The 83rd Session of the Nevada Legislature wrapped up in June. The RN&R covered a large handful of proposed legislation; here’s a look at how those bills fared.
Assembly Bill 416 would have prohibited school and public library boards, employees and volunteers from limiting access to library materials—meaning a member of the public would have to go to court to get a book removed. It would have also criminalized harassment, threats or coercion toward library employees regarding the removal of books, and made it illegal to disseminate the personal information of school and library employees.
While AB 416 was approved by both the Senate and Assembly, and it had the support of the powerful Nevada State Education Association, it was among Gov. Joe Lombardo’s record-breaking 87 vetoes. In his veto message, Lombardo said the bill was “fundamentally flawed.”
“Decisions about what library materials are appropriate for students should be made locally—by educators and families who understand the unique needs of their school communities—not by judges through a rigid, one-size-fits-all legal process,” Lombardo wrote.
Senate Bill 420 would have allowed communities to form business-improvement districts, in which businesses voluntarily assess themselves (generally passing on the cost to customers) and direct the funds toward community projects. Some business leaders on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe were hoping to follow in the footsteps of their neighbors on the California side, where, since 2021, the North Lake Tahoe Tourism Business Improvement District has been bringing in about $6 million a year for things like workforce-housing programs, parking projects and transit services.
The bill did not make it to the Senate floor, dying in committee.
Senate Bill 36 and Assembly Bill 104 were both drafted in an effort to preserve groundwater—and after sailing through both houses with bipartisan support, both were signed by Lombardo. They will expand and formalize a program allowing the state to purchase water rights from voluntary sellers—and then retire those rights.
However, there’s a catch: While the legislation creates the Nevada Voluntary Water Rights Retirement Program, and the Account for Retiring Water Rights, the state—which had to deal with a $191 million budget shortfall during the session—didn’t allocate any funding to put into that account. Josh Meny, Lombardo’s press secretary, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that the program’s “success is contingent upon the availability of future legislative funding and grants.”
Senate Bill 254 would have, among other things, required schools to notify a parent/guardian if a student exhibits signs of drug use. The legislation—which was developed by this session’s Nevada Youth Legislature—was heavily watered down with amendments before eventually dying in committee.
Assembly Bill 219 would have redirected 1% of the state’s live entertainment tax from the general fund to the Nevada Arts Council—at a time when federal arts funding has been severely slashed. The legislation never made it to the Assembly floor, dying in committee.