Nevada lawmakers press on for day two of special session

CARSON CITY — Two major bills being considered by Nevada lawmakers were voted out of Assembly committees on Friday during the second day of a special legislative session.

Gov. Joe Lombardo called the special session to address more than a dozen different pieces of legislation. The most talked about bills have included an effort to attract the film industry to Southern Nevada and the governor’s widesweeping crime bill.

Both pieces of legislation were voted out of Assembly committees on Friday night but did not go up for a vote by the full chamber.

Studio development bill advances

Assembly Bill 5, the marquee effort to draw Hollywood studio development to Southern Nevada with $95 million in annual transferable tax credits, advanced out of committee on Friday evening.

An amendment to the bill creating the Summerlin Studios project bill adopted during the committee meeting set additional plans for tax revenue in the area. It would dedicate a portion of the room tax collected from the hotel expected to be built on the campus to an account for paying certain qualified medical expenses for retired state employees covered by the Public Employees’ Benefits Program.

“This is just another way that the local jurisdiction is contributing to the state, by sending this revenue that, if not but for the special entertainment district and the hotel being constructed there, would not be collected,” Assemblymember Sandra Jauregui, one of the bill’s sponsors, said during the meeting.

The amendment also included providing $6 million for the construction of an educational center in conjunction with advocacy group Chicanos Por La Causa, replacing references to a similar center at College of Southern Nevada.

It also watered down diversity requirements in hiring for production companies. The bill, as introduced, set requirements for diverse hiring in different types of film production jobs. The amended bill instead would require a production company to submit a plan with its application that would set specific goals for a diverse workforce. It also includes a 5 percent credit reduction if the goals are not met.

Five Assemblymembers voted against advancing the bill: Gregory Hafen, R-Pahrump; Shea Backus, D-Las Vegas; Howard Watts, D-Las Vegas; Natha Anderson, D-Sparks; and Selena Torres-Fossett, D-Las Vegas. Greg Koenig, R-Fallon, said he supported moving it out of committee but reserved his right to change his vote on the floor.

Crime bill advances

Assembly Bill 4 seeks to alter nearly a dozen different areas of Nevada’s criminal justice laws and could prompt the return of a controversial court program in Las Vegas that led to judges banning defendants from the Strip.

It was voted out of the Assembly Public Safety and Security committee on Friday night, with three lawmakers voting no on the proposal — Erica Roth, D-Reno; Cinthia Zermeño Moore, D-Las Vegas; and Cecelia González, D-Las Vegas.

The committee heard hours of testimony on Thursday regarding the bill, which seeks to address nearly a dozen areas of criminal law.

Those changes include enhanced penalties for DUI offenses, assaults against hospitality employees and property damage offenses that occur during thefts; expanded definitions of domestic violence and stalking; and expanded requirements for court hearings to seize firearms from criminal defendants and requirements for mental health evaluations in juvenile court cases.

The bill could usher in the return of the Resort Corridor Court, although the legislation stops shorts of forcing judges to bring the program back. Opponents say the court, which coincided with the rise of judges banning people from the Las Vegas Strip, targeted homeless people in the area. But the bill does require Clark County to establish a “resort corridor” on the Strip and report crime data from the area.

Traffic Safety

Assemblymembers heard testimony Friday on Assembly Bill 6, which would allow for the expansion of school traffic zones and would double fines and penalties for traffic violations in school zones. The legislation was not heard in the regular session earlier this year.

No one gave opposition testimony to the bill. The traffic safety legislation is in meant to address an increase in car crashes involving minors, particularly in Southern Nevada, proponents said.

Clark County School District Superintendent Jhone Ebert told lawmakers that school police have tracked “nearly 200” children who have been hit while walking, riding a bike or riding a scooter during weekdays this school year.

Several of these crashes have killed schoolchildren, Ebert said.

“In the span of just six months, we have lost three students while they were on or around our schools,” she said. “Each of these students had unlimited potential, their friends and our community will never have the opportunity to witness their greatness.”

The increased penalties for violations in school zones would mimic current laws for construction and pedestrian safety zones.

Local jurisdictions could extend school zone operating times if the legislation passes. Proponents said that in practice, this could allow for school zones to be operational when children are present outside of normal school activities, such as sporting events. Current law only allows for school zones to be in operation from 30 minutes before and after school is in session.

The committee did pass Assembly Concurrent Resolution 4 on Friday afternoon, which authorizes a legislative study on traffic violations in school zones and traffic safety measures related to electric bikes, scooters and motorcycles.

Assemblymember Venicia Considine, D-Las Vegas, presented the legislation and said her constituents have raised concerns about the safety of children riding e-bikes and e-scooters.

“We know that there’s been a lot of injuries,” she said. “There have been children who have died riding e-scooters without helmets, without understanding the speed and the responsibility for them.”

Other action

Assembly Bill 1 moved through a separate committee on Friday. The legislation would establish a cybersecurity operations center and talent pipeline program within the office of the chief information officer.

Some bills moved quickly through the state Senate side, with seven bills and resolutions voted out of the chamber and sent to the Assembly on Thursday. Those include a proposal to create a state-supported public assistance program, a bill that would permit, rather than require, proof of insurance for a rental car and a bill creating a grant program to address health care access and provider shortages.

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