Water rights, CCSD reorganization bills advance in legislature’s 11th week

CARSON CITY — Nevada lawmakers changed their focus in the 11th week of the session, shifting to more floor sessions and spending less time in committee hearings as another deadline approached.

But they still found plenty of time to make decisions on policy bills on issues like the Clark County School District reorganization, water rights and studying the costs of state employee training.

Here’s a look at how the week went.

Shift to floor focus

It was another week and another upcoming deadline: This Tuesday is the deadline for bills to pass the first chamber of the Legislature. As a result, lawmakers spent the bulk of their time last week in Senate and Assembly floor sessions, hearing, debating and voting on bills.

Committee meetings, meanwhile, slowed down considerably as the focus shifted to floor sessions.

CCSD reorganization

The Senate Education Committee on Thursday unanimously passed a bill that would set in stone the Clark County School District reorganization. It’s a reminder that the legislative session has extended beyond the halfway mark.

The measure, already passed by the Assembly, will head to Gov. Brian Sandoval’s desk if the Senate passes it.

Employee retention

Other legislative issues heard last week entailed long-term planning and research.

The Assembly Legislative Operations and Elections Committee talked about a proposal to study how the state stacks up against local government employers that lure state employees away for higher pay. Assembly Concurrent Resolution 6 would create a committee to analyze state and local salaries and benefits, along with how much more the state needs to pay its employees to keep them from quitting for a better job elsewhere.

Water rights

The Senate on Tuesday unanimously approved a bill that would give people with vested claims to water 10 years to submit proof of their claim or risk losing them.

Senate Bill 270 deals with so-called “vested” rights initiated by putting water to beneficial use before state law set regulations for surface water use in 1905, artesian groundwater in 1913 and percolating groundwater in 1939.

Yucca Mountain

The Assembly voted 32-6 to approve a resolution that expresses to Congress opposition to storing nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain and urges the federal government not to move the project forward.

Supporters of the resolution say storing nuclear waste at the federal site, located 100 miles from Las Vegas, would threaten the state’s tourism industry.

Contact Ben Botkin at bbotkin@reviewjournal.com or 775-461-0661. Follow @BenBotkin1 on Twitter.