It may not feel like we’re approaching the height of summer this week, but by next week, temperatures in Las Vegas should once again be well into the triple digits.
That’s one reason why Nevada’s two most populous communities are working to follow a new state law requiring them to add heat mitigation plans to their master plans.
Assembly Bill 96, signed by Gov. Joe Lombardo last year, requires that all local governments serving more than 100,000 residents incorporate provisions detailing how they will bolster access to public cooling stations and drinking water, implement so-called cool building practices that make development more efficient, and create shade over paved surfaces.
All of it is aimed at saving lives — according to the Clark County coroner’s office, more than 800 people died because of heat in 2024 and 2025. But are the changes enough to help?
According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal's environmental and water reporter, Alan Halaly, the law is essentially an unfunded mandate.
"We can put language in our city codes or language in our master plans about cooling centers and all these things, but without tangible funding sources or dedicated attention, and also any real tangible enforcement action or any way to hold our city governments accountable, there is just a question of whether, you know, a quick language change doesn't mean anything in practice," Halaly said.
At this point, there's no indication lawmakers intend to bring the new law back up for changes during the next legislative session. Instead, lawmakers will likely take a different path, Halaly said.
"There is a really concerted effort to maybe catch Nevada up to cities like Phoenix, LA, Miami," he added, "and potentially creating a statewide heat office, a dedicated official at the state government who can find funding sources for these things, plan year-round to work with our local governments on these very specific things."
As for whether such a measure would receive bipartisan support, Halaly said it most likely would.
"It did have a lot of support from the Democrats up in Carson City, but it is a bipartisan issue, right?" he said. "Nobody wants people dying of extreme heat in their districts."
Guests: Alan Halaly, water and environment reporter for the "Las Vegas Review-Journal"
