Bill seeks credit for time served under house arrest

Time spent on house arrest could count as time served toward inmates’ sentences under a bill before the Legislature for the second session in a row.

Assembly Bill 160, which was first presented Tuesday in the Assembly Judiciary Committee, would let courts allow for time spent under house arrest to count toward prisoners’ sentences after they are convicted. State law currently allows credit for time spent before conviction in county jails, but not on house arrest.

Assemblywomen Selena Torres, D-Las Vegas, one of four sponsors for the bill, told lawmakers that house arrest is imprisonment that should count toward time served.

“It is punishment that the defendants undergo while they are awaiting trial,” Torres said. House arrest is confinement, since defendants can’t leave and are unable to “indulge themselves in some of the basic things that we appreciate in our everyday life.”

Torres also said the bill would save money for the state since people would spend less time in prison. She said it costs $150 a day to incarcerate someone in Nevada.

A similar bill was passed in the Assembly Judiciary Committee during the 2019 session, but died in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The city of Henderson proposed an amendment to the bill, similar to the one it proposed in 2019, which would exclude defendants facing misdemeanor charges from being able to count house arrest toward their sentence.

Michael Cathcart, Henderson’s business operations manager, said that because of shorter maximum sentences for misdemeanor charges, local jurisdictions would not be able to impose punishments after conviction if someone spends all of their time on house arrest.

Torres said she was working with law enforcement agencies to find a compromise, such as allowing judges to give defendants facing misdemeanors partial credit time served for house arrest.

Jennifer Noble, who spoke on behalf of the Nevada District Attorneys Association, said she opposed the bill because it’s unfair for defendants on house arrest to earn credit for the same time someone else spends in jail.

“A day on house arrest is simply not the same as a day in a detention center,” Noble said.

Jodi Hocking, the founder of a prisoner advocacy organization called Return Strong, told lawmakers that passing the bill is “the right thing to do.”

“The reality is that time served is time served,” she said. “No matter where you serve it — if you serve it in jail or you serve it in the community. Giving people good time credit for home confinement is just one way to take a small step toward equity and justice.”

The committee took no action on the bill.

Republicans agitate for re-opening

As the state pulls back from the most stringent of pandemic-driven restrictions on public gatherings, Republican lawmakers in both houses have been agitating for the currently-closed legislative building to be reopened to the public.

They did so again on the Assembly floor Tuesday, when Assemblywoman Annie Black, R-Mesquite, used her floor remarks to outline the reasons for reopening then made a snap motion for the body to vote on reopening.

That motion was denied.

“Local governments are opening, businesses are open. It is time the Legislature was open to the public,” Black said ahead of her motion. “If it is safe to allow people from across the world into our casinos, it is safe to allow people into this building.”

The Legislature has conducted committee hearings and other business remotely, with those seeking to testify in committee calling in to virtual gatherings. Lawmakers, staff, the media, and others who work in the building began receiving vaccinations last week for COVID-19 ahead of the expected eventual reopening.

Assemblyman Steve Yeager, D-Las Vegas, acting as speaker on Tuesday, ruled Black’s motion out of order, and in his own floor remarks defended the existing rules.

“The safety of those in this building, whether they be members or whether they be staff, is and will continue to be first and foremost in the decision making process about if and when this building opens,” Yeager said just before the Assembly adjourned.

“I also like to say that this legislative process perhaps has never been more open to the public, than it is now. We have people calling in from all over the state to participate in these meetings that typically is not an option that’s available.”

Human trafficking

A pair of bills concerning human trafficking got attention from lawmakers Tuesday. An amended Assembly Bill 143, heard by the Assembly Government Affairs committee, would create a statewide task force and a plan for addressing the needs of victims, a framework that would open the state to potential federal funding.

Assemblywoman Lisa Krasner, R-Reno, said the amended version would “establish a collaborative effort” between existing programs in northern and southern parts of the state.

Senate Bill 164, introduced in the Senate Tuesday would immunize human trafficking victims from criminal and civil liability for sex crimes they are forced to are to commit. It was referred to the Senate Judiciary committee for hearings.

Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter. Contact Capital Bureau reporter Bill Dentzer at bdentzer@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DentzerNews on Twitter.