, with a $100 fine as a first offense.

Senate Bill 430: Would add anxiety and autism spectrum disorders, anorexia, autoimmune disease and opioid addiction/dependence to the list of “chronic or debilitating medical conditions” for which people can receive a registration card exempting them from prosecution for marijuana possession, delivery or production.

Senate Bill 434: Would allow people to vacate certain prior misdemeanor marijuana convictions and have their records sealed. The bill also would revise the definition of and threshold for driving under the influence of marijuana; prohibit denial of employment if marijuana shows up in a pre-employment drug screen; and bar employers from making an employee submit to a drug screen without probable cause of marijuana use.

Senate Bill 437: Would set up procedures and policies for creating, operating and overseeing marijuana credit unions and charter banks to give marijuana-related businesses limited access to banking services.

Senate Bill 439: Would let prosecutors dismiss charges of unlawful concealed carry if the violator obtains a concealed carry permit. The bill also would increase penalties for gun possession by those legally barred from having one, such as those with a record of domestic violence or a felony conviction.

Assembly Bill 411: Would make several traffic violations into civil infractions, rather than criminal misdemeanors.

Senate Bill 448: Would set up tax credits for low-income housing construction, development and rehabilitation.

Senate Bill 450: Would make a number of changes to the procedures for recall elections to make the process more burdensome on the petitioner and harder to push through.

Senate Bill 454: Would ban the use of drones to hunt game. There is already a ban on using manned aircraft.

Senate Bill 455: Would make broad changes to laws governing the licensing, operation and inspection of residential care homes.

Senate Bill 457: Would require deaths at community-based treatment or dependent care facilities to be reported. This bill and the preceding come in response to a critical state audit.

Senate Bill 459: Would authorize collective bargaining for state employees, a priority of Sisolak and Democratic legislators.

Senate Bill 474: Would make changes affecting licensing for teenage drivers, increasing the required hours of supervised experience needed to obtain a license and raising the age of those affected to 19.

Senate Bill 478: Would enact a state car-sharing program and related programs, such as insurance requirements.

Senate Bill 487: Would outlaw coyote-killing contests. Coyotes are not otherwise protected, and no license is required to hunt them.

Assembly Bill 437: Would get rid of the requirement to get a permit to carry a concealed weapon in the state.

Contact Capital Bureau Chief Colton Lochhead at clochhead@reviewjournal.com or 775-461-3820. Follow @ColtonLochhead on Twitter. Contact Bill Dentzer at bdentzer@reviewjournal.com or 775-461-0661. Follow @DentzerNews on Twitter.