Legislature
Proposed legislation messes with senior water rights
Northern Nevada farmers, local government officials, environmentalists and tribes converged on Carson City Wednesday to oppose several bills they believe would weaken senior water rights and facilitate the controversial Las Vegas groundwater pipeline. The Southern Nevada Water Authority which hopes to build the water pumping and piping project, declared itself neutral on the bill — […]
Nevada bill would bypass “antiquated” electoral college
A stark divide in electoral political partisanship was on display Tuesday at an Assembly committee hearing on a bill to guarantee the state’s Electoral College votes go to the presidential candidate who wins the national popular vote. Assembly Bill 186, titled “National Popular Vote Compact,” proposes Nevada join an interstate compact with other states that […]
Parks on assisted suicide bill: “This is the third, and I hope last attempt”
After failing to gain traction on assisted suicide bills in past legislative sessions, Sen. David Parks reintroduced legislation that would allow a terminally ill patient to end their life. Senate Bill 165, which was heard Monday in front of the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services, would allow doctors to prescribe life-ending medications to […]
Democrats ‘blueprint’ highlights priorities but is scant on details
The “Legislative Blueprints” released by Nevada Democrats during the last two sessions essentially amounted to a wishlist and rallying cry for a minority party with only so much room to push their platform forward. This session, with the tide of power in Carson City shifted blue, the 2019 legislative session blueprint has the potential to be […]
Business bummed by bill to nullify pot test for job applicants
Conundrum. The word was repeated often Wednesday during the first hearing for Assembly Bill 132, which would prevent an employer from not hiring an applicant just because they test positive for marijuana. Those representing business associations, who spoke during the hearing, acknowledged the need to take steps dealing with the legal quagmire recreational marijuana has […]
Guest op-ed: On clean energy, Carson City must lead where Washington fails
The 80th session of the Nevada Legislature represents a critical opportunity for our state. We can create well-paying jobs; reduce costs for consumers; and make our state a healthier place to live, work, raise a family, and run a business by fully embracing the vast benefits clean energy offers us. That opportunity, and the urgency […]
Hearing aids, diapers, lead poisoning among issues addressed in child health bill
A wide-ranging bill addressing a number of children’s health issues was heard before the state Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor Wednesday. Senate Bill 90 would require health insurance plans to cover the cost of hearing aids for children; revise requirements for testing children for lead; provide vouchers to purchase diapers, and provide grants to […]
Bill would allow 14-year-olds to drive themselves to charter schools
One of the challenges many charter schools face is an inability to provide transportation to their students. A group of lawmakers has a novel solution to that problem: Allow the students to drive themselves. Assemblywoman Alexis Hansen this week introduced Assembly Bill 213, a bill that would allow some charter school students to obtain restricted […]
“Vaccine hesitancy” hindering Nevada’s response to outbreaks
Anti-vaccine activists packed a hearing Tuesday to oppose a bill designed to help health officials track unvaccinated students in case of a disease outbreak. Two hours of testimony from parents, grandparents and anti-vax leaders— which ranged from indignant and pleading to tearful and angry — dominated public comments at the Assembly Education Committee hearing, with […]
Hope for Prisoners touts “game changer” for state, offenders
Inmates in several Southern Nevada prisons will now have an opportunity to begin preparing for life on the outside as much as a year and a half before their release. Hope for Prisoners, an organization credited with helping former inmates adjust to life on the outside, is forging a partnership with the state that […]
Bill would outlaw rejecting job applicants who flunk a pot test
Nevada employers could be prevented from not hiring someone just because they test positive for marijuana, if a bill introduced in the Legislature Wednesday becomes law. Assemblywoman Dina Neal, who is sponsoring the bill along with her fellow Democrats, Assemblymen William McCurdy and Edgar Flores, said it doesn’t make sense for jobs to omit people […]
Proposed legislation would extend “lightning” eviction process
Democratic lawmakers have introduced legislation to lengthen Nevada’s eviction process — derided by attorneys and tenant advocates as one of the most “lightning” fast eviction processes in the nation. Under the current law, landlords are required to serve a notice in writing informing tenants they have to either pay the rent or leave the property […]