The 83rd regular session of the Nevada Legislature is over, and hundreds of bills are now on Republican Governor Joe Lombardo’s desk for final approval.
The final days of the session are characterized by a flurry of activity, accompanied by sudden and dramatic changes to legislation, often coming in the final hours before lawmakers adjourn.
Among the bills that made it to the governor’s desk are Lombardo’s housing bill, Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro’s education reform measure, and legislation toughening animal cruelty laws.
Lawmakers also approved all five of the final major budget bills needed to fund state government for the next two years. That includes a Capitol Improvements bill that authorizes $1.1 billion in bonds for public works projects.
And while hundreds of bills are set to become law, almost just as many bill introduced this session have died. That includes the governor’s health and crime bills as well as Assembly Bill 238, a proposal to expand the state’s tax credit program to $120 million annually for 15 years. Those pieces of legislation were killed by a last-minute filibuster by Republican Senator Ira Hansen.
All of that to say, it was a busy final week in Carson City.
Guests: Lucia Starbuck, political reporter, KUNR Public Radio; Jessica Hill, political reporter, Las Vegas Review-Journal; Fred Lokken, professor, Truckee Meadows Community College; Warren Hardy, former State Senator and lobbyist, Hardy Strategies; Jacob Solis, press secretary, Battleborn Progress
