Senate

CARSON CITY — Nevada’s 77th Legislative Session brought the Silver State into the national spotlight on numerous occasions as both legislators and individual pieces of legislation made headlines around the country during the four-month session.

Early in the session, the Legislature voted for the first time in its history to expel one of its members. Assemblyman Steven Brooks was ousted from his seat after several arrests and is currently facing two felony charges in California for evading an officer and resisting arrest during a car chase that took place in March.

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Nevada Senator Harry Reid said Tuesday's U.S. Supreme Court decision which strikes a key part of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was wrongly decided, unjust and turns back the clock on America's democratic process.

CARSON CITY — Gov. Brian Sandoval signed Senate Bill 504 Wednesday, which allocates state funding to ELL (English Language Learners) programs in Nevada schools. ELL instructional programs promote students’ English language proficiency and understanding of English-based academic content. “Many Nevadans struggle everyday...

CARSON CITY — Just over one week after the end of the 77th legislative session, Nevadans are still waiting for Gov. Brian Sandoval to take action on the controversial universal background check bill.

It is believed that the Governor will veto Senate Bill 221; however, it’s been nearly a week since the measure was enrolled and delivered to his office, and Sandoval has yet to announce his final decision.

CARSON CITY — Several bills that were introduced in the just-ended session of the Nevada Legislature didn’t get a chance to see the light of day in 2013. Here’s a look back on a few pieces of legislation that died this year:

Ward-only voting Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval vetoed legislation Tuesday that would have changed Reno’s and Sparks’ current voting system from citywide voting to ward-only voting, which would require voters to select the city council candidate who would represent the ward they live in.

CARSON CITY — Gov. Brian Sandoval has signed into law a bill that will help crack down on underage tobacco users in Nevada.

Beginning in October of this year, Nevada counties will have the option to adopt ordinances that would impose fines on individuals under the age of 18 for the possession or use of tobacco products. Senate Bill 177 was introduced by Senator James Settelmeyer of Minden.

CARSON CITY — Nevada Senate members became emotional Monday evening as they honored those who would not return for another session.

Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki, who serves as Senate president, faces a term limit that does not allow him to serve again in the Senate. That makes the last day of the session his last day in the Legislature.

The senators took time out of the floor session to honor their colleague saying that they were proud to have served with him, and even giving him a coffee machine as a parting gift.

CARSON CITY — Controversial gun bill Senate Bill 221 passed 23-19 in the Assembly on Monday, with four Democrats voting against the measure.

However, the bill is expected to be vetoed by Brian Sandoval in the next 10 days.

The bill requires background checks on the private sales of guns and requires courts to report mental health issues, which would be used as part of the background check.

UPDATE: A funeral service for Janice R. Ayres, a longtime Carson City resident and champion for the elderly and disabled in Nevada, will be held today, Friday, in Carson City at the First Presbyterian Church on the corner of Musser and Division streets.

A gathering for family and friends of Ayres will follow at Cafe at Adele's, 1112 North Carson Street.

Ayres was 92 when she died May 27, 2013.

CARSON CITY — The Assembly passed a bill Monday that would allow medical marijuana dispensaries in Nevada.

SB374 initially appeared to fail the required two-thirds majority vote on the final day of the legislative session to the extent that Democratic lawmakers cast no votes so the measure would be reconsidered later on. However, that was not the case; the confusion was caused by a glitch on the board that shows the Assembly’s ‘yea’ and ‘nay’ tally.

by JERI CHADWELL

UPDATE: A bill that would give Washoe County Commissioners a one-time opportunity to raise sales and property taxes to fund capital improvements at many of the district’s aging public schools passed out of the Senate on Monday in a vote of 16-4. AB46 will now head to Gov. Brian Sandoval’s desk for a final signature.

The measure has been the topic of heated debate on Twitter throughout the session. Today’s final vote sparked the following conversation and several more.

Sen. Joyce Woodhouse, D-Las Vegas, flew home to Las Vegas late Friday to be with her husband, who is gravely ill with liver cancer, throwing control of the Senate into question in the final days of the legislative session.

The Nevada legislature's Assembly Committee on the Judiciary is set to meet tomorrow, Saturday June 1 at 8AM to discuss and possibly vote on Senate Bill 221. Please call and write to express your opposition to this bill.

The full text of the bill can be found on
https://nelis.leg.state.nv.us/77th2013/App#/77th2013/Bill/Overview/SB221

Assembly Judiciary Committee:
Jason.Frierson@asm.state.nv.us 775-684-8537
James.Ohrenschall@asm.state.nv.us
Richard.Carrillo@asm.state.nv.us
Lesley.Cohen@asm.state.nv.us
Olivia.Diaz@asm.state.nv.us
Marilyn.DonderoLoop@asm.state.nv.us

CARSON CITY — Gov. Brian Sandoval vetoed his first bill of the 2013 Nevada legislative session Friday.

Sandoval said in his veto message that Senate Bill 180 goes “too far by exposing employers to a wide range of damages and fees.”

The rejected bill was a Democratic-backed attempt to require courts to award damages, lost wages, benefits, costs and attorney’s fees to workers who win employment discrimination suits.

The existing law limits the amount awarded to employment discrimination suits to just two years of lost wages and actual damages.

CARSON CITY — A bill that would protect victims of human trafficking was approved 41-0 Thursday by the Nevada Assembly.

The bill requires officers to take certain actions when they encounter possible victims of human trafficking. It also requires the state Department of Education to develop and distribute material relating to the trafficking of children.

Assemblyman John Hambrick, R-Las Vegas, read the bill on the Assembly floor.

CARSON CITY — The Assembly Committee on Taxation listened to testimony Thursday on Senate Bill 165, which would issue transferable tax credits to producers who film in Nevada.

The sponsor of the bill, Sen. Aaron Ford, D-Las Vegas, spoke of the benefits that film production would bring to Nevada.

“In order to attract productions that bring revenue to our state that create long-term good jobs, we need to play on a level playing field,” Ford said. “SB 165 is in fact a jobs creation act that specifically targets productions we’re not currently attracting.”

CARSON CITY — The Assembly Committee on Natural Resources, Agriculture and Mining met Thursday to discuss a bill that would require the development of a program to regulate the use of hydraulic fracturing in Nevada.

Commonly known as “fracking,” hydraulic fracturing is a process in which an amalgam of water, sand and chemicals is pressurized and injected into the ground to break up rock formations. Fracking can be used in the retrieval of natural gas and oil from deep beneath the earth’s surface, which is exactly what Houston-based Noble Energy Inc. intends to do in Elko County.

by ALEX POMPLIANO

A bill that would allow medical marijuana dispensaries in Nevada passed the State Senate 17-4 on Wednesday. SB374, introduced in March by Sen. Tick Segerblom, would authorize and regulate medical marijuana dispensaries to serve Nevadans with medical marijuana cards.

A bill requiring a study on the cost of the death penalty in Nevada cleared a state Senate committee Tuesday on a party-line vote.

by ALEX POMPLIANO

A bill that raises the sales and property taxes in Washoe County to fund its schools passed the Assembly 32-8 Tuesday afternoon. AB46 successfully passed its required two-thirds vote —from the initial proposal— in the Assembly. All who voted against AB46 were of the GOP party.

Janice R. Ayres, a tireless advocate for the elderly and the disabled, an unshakable Democrat and former member of the Carson City Board of Supervisors died Monday morning at Carson Tahoe Hospital after battling cancer. She was 92.

Ayres was the executive director of the Nevada Rural Counties RSVP Program, a position she held since 1979. RSVP Board member Charlie Abowd confirmed her passing and said directors will meet Tuesday afternoon to discuss arrangements.

Many people filled the Nevada Assembly chambers in Carson City on Thursday as a resolution to repeal a same-sex marriage ban in Nevada passed 27-14, bringing the state one step closer to marriage equality.

Senate Joint Resolution 13 requires that all marriages be treated equally under the law and removes gender from the definition of marriage. It also specifies that religious institutions can choose not to marry couples of the same gender.

Reno residents, Meredith Tanzer, 42, and Yevonne Allen, 28, have followed the measure closely during this session.

UPDATE: The Nevada Assembly voted along party lines Thursday to allow a public vote on a resolution that would repeal Nevada’s longstanding 5 percent tax cap on mining net proceeds.

Five Assembly members took the opportunity to speak prior to the vote on Senate Joint Resolution 15. Assemblywoman Irene Bustamante Adams and Assemblyman Skip Daly both spoke in favor of the resolution.

CARSON CITY— During Thursday's floor session, the Nevada Assembly passed Senate Joint Resolution 13 — to legalize same sex marriage — in a vote of 27-14.

The resolution passed in the Senate on April 22 in a vote of 12-9. The only Republican Senator to vote in favor of the measure was Sen. Ben Kieckhefer. Kieckhefer has declined requests from various media outlets asking him to comment on his position, saying that his vote in favor of the resolution should speak for itself.

CARSON CITY — Survivors and family members of victims of gun violence were present in the Senate chambers Wednesday when a bill that would require background checks for individuals engaging in the private party sale of a firearm passed on a partisan vote of 11-10.

Survivors as well as family members of gun violence victims were present in the Senate Chamber today when a bill that would require background checks for individuals engaging in the private party sale of a firearm passed on a partisan vote of 11-10.

UPDATE: Gov. Brian Sandoval signed SB139 into law on Tuesday morning. The bill passed through the Senate with only one vote of opposition, and prior to that it passed the Assembly 30-11 on May 14.

Victims of mass shootings — from Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut to the shooting that injured Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson, Arizona — came to Carson City on Tuesday to show support for Senate Bill 221. The bill, if approved would require criminal background checks for all gun sales in Nevada.

CARSON CITY — The Assembly has passed a bill that will require a three-year suspension on black bear hunting in Nevada while the Department of Wildlife conducts a scientific study to determine if a healthy population of the animals can be sustained in the event that a sanctioned bear-hunting season is re-instituted permanently.

SB82 was originally aimed at banning bear hunting indefinitely but has since been amended several times. Only two Assembly members spoke prior to the vote during today’s Assembly Floor Session.

by ALEX POMPLIANO

A bill that requires medical insurance plans with cancer coverage to pay more for oral chemotherapy medications passes the Assembly 39-0 on Tuesday.

SB266, which passed the Nevada Senate unanimously in April, would require health insurers to not charge patients more for oral chemotherapy medications (pills) than patients who are undergoing traditional IV chemotherapy. Such drugs can cost patients as much as $2,000 to $10,000 per month.

SB243, commonly referred to as “Brianna’s Law,” passed the Assembly today in a vote of 29-9.

The bill would mandate the collection of DNA samples from individuals arrested on felony charges. It was named for Brianna Denison, a young college student who was murdered in Reno in 2008. SB243 passed the Senate by a unanimous vote last month. During today’s vote on the Assembly floor, seven Democrats and two Republicans voted against the measure. Only a few Assembly members commented on the bill prior to the vote.