EDITORIAL: Not-so-special special session kicks off in Carson City

Has Nevada ever held a less “special” special legislative session?

More than five months after concluding the Legislature’s 83rd gathering, lawmakers reconvened in Carson City on Thursday for the 36th special session. The state constitution limits the Legislature to a single 120-day session every other year but allows the governor to, “on extraordinary occasions, convene the Legislature by proclamation” and to “state to both houses, when organized, the business for which they have been specially convened.”

Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo’s proclamation includes 16 bills, many of which were bottled up as lawmakers rushed to adjourn before their deadline in June. They include a crime bill favored by the governor, legislation to greatly expand handouts to Hollywood film and TV producers and a host of other proposals pursued by various special interests. None is of particularly urgent need or demands “extraordinary” action.

Instead, this is a political exercise to provide the Democratic majority and the GOP governor with material for campaign mailers and soundbites heading into the 2026 election. All at the expense of Nevada taxpayers forced to foot the bill — likely in the $500,000 range.

Make no mistake, the film tax subsidies — “transferable” credits that will be sold by recipients to other interests for a profit — are the driving force behind this entire exercise as both Gov. Lombardo and legislative Democrats look to curry favor with union interests under the guise of creating jobs.

However, it all almost blew up in their faces. When the legislation codifying the tax breaks was introduced in the Assembly, it faced an immediate procedural challenge from Selena La Rue Hatch, D-Reno, forcing lawmakers to vote on its survival. The bill went forward on a 21-21 tie — one vote shy of being killed — and was forced into committee. Legislative leaders went so far as to allow one Democrat to vote via Zoom from Las Vegas, an unusual allowance that kept the bill alive.

Sen. La Rue Hatch also properly objected to rules that were quickly adopted to limit citizen call-in testimony at certain meetings. This is ridiculous and an affront to transparency and accountability. The Hollywood handouts could cost up to $2 billion over two decades. Other legislation on the agenda will potentially have far-reaching ramifications. These measures deserve robust debate and citizen input, not slap-dash preordained outcomes.

The restrictions undermine “the same principles of accessibility and participatory democracy that Assembly Democrats have purported to champion,” Athar Haseebullah, executive director of the Nevada ACLU, said in a statement. “If this is truly the people’s house, we would encourage Assembly Democrats to reverse course and take the people’s phone calls.”

It should be the least they can do.