Nevada voters overwhelmingly back 2 constitutional amendments

Nevadans overwhelmingly voted Tuesday in favor of a pair of constitutional amendments that will both need a second round of voter approval in a later election to become law.

Both Questions 3 and 4 passed by nearly 3-to-1 vote margins.

Question 3, referred to as the Energy Choice Initiative, would allow for an open energy market in the state and supporters say that would end the energy monopoly held by NV Energy.

The initiative passed 783,120 to 299,160.

Supporters also say it would be one of the first in the West to create retail energy choices, supporting greater innovation, job creation and new renewable energy technologies.

Opponents argued that other open markets haven’t created lower prices.

Question 4 would require state lawmakers to exempt medical devices from the statewide sales tax. The current statewide sales tax is 6.85 percent. With 100 precincts reporting, the tally was 768,803 to 301,944.

Called the Medical Patient Relief Tax Act, the measure was pushed by a group called the Alliance to Stop Taxes on the Sick and Dying. The alliance is affiliated with Bennett Medical Devices, a provider of home medical equipment.

Those against the measure argued that eliminating the sales tax would cut into the state’s budget for other services Nevadans rely on such as schools, police, fire services and parks among others.

Unlike other ballot measures, Questions 3 and 4 are constitutional amendments, which means they will require a second passage by voters in the 2018 general election to become law.

Contact Colton Lochhead at clochhead@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4638. Follow @ColtonLochhead on Twitter.